Vanos service ??

S

Southwestz4

Member
Hi all,
I am wondering if its worth servicing my 3.0 e85 vanos unit as a matter of course , car has done 75k. Local indi said if its running ok and no lights on dash then leave it alone.
I have the full x8r kit ready to go, should the solenoids be changed too ?
I do get a lumpy idle from cold , but not on every startup and it clears after 15 secs or so.
Great forum by the way :thumbsup:
 
Personal opinion of one- it’s the best performance and maintenance upgrade I do to all my cars

When you get the old one off you see how baggy the seals are- it’s the age over the mileage

The differences in mpg, bottom end pick up and top end are night and day, for the £79 basic kit or £149 full kit I can’t fault it
 
Southwestz4 said:
Hi all,
I am wondering if its worth servicing my 3.0 e85 vanos unit as a matter of course , car has done 75k. Local indi said if its running ok and no lights on dash then leave it alone.
I have the full x8r kit ready to go, should the solenoids be changed too ?
I do get a lumpy idle from cold , but not on every startup and it clears after 15 secs or so.
Great forum by the way :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks, another job on the list for autumn along with de-gingering the headlights :D
Is it worth changing the solenoids as well ...would it be best to go oem if so ?
 
Southwestz4 said:
Southwestz4 said:
Hi all,
I am wondering if its worth servicing my 3.0 e85 vanos unit as a matter of course , car has done 75k. Local indi said if its running ok and no lights on dash then leave it alone.
I have the full x8r kit ready to go, should the solenoids be changed too ?
I do get a lumpy idle from cold , but not on every startup and it clears after 15 secs or so.
Great forum by the way :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks, another job on the list for autumn along with de-gingering the headlights :D
Is it worth changing the solenoids as well ...would it be best to go oem if so ?
Click to expand...

If it’s m54 then I usually just check the solenoid seals

Martin enuff-zed did have a failing one but I think that was more that the solenoid was ‘dry’ as it had sat on a shelf for a while
 
I'd say yes.
The ECU uses adaptations to mask the effects of the seals failing. But I reckon anything over 50k and those seals will be letting oil past instead of moving the pistons to turn the cams.
My Autophix 5900 allows me to see the movement of the inlet and exhaust cams as the engine revs. I usually do a check beforehand and usually see little or no movement.
No need to change the solenoids, but if you have a bit of a lumpy idle just whip the solenoids off and make sure that the shuttle valves underneath are free to move. Old oil 'varnish' on the bores can stop them moving freely.
 
The VANOS seals on any M54 engined Z4 (all around 20 years old) will be 100% goosed ! The bearings and washers quite possibly also.
Having replaced all of mine two or three years ago I strongly agree with all that Stu BigWinn says above. :thumbsup:
 
I'm in the camp of 'leave it til it fails' on my '03 150k 3.0i.
I have a momentary stumble at around 4k rpm from 2nd to 4th but seeing as I try and kee0 below 3k r0m max these days it doesnt really bother me too much.
:|
 
Sort of hijacking this thread but do you think the same of a 3.0si n52 engine, as I know they changed the seals at some point.
Should I change the seals or leave alone?
Taking into account my car has done 130k
 
Chris_D said:
I'm in the camp of 'leave it til it fails' on my '03 150k 3.0i.
I have a momentary stumble at around 4k rpm from 2nd to 4th but seeing as I try and kee0 below 3k r0m max these days it doesnt really bother me too much.
:|
Click to expand...
Chris, your VANOS seals WILL have failed. You just don't realise it as you are used to the way your engine drives. The Buna rubber seals spec'd by BMW for the VANOS were never up to the job and after many heat cycles the Buna goes extremely hard, wears and deforms losing most of its sealing properties. The VANOS is then almost, if not 100% ineffective.
The difference with new Viton seals/PTFE rings etc is, as they say; like night and day. The best £150 you can spend on your car :thumbsup:
https://x8r.co.uk/for-bmw-double-twin-dual-vanos-seals-repair-set-kit-m52-m54-m56-with-gaskets.html
 
My 3.0 has less miles, is one year younger and has lead an easy life. When I refurbed the VANOS two years ago, the original seals were completely plasticised and the pistons were loose. Similar to bigwin’s and patriot66’s testimonies, a surprising return of power.
 
Chalk and Cheese in performance before and after, and the seals on mine were well and truly gone at 85,000km (just over 50,000 miles). I changed the thrust bearings at the same time and went from .3mm end float to less than .05mm. You will have to thoroughly follow the procedure as they may be too tight from new (X8R kit). Very much quieter as a result. Get the X8R0166 kit with everything required including new rocker cover gasket, and spark plug gaskets as they will be shot as well.
 
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