Vanos/marathon underway

[bigwinn]

Get out!

Vanos off
Water pump off
Thermostat off

Vanos opened up and wow- anyone in doubt of whether this job is worth it or not…

The crud around the vanos pistons was unreal- the gaskets around the valve cover were like glass and the seating of the pistons was so sloppy

Off to get the bearings undone now

55012D53-135A-4984-B8C4-5880DC8A5D73.jpeg899E01F0-E2D7-4CC1-A7A7-53D5BC2FDDFA.jpegE8F7B5F9-45F1-46D6-B3A4-862A545399AC.jpegD7622FDD-35AB-4E36-B40E-D67952CD627D.jpeg

Well done Stuart That's a lot of 'varnish' build up on the outside of those piston covers for sure

Build up of gunk in weird areas Si- the oil is good nick and it’s not been neglected but I’m seeing evidence of a lot of short runs and not being driven hard

 

[Ali0191]

Looks like it’s going well! I’m planning to tackle this over the summer but it’ll be the first time I’ve done anything like this (opening the engine!).

I have been reading the tutorial from Beisan to get my head around it, a large chunk seems to be using specialist tools to lock the timing of the engine. Have you done this and if so what tools have you used? If not have you done anything to lock the crankshaft etc?

 

[bigwinn]

No need to lock the timing at all- use this guide? It doesn’t cover the section on bearings but that’s also on x8r website

http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/vanos_procedure.htm

 

[BostonJohn]

Great article but being a non mechanic not something I would attempt. One more thing to get done although I see from a thread that after 2006 cars are less prone to vanos problems? Does anyone know if that is correct?

 

[patriot66]

Great article but being a non mechanic not something I would attempt. One more thing to get done although I see from a thread that after 2006 cars are less prone to vanos problems? Does anyone know if that is correct?

Yes that is correct. The VANOS on the N52 is much improved. I think sometimes the solenoid gives trouble but never heard of anything else

 

[patriot66]

Get out!

Vanos off
Water pump off
Thermostat off

Vanos opened up and wow- anyone in doubt of whether this job is worth it or not…

The crud around the vanos pistons was unreal- the gaskets around the valve cover were like glass and the seating of the pistons was so sloppy

Off to get the bearings undone now

55012D53-135A-4984-B8C4-5880DC8A5D73.jpeg899E01F0-E2D7-4CC1-A7A7-53D5BC2FDDFA.jpegE8F7B5F9-45F1-46D6-B3A4-862A545399AC.jpegD7622FDD-35AB-4E36-B40E-D67952CD627D.jpeg

Well done Stuart That's a lot of 'varnish' build up on the outside of those piston covers for sure

Build up of gunk in weird areas Si- the oil is good nick and it’s not been neglected but I’m seeing evidence of a lot of short runs and not being driven hard

Well that's easily sorted

 

[Ali0191]

No need to lock the timing at all- use this guide? It doesn’t cover the section on bearings but that’s also on x8r website

http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/vanos_procedure.htm

Thank you, I was reading the wrong guide! Also found some useful YouTube videos to get a picture of it.

 

[bigwinn]

[/quote]
Well that's easily sorted
[/quote]

100% right foot application

 

[bigwinn]

Vanos?

Completed it mate- twice

 

[bigwinn]

With most of the vanos work done yesterday, today was all about tidy up, check and a few small bits

Expansion tank- was looking tired, needed doing, I took advice from Enuff Zed who said when he did his, the oil thermostat under it pinged off- which mine predictably did the same! Cheers Martin.

All sorted.

Refilled coolant, checked everything again... put airbox etc back

and started it: ran a bit lumpy but settled quickly and- thats a wrap!

Gave it a blast once i was sure there were no leaks etc; much much better- runs smoothly instead of a grumpy idle before. No oil leaks etc.

I'm sad now there is no pile of parts in the garage- what to do next?

