E91 Straight Six Bearding

[Court_S]

Funny one on the 330 this morning; my wife dropped our lad off at school this morning and whilst he was getting out of the car which was idling, it started shaking side to side quite vigorously but no engine management light came on. It drove ok after apparently, but did it again when it was idling just before she turned the car off.

It was absolutely fine this evening. I’ve read the codes tonight and there were two;

2AA8 which relates to the DISA valve; I’ll be annoyed if this has died considering it was new in July.

And

2A99 which relates to exhaust camshaft correction which worries me much more. Some seem to get away with a VANOS solenoid but for others it was timing being out!

Antone have any words of advice?

[JakeT]

Heh. That’s one of those ‘o st’ codes isn’t it?

I’d swap VANOS solenoids around, see if the fault moves. VANOS adjuster screws can fail I think, but you’d have a consistent issue there.

There’s also the dreaded cam bearing wear issue. But that would affect inlet too, so I wouldn’t be concerned about that yet.

Part of me would clear the codes, drive it and see if they come back, and how long it takes.

[zippyonline]

JakeT said:

I think my next car will be an F31 340i too, but as you say, auto which I don't quite want to daily yet, and they're expensive for what they are, too!

Yeah, I agree they're expensive for what they are, been keepin an eye on prices on/off for a few years and they seem to be staying put on price, just getting older and higher miles!

I basically had a few key requirements as whilst they're more common than an N52 330i touring, they're not as common as like a 330d, Fundamentally I wanted the adaptive headlights as that's the only thing I wish I had in my 330 and didn't, and then the rest are nice to have, but couldn't have the poverty spec instrument cluster! Turns out adaptive lights are really rare, so I ended up with them, a panoramic sunroof (which I thought I could take or leave, but I really like it!), reversing cam, factroy retractable towbar, but no extended storage, no seated heats or auto-dipping when you reverse side mirror and the poverty idrive (I pretty much turn the idrive screen off the moment I start driving though and you seem to be able to get reasonable android auto/carplay units for not too much money it seems).

Court_S said:

it started shaking side to side quite vigorously but no engine management light came on. It drove ok after apparently, but did it again when it was idling just before she turned the car off.

That sounds similar to how I felt it when my DISA went, and I had two halves of the butterfly valve sitting on the intake valves of cylinders 5 and 6. I had no engine light, just a shadow code (2AAB), unrelated I think I had an engine light ping on for vanos, but I swapped the actuators and the code followed so changed that out, this was all back in 2017 though so I don't remember it quite as clearly as I used to!

So mine was the larger DISA valve on the outside of the manifold that had failed. I do remember I used a "repair kit" to "fix" the smaller inner one which changed the rod and the butterfly valve to a metal one, but I never managed to get the plastic housing to glue back together so the back of the actuator fell off...and you could really feel how the power delivery was different!

You can physically get to the larger disa and unscrew the fasteners and back it out a bit without removing anything else from the engine, you can then tell if the butterfly is present and not just flapping about.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

Heh. That s one of those o st codes isn t it?

I d swap VANOS solenoids around, see if the fault moves. VANOS adjuster screws can fail I think, but you d have a consistent issue there.

There s also the dreaded cam bearing wear issue. But that would affect inlet too, so I wouldn t be concerned about that yet.

Part of me would clear the codes, drive it and see if they come back, and how long it takes.

It is indeed.

I’ve spoken to my local indy and they can’t see it until 16th Feb and have said don’t drive it….too late because she’s used it this morning. She passed me on my dog walk this morning and I’ve got to say, the idle didn’t sound great. There was a bit of a slapping sound.

I’ll check the codes again tonight to see if anything has come back and I’ll swap the solenoids round, clean them and pull the big DISA too.

[Court_S]

zippyonline said:

That sounds similar to how I felt it when my DISA went, and I had two halves of the butterfly valve sitting on the intake valves of cylinders 5 and 6. I had no engine light, just a shadow code (2AAB), unrelated I think I had an engine light ping on for vanos, but I swapped the actuators and the code followed so changed that out, this was all back in 2017 though so I don't remember it quite as clearly as I used to!

So mine was the larger DISA valve on the outside of the manifold that had failed. I do remember I used a "repair kit" to "fix" the smaller inner one which changed the rod and the butterfly valve to a metal one, but I never managed to get the plastic housing to glue back together so the back of the actuator fell off...and you could really feel how the power delivery was different!

You can physically get to the larger disa and unscrew the fasteners and back it out a bit without removing anything else from the engine, you can then tell if the butterfly is present and not just flapping about.

I’ll be really pissed off if the DISA has failed because they were both replaced last summer!

I’ll pop the big one out this weekend to check that it’s not failed. If it has, I can’t say I’m looking for to pulling the manifold to try and fish bits out. It’s a pain of a job on this car (was dead easy on my Z4 though).

