M54 vanos.

Pondy

Pondy

Muppet
 At the summit of the picturesque fens
I hear a lot about 'having the vanos serviced/ refreshed' on the M54 engine.

Four questions:

What is the VANOS? What does it do (I can't be bothered to Google it)!
At what mileage/ age is the consensus to have it serviced?
Are there any telltale signs it needs doing?
Is it a simple job to do whatever it is that needs doing to it?

I am just about to take delivery of a 2001, 54k miles Z3 with an M54. I want to get any preventative stuff done before I start ripping the car to bits!
 
VANOS is BMW's variable valve timing system. Generally it will run badly or throw lights if it is playing up. Usual problem areas are the oil control solenoids which can gum up making the camshaft timing slow to change.

Mechanically it makes a sound like a tin of marbles being shaken if the adjuster units are faulty.

The M54 was used on the pre facelift E85 so loads of typical problems can be found on here.
 
I’ve just done my vanos on 2.2 z3 2002

Mush easier on a 3 due to not having the front crossmember in the way

It’s made a huge difference to the 21 year old engine
 
bigwinn said:
If you buy me lunch I’ll do yours for you

I’m cheap
Click to expand...
bigwinn said:
If you buy me lunch I’ll do yours for you

I’m cheap
Click to expand...
I was hoping you might say that. :D :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I will PM you when I get it home and have a gander at everything. Thanks Stuart.
 
smorris_12 said:
VANOS is BMW's variable valve timing system. Generally it will run badly or throw lights if it is playing up. Usual problem areas are the oil control solenoids which can gum up making the camshaft timing slow to change.

Mechanically it makes a sound like a tin of marbles being shaken if the adjuster units are faulty.

The M54 was used on the pre facelift E85 so loads of typical problems can be found on here.
Click to expand...
All good info, but I'll add that if the engine has more than 50k on it then it's likely the seals will be knackered anyway, letting oil by.
It works by the solenoids opening shuttle valves to direct oil to the front face of a hollow piston. The inner face of the piston has a helical groove which engages with the end of the camshaft assembly. So when the piston pushes in, the groove causes the camshaft housing to rotate, changing the valve timing. If the seals are shot then the oil simply passes the piston without moving it.
A decent code reader which shows live data will let you know as revving the engine won't see any change in camshaft angle.
Even if the engine feels fine I can guarantee it will have lost some torque.
Get it done and after 100 miles or so for the ECU (DME) to learn the adaptations you will feel the engine is smoother and quite possibly get another 1-2 mpg as well.
You can speed up the learning a little by resetting the adaptations to default.
 
How difficult is it to get the vanos off a z4 with that crossmember in the way? Just completed a waterpump replacement so rasing the engine don't sound so scary anymore.
 
Joez4 said:
How difficult is it to get the vanos off a z4 with that crossmember in the way? Just completed a waterpump replacement so rasing the engine don't sound so scary anymore.
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No different really
 
So just a case of lifting the engine up on that side so the vanos clears the studs? I've read posts where people have had to remove studs with vice grips is that something you have to do?
 
Joez4 said:
So just a case of lifting the engine up on that side so the vanos clears the studs? I've read posts where people have had to remove studs with vice grips is that something you have to do?
Click to expand...
On mine the cross member had just enough flex to be able to clear the studs. Elbow pressing a plank of wood, pivoting against the water pump, all done solo. With someone helping that would be easy.

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This ^ :thumbsup: My son was pulling on a long pry bar resting against the water pump whilst I jiggled the VANOS unit out. Quite straight forward if there's two people on the job :)
 
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