 

[bigwinn]

Final thoughts

X8R kit is top stuff- I wouldn’t buy the stuff needed anywhere else

The only thing I wouldn’t use from the kit is the 9 bolts you resecure the 2 vanos back plates with- they aren’t man enough for the job and I reused the originals

Apart from that- deffo consider doing the vanos when you do water pump and thermostat- just because you are around that area and need to remove stuff

Please feel free to drop me a line with any questions and I’d be happy to help anyone with theirs if needed

Cheers

Stuart

 

[markplant]

With most of the vanos work done yesterday, today was all about tidy up, check and a few small bits

Expansion tank- was looking tired, needed doing, I took advice from Enuff Zed who said when he did his, the oil thermostat under it pinged off- which mine predictably did the same! Cheers Martin.

All sorted.

Refilled coolant, checked everything again... put airbox etc back

and started it: ran a bit lumpy but settled quickly and- thats a wrap!

Gave it a blast once i was sure there were no leaks etc; much much better- runs smoothly instead of a grumpy idle before. No oil leaks etc.

I'm sad now there is no pile of parts in the garage- what to do next?

IMG_9843.jpegIMG_9840.jpegIMG_9839.jpegIMG_9838.jpeg

Did the oil thermostat need replacing because it pings off broke , or just need refitting
Thanks

 

[bigwinn]

With most of the vanos work done yesterday, today was all about tidy up, check and a few small bits

Expansion tank- was looking tired, needed doing, I took advice from Enuff Zed who said when he did his, the oil thermostat under it pinged off- which mine predictably did the same! Cheers Martin.

All sorted.

Refilled coolant, checked everything again... put airbox etc back

and started it: ran a bit lumpy but settled quickly and- thats a wrap!

Gave it a blast once i was sure there were no leaks etc; much much better- runs smoothly instead of a grumpy idle before. No oil leaks etc.

I'm sad now there is no pile of parts in the garage- what to do next?

IMG_9843.jpegIMG_9840.jpegIMG_9839.jpegIMG_9838.jpeg

Did the oil thermostat need replacing because it pings off broke , or just need refitting
Thanks

It broke- which is common I think

When I looked at it when the two halves were reunited and all the parts retrieved, it was clear the plastic tabs had broken

For the £9 cost from eBay it was worth getting a new one

 

[enuff_zed]

With most of the vanos work done yesterday, today was all about tidy up, check and a few small bits

Expansion tank- was looking tired, needed doing, I took advice from Enuff Zed who said when he did his, the oil thermostat under it pinged off- which mine predictably did the same! Cheers Martin.

All sorted.

Refilled coolant, checked everything again... put airbox etc back

and started it: ran a bit lumpy but settled quickly and- thats a wrap!

Gave it a blast once i was sure there were no leaks etc; much much better- runs smoothly instead of a grumpy idle before. No oil leaks etc.

I'm sad now there is no pile of parts in the garage- what to do next?

IMG_9843.jpegIMG_9840.jpegIMG_9839.jpegIMG_9838.jpeg

Did the oil thermostat need replacing because it pings off broke , or just need refitting
Thanks

It broke- which is common I think

When I looked at it when the two halves were reunited and all the parts retrieved, it was clear the plastic tabs had broken

For the £9 cost from eBay it was worth getting a new one

Yup, exactly the same happened to me. Which is why I advised[ref]bigwinn[/ref] to have a new one to hand. I didn't and had to wait nearly a week to finish the job.
I believe that this is only on the autos though? Circulates coolant through the transmission oil cooler? (As usual, happy to be corrected on that)

 

[kis]

I believe that this is only on the autos though? Circulates coolant through the transmission oil cooler? (As usual, happy to be corrected on that)

I wonder where SMG's fall. It's like the Alpina's. Hard to tell what part numbers are. Is there anyway you can quickly do a visual check?

