VANOS issue E36 M3

[carreauchompeur]

Folks, I have a 1999 E36 M3 Evo cab. Went into Redish Motorsport this week because it's well down on power, particularly at low end of rev range.

Scanned for codes, the only one which is coming up is

"67 Output VANOS- Early valve"

Any ideas? If anything I do not think that VANOS is coming in at the lower rev limit. Car otherwise very healthy, although VANOS unit has a pronounced growl when warmed up.

[TheEnd]

That's the vanos advance valve, Intake.

It's possibly a solenoid issue and there's a good chance you can fix it (or James can) with a soldering iron.

[carreauchompeur]

TheEnd said:

That's the vanos advance valve, Intake.

It's possibly a solenoid issue and there's a good chance you can fix it (or James can) with a soldering iron.

Interesting, how much taking apart is required to get to the wiring? I've spoken to Mr. VANOS who basically have offered a completely reconditioned, uprated VANOS unit, fitted and including valve clearances, new spark plugs and a year's warranty for £900.

I'm almost inclined to take the hit and get it done and finished, but if there's a very easy solenoid fix then I could be swayed.

[TheEnd]

http://mukerji.co.uk/category/vanos/

That shows the exhaust solenoids, the inlet is nextdoor.
You can recon them with new viton o-rings too
http://www.polymax.co.uk/acatalog/O-Rings_ORings_O...

[carreauchompeur]

Annoyingly the seals only seem to come in a "kit"... So is it a lot of hassle to remove the solenoid cover and try to fix the wiring? The "real" cost of the VANOS replacement is probably about 700 because it'll knock quite a bit of work off the Insp. 2...

[TheEnd]

carreauchompeur said:

Annoyingly the seals only seem to come in a "kit"... So is it a lot of hassle to remove the solenoid cover and try to fix the wiring? The "real" cost of the VANOS replacement is probably about 700 because it'll knock quite a bit of work off the Insp. 2...

It should be a case of undoing 5 bolts (i think it is 5) and checking the solenoid wires as they can break off.

If it isn't that, then the solenoid has bust inside.
A set of vanos bolts should be less than a tenner.

[carreauchompeur]

TheEnd said:

It should be a case of undoing 5 bolts (i think it is 5) and checking the solenoid wires as they can break off.

If it isn't that, then the solenoid has bust inside.
A set of vanos bolts should be less than a tenner.

Right, OK. That might be worth doing then... Thanks for the info. Just wary of doing too much tinkering and then doing it anyway!

[TheEnd]

It's worth a shot.
Growling vanos is fairly common, but it still works even when noisy.

Jim might be able to do a vanos function test too which will tell you if it is working as planned.

[carreauchompeur]

TheEnd said:

Jim might be able to do a vanos function test too which will tell you if it is working as planned.

It's not, unfortunately. Well down on power. Definitely only the one error code though.

Is getting to the solenoid a "dry" job? If it's quick and doesn't involve seal replacement it's worth checking the wiring I reckon. Not worth replacing the solenoid if it's bad though, looking at probably 300 when I may as well just have the whole unit done.

[TheEnd]

That chamber will be full of oil.
Although there is an obvious problem now, if it is a broken wire, and when resoldered, you'd then be able to carry out a vanos function check which will let you know if the range of movement and speed of adjustment is within BMW spec

[carreauchompeur]

Thanks, might be worth a go then, for the sake of a couple of bolts.

[Sub5s]

You will get the same error code if the seals on the solenoids have failed,
as the Vanos can't maintain the oil pressure to adjust the camshafts.
It's well worth to change the whole lot of seals.
If one side failed it's just a matter of time until the other side will fail as
well. They'll all be hard, brittle and squashed by now.
The set also contains the piston cover seals, which can cause massive oil
loss if they go.
It's about an hours' job to change them.

The best way is to remove the fan and shroud as you'll have more space to work on the Vanos.

You'll need a 32mm Spanner, a hammer (to loosen the fan - careful, it's a left-hand thread), Allen keys, a flat head screwdriver and pliers.

If you need any help with this, feel free to give me a shout.

[carreauchompeur]

^^^

Thanks for that, sadly I am less than mechanically competent so my tame mechanic will be taking care of matters. The seals on the VANOS were actually changed in 2010 so should be alright.

It's a real dilemma, whilst potentially replacing the solenoid wire would fix the VANOS now it would still be growly when hot. Since I'm doing an Insp.2 anyway the "real" cost of the VANOS replacement is about 600-650. Worth doing?