Place intake camshaft lock block (bolt hole on block left) on intake camshaft rear square and engine head. wired for LONG coils!!!! Some car models are more susceptible to achieving this resonance and rattle than others. Softer nylon vise jaw liners have been tested and found to hold the piston effectively without the risk of damaging it. The following information is provided for reference purposes only and should be used at your own risk. Inspect piston bearing axial play. Adjust camshaft to allow flush seating of camshaft lock block on engine head (24mm combo wrench). Fully tighten, 10Nm (7 ft-lb) (10mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” torque wrench & extension). Fully tighten, 8 Nm (6 Ft-lb) (13mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” torque wrench & extension). Hold down cover and press and rotate piston into cover. Replace valve cover gaskets. Inspect TDC (top dead center) timing marks on engine timing cover and crankshaft harmonic balancer at ~11 o’clock position (mirror). M50TU: Coils mount with nuts. Removal and installation of the VANOS unit on these engines requires the use of special BMW camshaft timing tools and techniques. E36 6-Cylinder E34 525i E39 528i (up to 9/98) E39 520i/523i (Euro) Z3M 3.2 S52 (US/ Euro) Z3 2.8 M52 (US/ Euro) E34 520/525i/ix E38 728i Euro Stage I installation PDF Stage II installation PDF Also cylinder wall will not be as polished at ends of cylinder. Note: If plug difficult to insert, insert narrow driver into plug eyelet and press in plug (torx bit driver). £6.99 postage. Remove cut Teflon seal from piston grove. Insert vanos onto engine head studs. Resolution of bogging then surging at 3k RPM. On first engine start after repair engine will experience a couple engine hiccups at idle. M50TU and M52 engine specifics will be labeled “M50TU:” and “M52:”. Remove valve cover sparkplug well gaskets. Remove oil fill neck gasket and install new gasket. Mount ground strap with coil 6. M50TU: Maintain coil harness cables in brackets mounted with coils 3,4,5. Figure 16. Insert clip at an angle and gently press down on other end (picture). Check and replenish engine oil. The higher lift cams compress the valve springs further and thus cause higher spring forces. E36: No room for socket extension. Hold in tool at bolt/cap (hand). Bolt/cap head is short and tool can dislodge. Insert new bearing outer ring in piston (fingers). Once piston bearing fit is assessed and adjustment is performed if needed, spray oil into piston bearing (oil spray). Remove the bolts, disconnect the electrical connector from the ignition coiling wiring harness, and remove the ignition coils. The BMW M50 is a straight-6 DOHC petrol engine which was produced from 1990 to 1996. Single Vanos Seals Procedure, If the car is a pre March 95 build E36 320i/325i/Euro 328i or E34 520i/525i, then the intake sprocket diaphragm spring retrofit repair should also be performed. Note: Ring should fully mate with bottom washer (picture). The piston has fins that allow for counter holding the piston to open the bolt/cap. Note: Piston bearing top and bottom washers are interchangeable. The other ring dimensions are also manufactured to tight tolerances. Remove 4 valve cover mounting bolts/studs w/ washers & grommets at center of valve cover (10mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” ratchet & extension, flathead). Pry off electrical cable from back of cable bracket and remove bracket. The helical gears themselves have axial play that’s engaged and rattles and the vanos piston bearing has axial play that’s engaged and rattles. Fully tighten, 8 Nm (6 ft-lb); left hand thread (T30 torx bit socket 1/4” / 3/8” torque wrench & 3/8” to 1/4″ socket adapter). Note: Attempt to stretch Teflon seal evenly and take care to not scuff/damage. A standard socket has chamfers (bevels) at the socket opening that widen the opening to facilitate guiding the socket onto a bolt/nut head. Compatible with Vanos and non vanos engine. Valve cover gasket set: M50TU, US S50 engines 93-95 (silver metal cover) (11-12-0-034-107) $32.89/each, M52, S52 engines 96-99 (black plastic cover) (11-12-0-034-108) $35.70/each Remove any dropped bolt with magnet pickup and not by hand. Insert bearing bottom thrust (roller) bearing in piston bearing ring. Installation: Shorter manifold is at rear. Clean vanos matting surfaces; head, valve cover, oil feed (brake cleaner & towels). Maintain cover perimeter gasket with cover. Hold piston and tilt (rock) splined shaft to each side to note bearing axial play (free space). M50 engine (’93-’00) M52 engine (’93-’00) S52 engine (’93-’00) M62 V8 engine (’93-’03) Single Vanos Engine Fault Codes. Press in on helical gear shaft to fully separate piston from cylinder cover. Engine hesitations in the lower RPM range, < 3k. Fully insert vanos splined shaft in vanos. Contact us with any questions. Loosen vise jaws and remove piston apparatus. Remove engine top covers. 