 

[enuff_zed]

I believe that this is only on the autos though? Circulates coolant through the transmission oil cooler? (As usual, happy to be corrected on that)

I wonder where SMG's fall. It's like the Alpina's. Hard to tell what part numbers are. Is there anyway you can quickly do a visual check?

What, for the thermostat?
Not sure you can tbh. It is sat inside the block that the expansion tank pushes down onto.
Looking at Realoem doesn't make it 100% clear.
On the auto version it is Item 4 and clearly is fitted (as a few of us can testify)
On the manual version it shows something similar as Item 10, but this is greyed out and doesn't appear in the part number list.
The housing it all fits onto is clearly different for each version.
Guess the only way is to ask a manual M54 owner who's previously fitted a new tank?

 

[patriot66]

I believe that this is only on the autos though? Circulates coolant through the transmission oil cooler? (As usual, happy to be corrected on that)

I wonder where SMG's fall. It's like the Alpina's. Hard to tell what part numbers are. Is there anyway you can quickly do a visual check?

There is no gearbox cooling/intercooler on the SMG gearbox. It is the same 6 speed ZF GS6-37BZ unit fitted to ALL 3.0i, 3.0si and Z4M models and doesn't require any additional cooling. When I replaced my split original expansion tank, part number 7514390 back in Aug'17 it was the same tank and fittings etc as the 'normal' manual

 

[enuff_zed]

I believe that this is only on the autos though? Circulates coolant through the transmission oil cooler? (As usual, happy to be corrected on that)

I wonder where SMG's fall. It's like the Alpina's. Hard to tell what part numbers are. Is there anyway you can quickly do a visual check?

There is no gearbox cooling/intercooler on the SMG gearbox. It is the same 6 speed ZF GS6-37BZ unit fitted to ALL 3.0i, 3.0si and Z4M models and doesn't require any additional cooling. When I replaced my split original expansion tank, part number 7514390 back in Aug'17 it was the same tank and fittings etc as the 'normal' manual 20170819_134619_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134714_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134904_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134642_Richtone(HDR).jpg

In the third photo down, on the auto 2.5i there is a cylindrical thermostat assembly that sits in the bigger hole. I assume yours did not have that? In which case it may well only be applicable to the standard autos?

 

[patriot66]

I wonder where SMG's fall. It's like the Alpina's. Hard to tell what part numbers are. Is there anyway you can quickly do a visual check?

There is no gearbox cooling/intercooler on the SMG gearbox. It is the same 6 speed ZF GS6-37BZ unit fitted to ALL 3.0i, 3.0si and Z4M models and doesn't require any additional cooling. When I replaced my split original expansion tank, part number 7514390 back in Aug'17 it was the same tank and fittings etc as the 'normal' manual 20170819_134619_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134714_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134904_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134642_Richtone(HDR).jpg

In the third photo down, on the auto 2.5i there is a cylindrical thermostat assembly that sits in the bigger hole. I assume yours did not have that? In which case it may well only be applicable to the standard autos?

Correct, no thermostat in the larger hole. It would serve no purpose on a manual box'd Z4

 

[bigwinn]

There is no gearbox cooling/intercooler on the SMG gearbox. It is the same 6 speed ZF GS6-37BZ unit fitted to ALL 3.0i, 3.0si and Z4M models and doesn't require any additional cooling. When I replaced my split original expansion tank, part number 7514390 back in Aug'17 it was the same tank and fittings etc as the 'normal' manual 20170819_134619_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134714_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134904_Richtone(HDR).jpg20170819_134642_Richtone(HDR).jpg

In the third photo down, on the auto 2.5i there is a cylindrical thermostat assembly that sits in the bigger hole. I assume yours did not have that? In which case it may well only be applicable to the standard autos?

Correct, no thermostat in the larger hole. It would serve no purpose on a manual box'd Z4

I am embarrassed to admit- clearly I know the difference between manual and auto boxes- but how does the SMG differ?