My £1,300 2.5 tonne box of unreliabilty
Discussion
rich12 said:
It's a prinns kit and was fitted a couple of years ago if that makes a difference.
I'll be honest, I won't be spending any money of replacing the lpg system unless it's very cheap to do so.
I'd like to get it serviced but not sure on costs to do so.
Servicing is just checking it over - I believe there may be a couple of items which should time expire, but I'm 3 years in and haven't had that 3 year service.I'll be honest, I won't be spending any money of replacing the lpg system unless it's very cheap to do so.
I'd like to get it serviced but not sure on costs to do so.
Last 2 years, I've taken it back to the installer to give it a quick check over with the laptop and tweak the mixture - cost me a couple of packs of Zubr beers.
Prins is decent. But if it's not working, I'd be suspecting an installation issue, and that can take alot of time time to sort out. As in wiring rectififcation.
My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
SebringMan said:
Prins is decent. But if it's not working, I'd be suspecting an installation issue, and that can take alot of time time to sort out. As in wiring rectififcation.
My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
I have no idea if it works or not. My LandiRenzo was the same here. The parts (bar the vaporiser diaphragm rupturing) were ok. The rest however was installed terribly.
I haven't driven it and the little switch thing just has one red light so I'm not even sure if it's turned on (is that a thing?)
If the cam covers have been covered in silicone like that I can almost guarantee that they're leaking and more than likely at the rear corners of the cylinder heads and/or at the little half moon shaped parts of the gasket at the back of the cylinder heads, the oil will run down onto the exhaust from there and make the car smell of burning, especially when going uphill. It's wise to change the little rubber grommets that sit under the securing nuts too as these harden over time and leak (I'll post up the part numbers for these when I finish work*). It's a bit of a fiddly job as the electrical connections on the injectors have to be disconnected so that things can be moved out of the way but a decent mechanic should be able to do it in a couple of hours.
Regarding the vanos, if the engine isn't lacking in low down torque or sounding like an old diesel when it's idling I'd leave well alone, the seals on the BMW straight sixes are relatively easy to change, the V8's are a lot more involved, apparently one of the seals can't be removed without specialist tools. I've had a few V8 e39's now and they've all been a bit rattly at idle once warmed up, it seems to be a case of 'they all do that sir!'
Regarding the vanos, if the engine isn't lacking in low down torque or sounding like an old diesel when it's idling I'd leave well alone, the seals on the BMW straight sixes are relatively easy to change, the V8's are a lot more involved, apparently one of the seals can't be removed without specialist tools. I've had a few V8 e39's now and they've all been a bit rattly at idle once warmed up, it seems to be a case of 'they all do that sir!'
- Just remembered about this! You'll be needing 8 of 11121437395 for the cap nuts and 6 of 11121721879 for the three bolts across the front of each rocker cover plus the gasket sets obviously which are 11120034104 for the drivers side cylinder bank and 11120034105 for the passenger side bank, they're BMW part numbers by the way.
Edited by njw1 on Saturday 28th September 21:14
Managed to take it out just now and it's not too bad actually.
My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
rich12 said:
Managed to take it out just now and it's not too bad actually.
My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
Not a minor exhaust blow?My main focus is this ticking noise.
When driving, it gets louder/faster as the revs go up and as soon as you take your foot of the accelerator, it disappears almost completely.
Does this sound like vanos?
Not sure where it is but with the bonnet open, it sounds like it's coming from the front of the engine where the belts are..
rich12 said:
I think it's leaking onto the exhaust. I haven't really looked at it today but my transport guy gave it a once over before I paid the money and noticed it.
I have a feeling, I'll be asking the garage to do it for me providing the labour cost isn't too bad. I assume 3/4 hours in a garage would be about right?
I recently bought one of these too.I have a feeling, I'll be asking the garage to do it for me providing the labour cost isn't too bad. I assume 3/4 hours in a garage would be about right?
My cam cover gaskets were leaking, so I had them changed.
The bill was £280 for that, but I had all the parts given to me as part of the sale.
Also check the PCV valve and all breather pipes (4 off) and the oil separator. The top PCV hoses over the top of the engine were like putty, not pipe (literally you could pull them like chewing gum) and all blocked with goopy oil. The PCV valve was clogged too.
This means no cam breathing, which increases pressure in there, and is a cause of the cam cover gasket leaks. Those parts cost me about £50 and it was an extra £110 fitting, if done at the same time as the gaskets. Oh, and I also got him to change the spark plugs too.
It is now breathing much better and is happier!
V1nce Fox said:
hmm.
I have an m3 with double vanos and the only symptoms i ever felt from it were a step in power at certain revs (solenoid O rings failing) and a very rough idle (broken PCB wire on one of the solenoids). I've never known it to cause any sort of ticking though.
Nor me.I have an m3 with double vanos and the only symptoms i ever felt from it were a step in power at certain revs (solenoid O rings failing) and a very rough idle (broken PCB wire on one of the solenoids). I've never known it to cause any sort of ticking though.
OP, has the oil been changed? Could be thick old oil (or the wrong type)?
Steviesam said:
Nor me.
OP, has the oil been changed? Could be thick old oil (or the wrong type)?
Apparently it was changed not long ago and when I look on the dipstick, the oil does look fresh. OP, has the oil been changed? Could be thick old oil (or the wrong type)?
I will be doing a full service on it when I actually get a chance.
Another note, I had the suspension up to the mid point and disconnected the battery and it has slowly gone down again at the front so suspect it is indeed the airbags.
As said, I've also not known a vanos system to make a ticking sound, if the sound is coming from where the belts are I'd run the engine (for not very long!!) with them removed to see if the noise disappears.
Edit; Another thought I just had; Is the viscous fan catching on anything? Perhaps you aren't getting the noise on the over-run as the engine mounts are worn and allowing things to move around slightly.
Or perhaps it's something to do with the LPG system...?
Edit; Another thought I just had; Is the viscous fan catching on anything? Perhaps you aren't getting the noise on the over-run as the engine mounts are worn and allowing things to move around slightly.
Or perhaps it's something to do with the LPG system...?
Edited by njw1 on Tuesday 1st October 19:24
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