Engine/Vanos servicing and upgrade recommendations

[Rossm09]

After picking up the Z4MR a few weeks ago the first thing on the list is a inspection 2 but wanted to get the general recommendations/advice around any particular engine and vanos elements worth changing/upgrading
The car has 51k on the clock and no running issues although I feel as though it is a touch down on power low down
What things are worth getting looked at/ replaced/ upgraded to keep everything in healthy and preventing any issues down the line

All feedback appreciated!

 

[craig3.2]

After picking up the Z4MR a few weeks ago the first thing on the list is a inspection 2 but wanted to get the general recommendations/advice around any particular engine and vanos elements worth changing/upgrading
The car has 51k on the clock and no running issues although I feel as though it is a touch down on power low down
What things are worth getting looked at/ replaced/ upgraded to keep everything in healthy and preventing any issues down the line

All feedback appreciated!

Conrod bearing shells and bolts.
Vanos rebuild.
For both, I would recommend Redish Motorsport in Bristol, depending upon where you are located,or how far you're willing to travel.

Reading from someone else's recent post,they got Redish Motorsport to rebuild their Vanos unit using Besian systems stuff.
Which is the way I would have went,in hindsight.

Mr Vanos is also good at what he does,the difference being he usually rebuilds Vanos units prior to just swapping them out,so you don't keep your Original Vanos unit.
You could ask Steve to rebuild your existing Vanos unit, rather than swap it with one he has taken from another s54 and rebuilt,But I don't know if he does that or not, you'd have to ask him. I didn't have that option,as he came to my house, which was handy.

Steve/Me Vanos,did diagnose and fix my Misfire, which was down to 3 worn coil packs/leads.

Having had my Conrod bearing shells and bolts, as well as other work,done by Redish Motorsport recently,can't recommend them enough.
Worth doing the Engine mounts at same time as Conrod bearing shells etc,as no additional Labour (normally£200 ish,if doing separate).
Just the price of parts... around£200 for or BMW Engine mounts,or I would buy (Fast street) Vibratechnics Engine mounts,at around £225.
A very good upgrade and improved handling.

Hope that helps you

 

[Mr Tidy]

Welcome to M ownership OP.

When I bought my MC it hadn't had an Inspection Service for over 25K miles so that was the first thing I got done. And just as well as it needed 5 shims to get the valve clearances within tolerance.

Then I started spending more time reading about big end bearing shells (or crank rod bearing shells in BMW speak) and decided to get those done too for peace of mind plus new engine mounts while I was at it. Looking back I should have done it all done in one hit and saved the cost of 5.5 litres of Castrol 10W/60 plus a filter!

But my car had done 77K miles and had 7 previous keepers so I guessed at least one might have been less than sympathetic.

Anyway these are the old shells:-

On 51K miles yours may not need shells yet but if you plan to keep it for some time it might be worth getting them done now rather than put it off.

I had both jobs done by Ross (bowser134 on here) who now runs RBM Hampshire, after 15 years at Sytner.

And mine is running great so I'll leave Vanos alone as it ain't broke!

Where you go might be influenced by where you are though.

 

[AndyBeech]

Personally I wouldn't be too fussed about doing any specific maintenance at 50k miles unless your usage is going to be out of the ordinary (like track work for example) or you have an obvious issue. If you have an abnormal service history like 'longer' oil change intervals also might be something to consider but presume your's is fine on that front.
What makes you think you're down on power?

I was happy doing my bearings at 90k miles and they could probably have done another 10-20k easily, maybe more. Go with your gut on this one, there is no real rule on when to get them done although certainly before 100k miles would be advisable. Still yet to see more than 2 (I think) actual failures of a rod bearing on here as yet so it isn't a common occurrence like it can seem. If you are definitely keeping it very long term, like past 100k miles, then maybe consider it now.

VANOS, see if you can get a test done with BMW diagnostics will give you an idea of how it's functioning. Otherwise I'd leave it alone unless you have any strange noises / specific issues. If you do get it done I'd 100% go with Steve / Mr VANOS if I did it again. Yours comes off, his recon one goes on, job done, plus you get a warranty, which you most likely won't if you get yours rebuilt with Besian stuff elsewhere. All S54 VANOS units are fundamentally the same (not actually much to them) so doesn't matter that you get someone else's unit, it'll be rebuilt with uprated parts and tested, that's all that matters.

If you start trying to cover all the pre-emptive bases on these car's you'll empty your pockets very quickly. My advice would be do the inspection 2 and see what comes back from that. You might have bushes / suspension components / brakes that need doing, these can all pretty easily relieve you of a grand or so straight off the bat.

I certainly wouldn't be losing any sleep over any of the 'major' jobs on 50k Keep on top of regular servicing and enjoy!