[JakeT]

zippyonline said:

Yeah, I agree they're expensive for what they are, been keepin an eye on prices on/off for a few years and they seem to be staying put on price, just getting older and higher miles!

I basically had a few key requirements as whilst they're more common than an N52 330i touring, they're not as common as like a 330d, Fundamentally I wanted the adaptive headlights as that's the only thing I wish I had in my 330 and didn't, and then the rest are nice to have, but couldn't have the poverty spec instrument cluster! Turns out adaptive lights are really rare, so I ended up with them, a panoramic sunroof (which I thought I could take or leave, but I really like it!), reversing cam, factroy retractable towbar, but no extended storage, no seated heats or auto-dipping when you reverse side mirror and the poverty idrive (I pretty much turn the idrive screen off the moment I start driving though and you seem to be able to get reasonable android auto/carplay units for not too much money it seems).

All makes sense. I won’t entertain a diesel if I can’t help it, for me it’s condition over spec. I’d like adaptive LEDs, HK and electric seats but that’s all. Whatever comes along I’ll take.

Court_S said:

It is indeed.

I ve spoken to my local indy and they can t see it until 16th Feb and have said don t drive it .too late because she s used it this morning. She passed me on my dog walk this morning and I ve got to say, the idle didn t sound great. There was a bit of a slapping sound.

I ll check the codes again tonight to see if anything has come back and I ll swap the solenoids round, clean them and pull the big DISA too.

That’s what I’d do. I don’t have a lot of experience of DISA valves failing bar on a friends 130i when the shaft got stuck in the inlet valve of Cylinder 6 and caused an AWFUL misfire as the valve was constantly open. When mine fell apart I don’t think I could tell the difference.

Do you have a copy of INPA/ISTA? The rough running values might help you out, too.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

That s what I d do. I don t have a lot of experience of DISA valves failing bar on a friends 130i when the shaft got stuck in the inlet valve of Cylinder 6 and caused an AWFUL misfire as the valve was constantly open. When mine fell apart I don t think I could tell the difference.

Do you have a copy of INPA/ISTA? The rough running values might help you out, too.

I don’t unfortunately. I only have a work laptop these days which is locked down. I only have a basic Creator scan tool these days for the BMW.

My wife is a bit concerned because the indy said not to drive, which is easier said than done when there’s a 3 week wait to get it dropped off!

[JakeT]

Court_S said:

I don t unfortunately. I only have a work laptop these days which is locked down. I only have a basic Creator scan tool these days for the BMW.

My wife is a bit concerned because the indy said not to drive, which is easier said than done when there s a 3 week wait to get it dropped off!

If the wallet can stand it, it might be worth getting an old Panasonic toughbook on eBay, and installing ISTA on it. Then you can have a diagnosis tablet like an AA man, and be able to do all of the handy testing and get repair instructions on it.

[zippyonline]

Court_S said:

I ll be really pissed off if the DISA has failed because they were both replaced last summer!

Hmm, does sound unlikely, BMW did update the parts, I fitted my replacement when the car as on 186k miles and it's on over 250k now...and so far seems ok.

One to check along with the vanos is the associated check valves / filters that go with them. (just noticed the PH photo upload, so have a photo!)

JakeT said:

All makes sense. I won t entertain a diesel if I can t help it, for me it s condition over spec. I d like adaptive LEDs, HK and electric seats but that s all. Whatever comes along I ll take.

Oh yeah, HK is non negotiable, but in 340i land most of them had it unless it was a really poverty specced one!

JakeT said:

I don t have a lot of experience of DISA valves failing bar on a friends 130i when the shaft got stuck in the inlet valve of Cylinder 6 and caused an AWFUL misfire as the valve was constantly open. When mine fell apart I don t think I could tell the difference.

You should have done when you booted it, the power delivery is different. Admittedly it's quite obvious when the small one goes as it feels more like vtec kicking in rather than delivering the power in one smooth build up!

JakeT said:

Court_S said:

I don t unfortunately. I only have a work laptop these days which is locked down. I only have a basic Creator scan tool these days for the BMW.

My wife is a bit concerned because the indy said not to drive, which is easier said than done when there s a 3 week wait to get it dropped off!

If the wallet can stand it, it might be worth getting an old Panasonic toughbook on eBay, and installing ISTA on it. Then you can have a diagnosis tablet like an AA man, and be able to do all of the handy testing and get repair instructions on it.

If I didn't have a laptop with ista on it, then I'd be consdering using the bimmerlink app (in fact I may get it anyway so I have diagnostics on the go without needing a laptop - things may have moved on again, but this one seems to reasonable...), you should be able to use it with a usb cable, not a horrendously overpriced wifi one!

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

If the wallet can stand it, it might be worth getting an old Panasonic toughbook on eBay, and installing ISTA on it. Then you can have a diagnosis tablet like an AA man, and be able to do all of the handy testing and get repair instructions on it.

