e36 m3 evo vanos solenoid o rings

[fridgemiester]

Guys I am going to change the solenoid o rings. Do I need the special tool BMW recommend for refitting? or can original position be marked before removal and used as a guide? The tool only appears to use the circuit board to realign.


MANY THANKS

[pat_y]

Don't worry about the special tool, use a marker pen, the circuit boards will only fit in one position, so you cannot be too far out anyway.
Be careful when handling the soleniods, use plastic covered jaws on grips/pliers if you can and try not to pull the wires too hard, stuff a rag below the vanos unit and radiatior/fan as you will have some oil weepage as you remove them, also check the solder connections carefully, many people have knocked off the connection to the PCB or found a broken solder joint causing vanos performance issues.
When you push them back in you will feel a positive 'thunk' as they locate, make sure you push them in as square to their hole as you can, scoring or taking chunks out of the locating positions won't help the operation of the unit.
Finally when you start up again it will sound like all hell is breaking loose for a couple of seconds while the system re-fills with oil, don't panic it's normal.

[fridgemiester]

Thanks for the information my main worry is the electrical connections, they look fragile to say the least.

[pat_y]

they can be, but if you do break one it's just a simple re-solder job. if you have a rag stuffed below the vanos body and rad/fan assy you can rest the soleniods on it while you change the seals. It's not terribly hard to be honest, just be a bit careful with them. Good luck.

[fridgemiester]

Cheers mate. Just waiting for some decent weather then will have a go. thanks for the advice. Will let you know the outcome.

[Pig Skill]

This guide is just what you need

http://zroadster.org/wiki/bmw-z3/maintenance-repai...