 

[Rossm09]

Thanks for the Feedback guys, previous owner serviced it every other year which yes with Low mileage is okay but personally I’d still prefer a yearly service to be safe, he didn’t come across as a enthusiast but had owned it 9 years and unsure if he was someone who pushed it hard.

I’m in Cornwall so redish is a 2.5 hour drive which I’m happy to make a couple days away trip for it, question is I had an inspection 2 carried out would it then need anything re doing as such if I had the vanos rebuilt a couple months later or is having a rebuilt vanos system not bring in the need for any other servicing elements when doing?
Think il stick with my inspection 2 and maybe look at the vanos rebuild, the cars spent the last 9 years sat outside so if vanos seals etc are prone to perishing I’d rather act now as I can’t see the previous owner ever having anything along those lines addressed and he certainly never mentioned anything

 

[craig3.2]

Thanks for the Feedback guys, previous owner serviced it every other year which yes with Low mileage is okay but personally I’d still prefer a yearly service to be safe, he didn’t come across as a enthusiast but had owned it 9 years and unsure if he was someone who pushed it hard.

I’m in Cornwall so redish is a 2.5 hour drive which I’m happy to make a couple days away trip for it, question is I had an inspection 2 carried out would it then need anything re doing as such if I had the vanos rebuilt a couple months later or is having a rebuilt vanos system not bring in the need for any other servicing elements when doing?
Think il stick with my inspection 2 and maybe look at the vanos rebuild, the cars spent the last 9 years sat outside so if vanos seals etc are prone to perishing I’d rather act now as I can’t see the previous owner ever having anything along those lines addressed and he certainly never mentioned anything

Ask Redish' opinion on which they would do first,at 50k miles.... Conrod bearing shells and bolts,or Vanis rebuild.
If your Vanos isn't noisy,then should be ok leaving it alone, again ask Redish or Ross at rbm on this.

Fwiw,my car and engine were only one just over 61k miles,and all the upper ones were very worn, with Alot of Copper showing through.
Estimated at only having 5-10k miles left in them,tops!.
Just a thought.
And mines been in my ownership for 9 years and counting,and since circa 20,000 miles,and always warmed up properly and fully upto Temperature before driving spiritedly,or above 3k rpm.

 

[srhutch]

Everybody's opinion in bearings is different. My Indy suggests 70k as prevention. The recently posted on social media about an M3 they changed that had done 170k on one set.

There is no pattern on failure so at the end of the day you have to do what you real comfortable with and put it into context.

 

[craig3.2]

Everybody's opinion in bearings is different. My Indy suggests 70k as prevention. The recently posted on social media about an M3 they changed that had done 170k on one set.

There is no pattern on failure so at the end of the day you have to do what you real comfortable with and put it into context.

Couldn't agree more,Steve.
Not worth the risk for me though,as it's way more expensive to rebuild or replace a knackered.engine after a spun bearing shell than it is to replace them .

As.said,some.have.done.144k miles on one set.or.engine,while others have gone at 50k miles or so.
Mine as they were, probably wouldn't have gone much beyond 65-70k miles, given the state they were in.
Upto the individual though,I agree

 

[Rossm09]

I will speak to redish and see what they advise!
Sure I’m down on power just had a play with a mk2 TTS and I couldn’t gain on him on the straight even up to 120 and their only 265 stock!
Granted it could of been fiddled with but don’t get the impression it’s been mapped ...

 

[stevo///m3]

Glad to hear you're enjoying the private roads that are occasionally available...
You've got to go with a combination of your gut and wallet on what work to do once the car is in the shop. Take advice by all means. I did my Insp II at Redish a few years back and would highly recommend them. I did a preventative VAONS rebuild using the Beisian parts Craig referred to above, it was only a couple of hundred quid in parts shipped across from the US and a bit of labour. Very debatable as to whether the work actually needed doing but for me it was a peace of mind thing, coupled with the fact that you're duplicating costs if you do Insp II and then follow later with e.g. VANOS work. The ZM cars were produced right at the end of the time BMW were producing the S54 engine and the common view is that they'd ironed out most VANOS issues by that time. Something can still fail, however, which is just inherent in running a performance car.
I fitted the Vibratechnics engine mounts at the same time - again, if you're going to delve deep into the engine bay, get the bits you want done in one go.
Andy makes a pretty good observation above - rubber stuff perishes and by the sounds of it, the previous owner may have done nothing for 9 years on bushes and the like. Worth checking the condition of those out at the same time.
Stevo

 

[Rossm09]

Yes... private road use is rare for sure!!
Yeah I can see a broad range of opinions on certain things being worth while doing or not, like you I think I’m going to go down the peace of mind route, inspection 2 and vanos rebuild at the same time to save on cost and put my mind at ease
The engine mount upgrade sounds worthwhile, looks like I need to get booked in at redish along with a hotel stay for the night as certainly going to need more than a days work doing!