Jess, I was not suggesting doing the timing that way... but is a good way to see if the chain has jumped a tooth. If it has jumped a tooth the top of the flat will be way off. If it's a little off, you may need to use teh cam locking tool to verify.
I know exactly what you are talking about with the square end of the camshaft. Only the sides are intended to be straight by BMW. Mine was no where near as out of wack as your photos show. |