Vanos fix by Mr. Vanos

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Attilio

Active member
 Dublin
Hi there,

not sure this topic is a "hot" one but I thought I would share my experience as it may help other fellow Z4 M drivers.

Over a year ago I got myself a lovely (to my eyes of course!) Z4M Coupe (57 reg., low miles example). Not 100% perfect (I am quite fastidious) but a very good example.

I never had an M before and this is my first S54... nearly 8 months into the honeymoon period, I started to notice a faint rattling noise at 3,500rpm when at constant throttle. Terrified by some horror stories I read, I decided to do a tour of the garages here in Ireland and only one mentioned that it was the Vanos and quoted an extortionate amount of money to refurbish it.

After months of chasing specialists, I had the luck to have a call returned by Mr Vanos - Steven Lewis - who offered to either take the car in or come to Dublin to service the car (and spend a weekend here with his family).

Well, last Saturday Mr. Vanos arrived to Dublin with a fully reconditioned unit, swapped the old with the "new", changed the cam bolts with some upgraded ones (the old were not as tight as they should have been :o ), changed the solenoid pack and o-rings, changed the timing chain tensioner and adjusted the valve clearances.

https://www.facebook.com/MrVanos/po...6ZwYUxL33ffOcwh0FGgkF3dLbNsNTA2XOrQ&__tn__=-R

The Z4MC has been transformed: no more hesitation at low revs or flat spots, no more rattling and a fantastic "crescendo" up to the red line :D I am loving it!!! :thumbsup:

was it cheap? No... Was it worth it? Absolutely! For peace of mind, engine durability and driveability and future value of the Z4MC.

and now on to the next job: disks and pads all round ... this "girlfriend" of mine is definitely a high maintenance one!!!

Hope it is of help to others on this Forum

A
 
[ref]Attilio[/ref], very interesting :thumbsup: . Out of curiosity, what was the mileage at the time the rattle started? My 57-reg with 30k miles doesnt have any rattle like the one that you describe, but i cant help but notice a couple of flat spots at about 2000 and 2600rpm. All is good after 3000 rpm and heavens open at the usual 4500 (nirvana!!).
And how much was the job? Excuse me noseyness.... :oops:
 
Spaniarduk said:
Very interesting :thumbsup: . Out of curiosity, what was the mileage at the time the rattle started? My 57-reg with 30k miles doesnt have any rattle like the one that you describe, but i cant help but notice a couple of flat spots at about 2000 and 2600rpm. All is good after 3000 rpm and heavens open at the usual 4500 (nirvana!!).
And how much was the job? Excuse me noseyness.... :oops:
Click to expand...

Hi

ask away@ this is why I wrote the above: to share and answer questions of those that are in the same position I was before.

The Vanos rattle started just around 40K miles if I remember correctly and it is only something I noticed when driving from corner to corner in the same gear (on partial throttle). Mind you I am really "sensitive" to car set-up and noises so different garages thought I was imagining it. I am glad I trusted my instincts!

What I noticed is that there is no more a "kick" after 2,600 rpm and above 4,500 rpm: the car now pulls really strongly and smoothly to the red line (if the road is a bit damp I get the traction light come up in 2nd and 3rd and I am running recent/fresh Michelin Super Sports). In short, I am really impressed by an engine that feels "new" and the proper in-line 6 that I had read about so much.

I understand the going rate is £1,200 + VAT including the Vanos unit with upgraded pump and seals, solenoid pack, bolts, shims etc.

A
 
Good stuff, this engine does make quite a few noises but for peace of mind it's worth it. I had the same done for similar reasons to you and the quiet vanos is so much nicer.

You'll soon be getting the rod bearings done!! Compared to other high performance cars these costs are actually not to bad. If you plan to keep then spend, maintain and enjoy!
 
[ref]Attilio[/ref], thanks for that.
In the next month or so I'm planning on removing the top engine cover to check valve clearance, replace the required shims, and replace the rubber gasket. While I'm there I should be able to see if there's too much play between the vanos oil pump tabs and the exhaust cam sprocket.
Thanks again :thumbsup:
 
Good thread!

I have heard nothing but good things about him.

I have just had my e46 m3 vanos rebuilt at ETA Motorsport, unfortunately it had snapped a tab off the vanos hub so we had to replace that too. (100k track car)

Going to get them to do the Z4M next!
 
From my own experience, if you have VANOS issues, I wouldn’t bother with trying to fix it with the various kits out there, worked out as a lot of hassle for me and money.
Eventually got Steve aka Mr VANOS to replace mine with a recon unit and it’s been fine ever since. Yes it’s not the cheapest, but you get a warranty and piece of mind rather than faffing with seals / anti rattle kits etc. By the time you’ve paid for all that and the labour probably not far away from just getting Steve to do it anyway.
I don’t know any garages that will offer a warranty either with the fitting of the seperste kits if you run into trouble with it later on....
 
It's an interesting point about how the S54 should respond throughout the rev range. I drove two other M3s before mine and both had a noticeable kick at about 2500rpm and again at about 4500rpm. Doing my research at the time suggested this points towards the VANOS not been 100%. The car I bought was completely smooth all the way to the redline and still is, which I think is the way BMW intended.
 
ph001 said:
It's an interesting point about how the S54 should respond throughout the rev range. I drove two other M3s before mine and both had a noticeable kick at about 2500rpm and again at about 4500rpm. Doing my research at the time suggested this points towards the VANOS not been 100%. The car I bought was completely smooth all the way to the redline and still is, which I think is the way BMW intended.
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:thumbsup:
 
This guy did the VANOS system on my old mans E46 M3. It sorted out the problems the standard unit had and it worked flawlessly for the 7 years he had it on the car. If you've got VANOS problems, can't rate this dude highly enough.
 
I had my vanos unit done by mr vanos ... had new solenoid pack , bolts ect . We booked 2 cars in together at the same address and it came to £800 each , as he done the 2 cars at the same time . My local Bmw specialist ( Brystones) had never done a vanos unit , so didn’t fancy letting them do it !
 
Bodyboarder said:
I had my vanos unit done by mr vanos ... had new solenoid pack , bolts ect . We booked 2 cars in together at the same address and it came to £800 each , as he done the 2 cars at the same time . My local Bmw specialist ( Brystones) had never done a vanos unit , so didn’t fancy letting them do it !
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That's a good price!

Same here: my independent BMW garage here in Dublin had never done a Vanos refurbishment before so I didn't trust him doing that... I have to clarify that the £1,200 included the ferry to Dublin and back... :)
 
Do you still get the “normal” Vanos rattle between 2800-3000rpm, incidentally, or does the replacement unit address that too?

It doesn’t bother me that much, but it’s a little annoying that it crops up at motorway speeds. Apparently on the M3 it’s not audible on the move due to the additional bonnet sound insulation, but that doesn’t sound like much fun. :P
 
Mine is silent in the e46 M3 since having the Vac hub fitted. (larger pins that don't slop around in oil disc)

Going to the the Z4M Oil pump disc drilled with smaller holes to hopefully stop the noise you mention.
 
bradz said:
Going to the the Z4M Oil pump disc drilled with smaller holes to hopefully stop the noise you mention.
Click to expand...

Is that this mod?

[youtube]KLWYSkP5tws[/youtube]

Look at that play! No wonder it’s so loud.
 
Gazza51 said:
Surely if there is that much play the unit would have made a noise from new ?
Click to expand...

I think they did. There was even a service bulletin issued that essentially said "normal - do nothing".

It's quite a clattery engine anyway - easy for an individual sound to get lost.
 
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