E39 vanos repair cost

[MikeyMike]

My 2002 530i is displaying symptoms suggesting vanos failure. (Lack of power below 3000rpm, drop in fuel economy etc) I made an enquiry with a well known Bristol based BMW specialist and was quoted £600+ to have the seals replaced or £800+ for a full vanos repair.

This seems pretty steep to me, what have others paid for vanos related work?

I may end up trying to do it myself, but having never undertaken a task quite that complex I am reluctant. £600+ is a significant outlay.

[d_a_n1979]

Sounds not far off

Contact here: http://www.mrvanos.com/

They’re well known and used across many BMW users and forums

Unless you’ve the tools and skills/patience, it’s not something I’d want to take on personally

[SPORTSTER]

They are pulling your pants down mate, parts are not expensive as its just the seals which are £50
I assume you have the M54B30? You will just need to replace the seals as they go brittle and crack and which takes no more than 2 hours, it not a hard job atall tbh, it no where as involved as say the S50/S54/S62 M models
This is all you need to do for the vanos on these unless your vanos solenoid is playing up?

Edited by SPORTSTER on Tuesday 30th October 09:27

[MikeyMike]

Thanks for the responses. I did think I might try cleaning up the solenoid, I’m aware of other owners who’ve solved similar issues that way.

Are there any special tools required for replacing the seals?

[Jakg]

Exact guide is here depending on model - http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/

I did it on my Z4 with the same engine, which has much less space which makes it much trickier - and even then £600 would be a joke.

[lythaby]

Got my kit from here;
https://x8r.co.uk/products/bmw/bmw-vanos-repair-ki...

Same instructions as above, and it really is straight forward if you take your time.

I'd also suggest checking the DISA valve.

Mine had both, as both were faulty.

[nav p]

check camshaft position sensor first

[MikeyMike]

I've just reserved an OBD II scanner so I'll pick that up later and see if there are any error codes.

[MikeyMike]

Just by way of an update; I checked for error codes and got P0369 camshaft sensor. A bit of research indicates it the sensor on the exhaust side, and anything other than OEM can be a false economy. I’ve ordered a replacement from BMW so fingers crossed it’ll do the job.

[dmarkovina]

I replaced my camshaft sensor with Febi and all is well and good. They repackage original Siemens unit (with the BMW stamp duly filed off). Tried Delphi first but no joy - they're OK for ABS sensors though.

[MikeyMike]

Installed the new cam sensor today and a quick test drive seemed to confirm that issue is now resolved. The car feels a lot more lively, will have to see how it responds in terms of fuel economy during my usual daily commute.