VANOS seal replacement

[Zchild]

Completed the Beisan vanos seal replacement on my 00 E46 323i with 285,000+ miles on it and after the short break-in period and help from Rajaie with the connection of the vanos intake sensor my bimmer is once again running like a beast. The response is nothing short of incredible, my car feels alive once again, just like she did the day I purchased her in 1999. Its really amazing, I wish I had done this replacement sooner but never the less I am extremely impressed. God Bless you Beisan.com because you have brought the lost spirit back to my extremely high mileage Red-head. Look out Auto-X and Drivers School, here I come! Happy Motoring...

[Munchenman2]

Well done, Young Guru!

I'msure you will enjoy all ten turns on the historic Summit Point circuit, as well as their three 'new' circuits. Don't forget to practice, practice, practice on the skid pads. Have fun!

And Folks, Zach did this job at our last DIY!

Slainte,
Alan
Old Guru

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

I can also recommend doing this on older BMWs. It's a pretty easy and quick process (although I recommend against stabbing your fingers), and the return on investment is high.

[woodym3]

How does one know when it is time to do this?
(153,000 miles on the 328)

[AG]

How does one know when it is time to do this?
(153,000 miles on the 328)

You should look into the Dr. Vanos solution (www.drvanos.com) as he also rents the tools you'll need for the single VANOS installation.

[Reach]

Anytime after 30k miles on an M52, M52TU, or M54 series engine is a good time to do this. I performed this at only 35k miles on my Z4 and noticed an increase in fuel efficiency to the tune of 3-4mpg highway. The more miles, the more efficiency and power you are losing. Zach's case was a bit extreme at 285k miles.

I had the pleasure of helping him at the DIY, chiefly in that I almost convinced him to assemble the vanos incorrectly.

[sandberg84]

I am looking at a vanos fix, did you buy just the seals? or the whole drvanos kit?

[AG]

I am looking at a vanos fix, did you buy just the seals? or the whole drvanos kit?

I did just the seals on my E46. If you have a dual vanos and a performance package E46 or aftermarket cams, you should go the dr. vanos route. I have no idea about single vanos engines though.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

I did just the seals on my E46. If you have a dual vanos and a performance package E46 or aftermarket cams, you should go the dr. vanos route. I have no idea about single vanos engines though.

Why? Dual VANOS isn't hard to change the seals on.

[AG]

Why? Dual VANOS isn't hard to change the seals on.

I know, but the dr. vanos unit is modified to reduce the rattle that is caused by the aftermarket cams. If you don't have a rattle or can live with the noise, just replacing the seals is good enough.

[Jim Dunlap]

"...help from Rajaie with the connection of the vanos intake sensor"

Hi Zach, we have all the parts (fingers crossed) and are about to do this on our 2000 328...but planning to do it at home, given how long it might take and not wanting to be under time pressure at a DIY. Can you tell us what the problem was with connecting the sensor, and did that come up after the DIY? Cheers,

Jim

[Jim Dunlap]

Understood. Our car has 72,000. We dutifully bought all of the seals, gaskets, etc. per the advice on the Beisan site, and following advice from the getBMWparts team. We'll think about the "where" a bit more.

[Jase007]

Jim:

Here is a dual-vanos repair DIY I did back on 2/14/08.

I would recommend doing this at home in case something brakes, you need extra time to clean, you find other WYIT stuff.

Been through two winters, no cold idle jo;t stumble, great mileage, torque (what torque) is back. 1st or second best repair / restore I've done to my touring behind replacing the rear carrier (subframe) bushings. *

Good luck and PM / Email if you have any Qs.

*Have the special tool for carrier bushings removal on tourings in case people are interested.

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

Jim:

Here is a dual-vanos repair DIY I did back on 2/14/08.

I would recommend doing this at home in case something brakes, you need extra time to clean, you find other WYIT stuff.

Been through two winters, no cold idle jo;t stumble, great mileage, torque (what torque) is back. 1st or second best repair / restore I've done to my touring behind replacing the rear carrier (subframe) bushings. *

Good luck and PM / Email if you have any Qs.

*Have the special tool for carrier bushings removal on tourings in case people are interested.

I used an acetylene torch to remove Touring bushings. And then practiced metal hammering skills on a piece of 1/4" metal stock to make an install tool.

[Jim Dunlap]

OK. Done for our 2000 328Ci. Took a lot of time. Figured the weather this past weekend was perfect, and indeed, we needed 1 and 1/2 days!! Luckily on Sat morning I realized I was missing the Vanos unit gasket; Alexandria BMW parts was open but that killed an hour. Why so much time? Not having a tech around to ask, just getting things loose (coil harness, for example) while being fearful of breaking something plastic...added lots of time. Hell of a job to get the valve cover dislodged and off. Did this job with the car parked just in front of the garage. At night, simply closed the hood and moved all tools inside. Issues not deal with in the Beisan (excellent instructions):

- Used some tools not mentioned, like plastic pry tools (valve cover), various socket attachments, swivel socket adaptors, long wall sockets.

- Get all the gaskets and grommets new, as some of ours were brittle and destroyed upon removal. Car had 72,000+ plus; valve cover had never been off.

- Used the kitchen table to work on the Vanos unit seals. Messy. Not sure if we didn't scratch the cylinders a bit trying to cut the old seals out. Hope not. Sizing and getting them reassembled = time.

- Ended up with one plastic bracket (came from behind the engine) that I never found a home for. Oh well.

- Fishing expedition about 3 times when I dropped things down onto the underengine plastic pan.

- You need fender protection; two big beach towels sufficed -held sockets, etc., quite well, besides protecting the paint. Have a BavAuto cover to put across the front of the car.

- We undid the negative battery terminal...don't recall this in the instructions, but seemed prudent to do so.

- Great opportunity to change the cabin filter (easy) and the spark plugs (hard - but which we didn't to, given that I pulled one; looked fine, and the car hasn't covered 100K yet).

The first day we had everything apart...but the Vanos was still on the engine. After going to the dealer, I'd say the job started around 10am - worked at a leisurely pace until about 8 pm. Second day started about 9 am and was testing the car by about 1 pm...so pulling the Vanos, re-sealing it, and reinstalling everything went much faster than taking it all apart. (Imagine that.) But tell you what: tech that knows what he/she is doing? You'll be looking at 3-4 hours of shop rate time...for sure.

Did not use a torque wrench for all of the little 5, 6, 7 pound torque settings. Fingers crossed. Did use it to retorque the two Vanos cylinder bolts.

Results? Waiting. Started right up and runs smooth as can be; cold weather will tell. Torque and power? Not sure yet.

Happy as heck to have this job done before winter falls upon us!!