How to diagnose Vanos issue

[Deep]

Hi I have a 5 year old current shape M5. A few weeks ago I noticed the engine note had changed, it was a little rougher. There is also a bit of extra vibration that can also be felt through the steering wheel.

This is most pronounced at low rpm ie below 2k rpm and seems to disappear above 3k rpm. No CEL.

I took it to the maindealer who says some errors have been logged relating to the Vanos, but these are old and are showing no errors at the moment. (I have a copy of the printout and can elaborate if anybody can understand it)

So they advice changing all the Vanos pipes and solenoids at a bargain price of £2300!! Of course they don't guarantee this will actually fix the problem of course.

Before I pay anybody I'd like to satisfy myself that they have got the diagnoses correct. Can anybody tell me what else I can do to try and find out if it really is a Vanos issue?

Thanks

[Great Pretender]

Whatever you do, stay away from the main dealer.

There are plenty of specialists out there who will be better able to diagnose your fault and at greatly reduced expense.

Where are you based?

[falkster]

Where are you in the country??

[Deep]

Hi guys

I'm in Essex but just on the border of East London. I'm a bit worried now. I've just had a bit of a closer look at the quote, it doesn't include the Vanos pump. I get the feeling the stealer is going to fleece me in stages, ie tell me the pump needs replacing after the pipes and solenoids have been changed.

Any help would be appreciated, otherwise I'm going to get raped!

[falkster]

Deep said:

Hi guys

I'm in Essex but just on the border of East London. I'm a bit worried now. I've just had a bit of a closer look at the quote, it doesn't include the Vanos pump. I get the feeling the stealer is going to fleece me in stages, ie tell me the pump needs replacing after the pipes and solenoids have been changed.

Any help would be appreciated, otherwise I'm going to get raped!

www.bmsport.com

Bexleys have a good reputation....ask for a guy called Jags, he knows his stuff.

[Great Pretender]

Either Bexleys or CPC Engineering.

[mikey-r]

You could give PMW a call in Chelmsford. I use them for both my BMWs.

Have you tried M5board.com? I'm no expert but I'm sure I've read similar symptoms being attributed to ?CPS? sensors - especially the sounding rougher/deeper engine note bit? With regard to Vanos - most experts suggest that changing the solanoids @ £400 each side normally fixes any issue.

Spend a few hours trawling through M5board.com, pretty much anything that can go wrong with these cars will be detailed there somewhere and normally with a suggested fix.

Edited by mikey-r on Saturday 27th February 09:29

[Deep]

Thanks guys.

CPC engineering and bmsport look good but are quite ffar away.

PMW are the closest, are they ok with M sport cars.

I will try the M5 board as well.

Thanks again for your help

[falkster]

They may not be the nearest but they are the best in the south east. You could always go to your local dealer and get ready for a shock!
I take my cars to garages that are 40-60 miles away - it's worth it for the quality of work and the value.

[belleair302]

Darjak Racing are near Colchester. Speak with Darren Farrell who may be useful.

[Egbert Nobacon]

Deep said:

Thanks guys

PMW are the closest, are they ok with M sport cars.

Thanks again for your help

Yes - lots of M5/M3's looked after by Peter (including my E46 when I had it)

He also ran his own E39 M5 and is fully aware of the issues/resolutions and servicing requirements

01245 496739

[Deep]

Thanks guys. PMW is the first point of call then, if I'm not happy then I'll trek across to Bexley.

Hopefully I'll get more sense out of them than the stealer. The service manager I dealt with there never even new that my model year of BMW was meant to have the Vanos pipes changed as a recall (which I asked her to check)