13mm socket 3/8”, 10mm deep socket 3/8”, 10mm socket 3/8”, E-10 torx socket 3/8” Note: Be sure to not miss the left rear corner bolt. P1519 (BMW 212 0xD4) This engine fault code means that the Vanos system is getting stuck and jamming up. Place liner with vertical V notch and slanted V notch on vise outer jaw (picture right). All its surfaces are ground. Note: All models can and have experienced the vanos rattle. Place VAG coils (not included) and connect to harness. ~100 miles (160 kilometers) of city driving is needed to break-in new seals to achieve smoother RPM transition. M50TU: Install coil harness cables in valve cover left side cable bracket. Due to the splined shaft axial play, as the cam compresses the valve spring the camshaft will slightly retard in relative rotation to the crankshaft and as the cam decompresses the valve spring the camshaft will slightly advance in relative rotation to the crankshaft. £99.00. N/A. Mount cover 5 bolts (10mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” ratchet). M50TU: Install all 6 nuts. Verify 6 vanos mounting nuts fully tightened, 8 Nm (6 ft-lb) (10mm standard & deep socket 3/8” / 3/8” torque wrench). Clean engine head matting surfaces; vanos, vanos studs, valve cover gaskets (brake cleaner & towels). Note: M3 cars and cars with aftermarket performance cams (Schrick) must have no bearing axial play and bearing should have resistance to rotation (pre-load) to achieve optimal results. If ring is stuck, place pick tip between ring inner bottom and bottom washer and pry ring to break ring/washer seize (90 degree pick). When fully installed, cover will have no vertical movement and slight axial (fore/aft) play. Push vanos in while turning sprocket. A socket machined to remove the opening chamfers is provided as an associate tool for the repair. Mount cover 2 nuts (10mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” ratchet). As the camshaft rotates the cam nose rolls onto the valve seat and compresses the valve spring to open the valve and rolls off the valve seat and decompresses the valve spring to close the valve. Slightly open bleed screw at expansion and allow air to escape (Philips). Perform work over table, so if part is dropped it will fall to table top. Insert plug into crankshaft lock hole. DIY Vanos Solenoid Replacement Here is our do-it-yourself guide on how to replace your BMW N54 vanos solenoids when they fail (not if). Rotate exhaust sprocket clockwise as far as possible. Car engine must be cold to perform repair procedure. Locate crankshaft lock hole plug at engine right rear (front orientation). If vanos piston bolt/cap is 17mm, replace all references in procedure for 18mm to 17mm. Measurement will provide reference for crankshaft lock pin insertion in next step. Bearing loosening adjustment. Note: Above cover orientation will cause cover right side bolt hole rise and cover left side bolt hole rise to be counter held by vise jaw liner and prevent cover from rotating when loosening piston bolt/cap. The vanos rattle is caused by wear in the variable valve timing helical (slanted) gears. The piston O-ring lies under and provides support to a piston Teflon seal ring. Mount second washer on bolt. For a quick recap, the vanos system is responsible for opening and closing the intake and exhaust valves. Remove valve cover from engine head. Over time and use the helical gears on the camshaft, sprocket, and splined shaft develop wear along the gear spline side contact surfaces. Note: When cleaning parts, spray cleaning compound on towel then wipe component with towel. Note: Rocking of blade while pressing helps create cutting motion. The collar of the intake sprocket faces and points to the camshaft. The following is a single vanos piston bearing rattle repair procedure. Insert splined shaft vertically in vise and tighten vise jaws onto splined shaft. If valve cover is stuck, pull up on free front end of cover to break gasket bond on remainder of valve cover. Dual-VANOS