First my symptoms were slightly different from the norm, 4K and above it felt like it was “missing”. I lived with that all last year and though I had purchased the rebuild parts quite a while ago, I ordered a rebuilt unit from Dr. VANOS, I’m glad I did.
Anyway I tried the levering back of the front brace but no luck, I had 3 studs that it was hanging up on and though I got quite a bit of movement out of the brace, it wasn’t enough. I considered sawing off part of the studs but didn’t want to do that. Saw a video where one guy removed both motor mounts and lowered the engine, didn’t want to do that. Saw a couple posts from Enuff Zed (thanks EZ !) that said to remove the bottom nut from the LH side (facing the car), put wood between the jack and the engine and lift the engine 1 to 2”. I was hesitant but I gave that a try and it worked great!
Reinstalling is where I used the 3D parts I created.
The first 2 photos are what I used to line up the LH thread bolt to align with the threaded holes. The hole in the center clears the bolt head diameter, the large outer diameter fits in the threaded hole in the VANOS casting. You have to make hole inside that area large enough to clear your socket.
The next photos is a tool I used to line up the plastic caps and give them a twist to ensure they were in correctly. The intake side was easy (even without the tool) but for the exhaust side it made life easy.
I must admit that I didn’t even start the car for a couple days as I was nervous. I added the amount of coolant I thought I had lost and after starting the car and letting it idle for a while I ended up adding 1/2 quart of oil.
My heat gauge was at 12 o’clock in the driveway and I was getting heat. My one concern was that I was hearing a slight tapping noise that I had not heard before. I took it out for a short shakedown cruise. The first time I hit 3K I felt a bit of a stumble and thought I still had issues. Cranked it up a few more times to 4K and over and it was feeling like it used to before the missing issue. Actually it seemed like every time I cranked it up it was smoother than the prior time.
Got home (was only a bit over 6 mile drive) checked the oil, right where it should be and idling with the hood open, no ticking! I’m a happy camper, and I know it takes between 200 & 500 miles to be fully broken in. I’ll keep an eye on the oil to make sure I don’t have any leaks but all in all I’m very happy!
Anyway I tried the levering back of the front brace but no luck, I had 3 studs that it was hanging up on and though I got quite a bit of movement out of the brace, it wasn’t enough. I considered sawing off part of the studs but didn’t want to do that. Saw a video where one guy removed both motor mounts and lowered the engine, didn’t want to do that. Saw a couple posts from Enuff Zed (thanks EZ !) that said to remove the bottom nut from the LH side (facing the car), put wood between the jack and the engine and lift the engine 1 to 2”. I was hesitant but I gave that a try and it worked great!
Reinstalling is where I used the 3D parts I created.
The first 2 photos are what I used to line up the LH thread bolt to align with the threaded holes. The hole in the center clears the bolt head diameter, the large outer diameter fits in the threaded hole in the VANOS casting. You have to make hole inside that area large enough to clear your socket.
The next photos is a tool I used to line up the plastic caps and give them a twist to ensure they were in correctly. The intake side was easy (even without the tool) but for the exhaust side it made life easy.
I must admit that I didn’t even start the car for a couple days as I was nervous. I added the amount of coolant I thought I had lost and after starting the car and letting it idle for a while I ended up adding 1/2 quart of oil.
My heat gauge was at 12 o’clock in the driveway and I was getting heat. My one concern was that I was hearing a slight tapping noise that I had not heard before. I took it out for a short shakedown cruise. The first time I hit 3K I felt a bit of a stumble and thought I still had issues. Cranked it up a few more times to 4K and over and it was feeling like it used to before the missing issue. Actually it seemed like every time I cranked it up it was smoother than the prior time.
Got home (was only a bit over 6 mile drive) checked the oil, right where it should be and idling with the hood open, no ticking! I’m a happy camper, and I know it takes between 200 & 500 miles to be fully broken in. I’ll keep an eye on the oil to make sure I don’t have any leaks but all in all I’m very happy!
Attleborough, Norfolk