Might look into that - my wife is pretty cross with the car right now so I need to see what she wants to do. It's not had a good track record really with the flooded ECU, the starter motor and now this. I think being told not to drive it until the garage has seen it has made her very wary.

[Court_S]

zippyonline said:

Court_S said:

I ll be really pissed off if the DISA has failed because they were both replaced last summer!

Hmm, does sound unlikely, BMW did update the parts, I fitted my replacement when the car as on 186k miles and it's on over 250k now...and so far seems ok.

One to check along with the vanos is the associated check valves / filters that go with them. (just noticed the PH photo upload, so have a photo!)

JakeT said:

All makes sense. I won t entertain a diesel if I can t help it, for me it s condition over spec. I d like adaptive LEDs, HK and electric seats but that s all. Whatever comes along I ll take.

Oh yeah, HK is non negotiable, but in 340i land most of them had it unless it was a really poverty specced one!

JakeT said:

I don t have a lot of experience of DISA valves failing bar on a friends 130i when the shaft got stuck in the inlet valve of Cylinder 6 and caused an AWFUL misfire as the valve was constantly open. When mine fell apart I don t think I could tell the difference.

You should have done when you booted it, the power delivery is different. Admittedly it's quite obvious when the small one goes as it feels more like vtec kicking in rather than delivering the power in one smooth build up!

JakeT said:

Court_S said:

I don t unfortunately. I only have a work laptop these days which is locked down. I only have a basic Creator scan tool these days for the BMW.

My wife is a bit concerned because the indy said not to drive, which is easier said than done when there s a 3 week wait to get it dropped off!

If the wallet can stand it, it might be worth getting an old Panasonic toughbook on eBay, and installing ISTA on it. Then you can have a diagnosis tablet like an AA man, and be able to do all of the handy testing and get repair instructions on it.

If I didn't have a laptop with ista on it, then I'd be consdering using the bimmerlink app (in fact I may get it anyway so I have diagnostics on the go without needing a laptop - things may have moved on again, but this one seems to reasonable...), you should be able to use it with a usb cable, not a horrendously overpriced wifi one!

I have a pair of new check valves that I bought for my 335i and never got round to fitting, so I'll pop them in and see if it makes any difference. I'll pop the big DISA out to check that hasn't failed prematurely although I'd expect to see more of an issue with that.

[Court_S]

Had a look today, and there is definitely a DISA issue….after six months and seven thousand miles, the Febi DISA I fitted in July is fked. It’s floppier than a floppy thing in a stiff breeze.





https://youtu.be/lDwcb8LazkU?si=y5ZCMVDODSULrQML

Annoyingly, I can’t remember where I bought it from for find the receipt to see if they’ll honour the 36 month / 36,000 mile warranty.

[JakeT]

Mental! What brand is it? I bought a genuine one for mine, as I needed it next day. That was in 2020 and it was still bloody expensive.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

Mental! What brand is it? I bought a genuine one for mine, as I needed it next day. That was in 2020 and it was still bloody expensive.

Febi.

The BMW ones are bloody expensive.

[JakeT]

Court_S said:

Febi.

The BMW ones are bloody expensive.

I suppose at 5 years (and counting) lifespan vs 6 months it might be a more prudent choice.

[Court_S]

JakeT said:

I suppose at 5 years (and counting) lifespan vs 6 months it might be a more prudent choice.

I’m really annoyed that I can’t find the receipt for it to test how good the warranty is on the Febi stuff. It’ll also depend on what she wants to do with the car long term.

[Mr Tidy]

That's very disappointing. If you ordered it online can you find a digital record?

I can understand Mrs Courts' frustration, but a defective part isn't the car's fault and there aren't any obvious alternative choices!

[Court_S]

Mr Tidy said:

That's very disappointing. If you ordered it online can you find a digital record?

I can understand Mrs Courts' frustration, but a defective part isn't the car's fault and there aren't any obvious alternative choices!

I need to climb down off my soapbox…..I didn’t swap the DISA valves on this car. It was on the Z4, which explains why I can’t find the receipt….it’ll be with the new owner. Whoops.

It lasted four years, not six months. Still not great, but hey ho.

[preacherman]

Court_S said:

I need to climb down off my soapbox ..I didn t swap the DISA valves on this car. It was on the Z4, which explains why I can t find the receipt .it ll be with the new owner. Whoops.

It lasted four years, not six months. Still not great, but hey ho.

Was it also a Febi part? Interested as I replaced both of mine with Febi bits last summer. 4 years I might be able to stomach but 6 months had me worried!

[Court_S]

preacherman said:

Was it also a Febi part? Interested as I replaced both of mine with Febi bits last summer. 4 years I might be able to stomach but 6 months had me worried!

Yeah, Febi in the 330i (4 years old) and in my Z4.