systems can experience common failures and symptoms. Disconnect coil harness rail from valve cover clips. This should not be confused with axial play, in/out movement. Single Vanos Diaphragm Spring Procedure. Rotate cylinder cover to achieve proper mounting holes orientation. Fully tighten, 20 Nm (15 ft-lb) (E-10 torx socket 3/8” / 3/8” torque wrench & extension). Remove piston from cover and splined shaft. Report. Pull up on gasket to release. Z3 all models. Rotate exhaust sprocket counter clockwise while pushing in on vanos to insert helical spline shaft into intake sprocket. Pry up retaining clip and pull off connector (flathead). Install engine lift bracket at vanos intake solenoid. Insert Teflon seal in piston groove at one end, and stretch other end over piston and drop into groove (hands/fingers). Bearing parts installation sequence from right to left. Engines with higher lift (performance) cams are more susceptible to having a vanos rattle, and the rattle is likely to be worse. Soft vise jaw liners are provided as an associate tool for the repair. Allow piston to sit in cylinder for 2 minutes then remove. This vanos unit is part of BMW 6-cylinder engines M50TU, M52, US S50, S52. Insert piston apparatus in vise vertically with piston at vise outer jaw. This is a plug and play standalone ecu (doesn't require wiring) for any bmw engine M50 M43 M42 M20 M60. Remove engine lift bracket at vanos intake solenoid. The bearing ring is a difficult and expensive component to manufacture. Caution: Do not over tighten bolt. Removing the vanos piston bearing axial play significantly reduces the rattle to the point where it’s barely heard or not heard at all in the passenger compartment. The following information is provided for reference purposes only and should be used at your own risk. Install 2 vanos exhaust sprocket access bolts (19mm socket 1/2” / 1/2” ratchet). Comparison of new seal piston resistance to movement in cylinder to old seal piston movement in cylinder verifies old seal failure. Note: This step is critical for proper installation of vanos. They are found in the 3-series E36 93-97, 5-series E34 93-95 / E39 96-98, 7-series E38 95-98, Z3 Roadster 2.8 E36 96-98, EU Z3 Coupe 2.8 E36 96-98, US M3 E36 94-99, US Z3 M E36 98-99. Thus essentially all the cars with this vanos have a deteriorated seal O-ring and a failing vanos. What BMW’s Use the Single Vanos System? Place sandpaper (~400 grade) on flat table top. This minimizes risk of dropping piston and damaging its surfaces. Press down on chain tensioner and remove lock pin. Any level of resistance (pre-load) in splined shaft rotation indicates no axial play and is considered an optimal fit. ~400 grade sandpaper (not shown). Mount all engine connectors, alternator and starter, do not forget Engine GND. Refer to single vanos repair procedure, Single Vanos Procedure In September of 1992, the engine received a technical updated (dubbed TU on the engine code) which added a … But manufacturing a special tool for this purpose and providing it for a one time use is cost prohibitive. A tilted view to ~11 o’clock position provides correct alignment view. Pull up and remove valve cover. Set aside bearing ring as it will not be reinstalled. Note: Ring is made from hardened steel and does not easily wear. Hold piton and loosen vise jaws. Flip washer to opposite side and repeat above sanding procedure; 10 seconds sanding, rotate 90 degrees, 10 seconds sanding. M50TU: Install ground wire with top bolt. Single Vanos Failure Symptoms. Vanos-BMW.com provides a vanos rattle repair kit which has a replacement component for the vanos piston bearing to remove the bearing axial play. After both piston seal rings are removed, piston groove will be metal. The vanos piston bearing axial play was decreased and this resulted in a proportional decrease in rattling. Remove 11 valve cover mounting bolts w/ washers & grommets at perimeter of valve cover (10mm socket 3/8” / 3/8” ratchet & extension, flathead). M50TU: Install coils. Move valve cover vent hose and vanos oil hose to right side of oil filter canister to facilitate space for access. Press cable into bracket rear cable slot. Smooth even distribution of power and RPM transition. The vanos piston bearing axial play was increased and this resulted in a proportional increase in the rattling. This will rotate intake sprocket clockwise as far as possible. Lightly tighten. 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