Beisan Vanos Repair: Shopping list; Hindsight Do's & Dont's; Other Mods To Do, Etc.

As all of us know (and if you dont, do you need help with that rock?) there is no ifs or maybes, the VANOS unit on our cars will fail. If you're made of money and your hands are too pretty and manicured to fix this issue yourself, then dont worry you can go to the dealership, pay roughly ~$1200 for a new unit and then another ~$400 in parts/labor... F that noise.
*And with the kicker of having the same failure prone seals in your new unit.

Like many of you I prefer to get my hands dirty.

Ive read, and read about the procedure, I can say Im confident on preforming this rebuild. But in my reading Ive developed quite the disgust for doing just that..

I know we have the official "Beisan Solution" Thread http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=524336
But my intentions are to collect all information surrounding this operation for easy access for others.

Parts List(also avail on Beisan's procedure right up):
-Beisan DBL Vanos Seals
-Vanos gasket (11-36-1-433-817)
-x2 Vanos oil hose/pipe washer (32-41-1-093-596)
-Valve cover gasket (Pre 09/2002 11-12-9-070-990; 09/2002 later 11-12-0-030-496)
-x15 Valve cover bolt grommets (11-12-1-437-395)
-Oil neck filler gasket (11-12-7-526-447)
-x2 Vanos piston bolts (11-36-1-748-745)
-x4 Engine cover bolt/nut cap (11-12-1-726-089)
-x4 Engine cover pad (11-12-1-730-352)

^yes I included the "optional" parts, but its my theory if someone (who knows what they're talking about) says you might need.. You need it. Its always better to BE PREPARED (Eagle Scout here... )


Now heres where my reading intolerance began, I think other people are doing the CPS(Camshaft Position Sensor) as well. But are there any other repairs/parts replacement that would be good to address while the valve cover is off?

For those who have done the procedure (Beisan posted procedure), anything you would have done differently or wish you would have know prior to starting?


As long as Im allowed to edit I will re-edit my intial post to update with useful info and links.

AND PLEASE keep post useful and progressive to this thread, and on topic! Non of this search crap, this has already been addressed, etc

I bought a bunch of junk recommended by others, I ended up using only the reverse thread torx and Beisan kit with anti-rattle spacers, gaskets etc...

Most important things were the clean up items, to me at least.
Not a hard job by any means when working on a car... just time consuming if you want a clean job.

I posted some pictures of the job I did on the coupe.

HERE...

In all on my coupe it took me 3.5 hours of labor. But I have done a few others before.

Digging the page what about the CPS or other sensors, etc that could be and in preventative sense, should be addressed?

And reverse thread torx?

Originally Posted by jblack03zhp

Digging the page what about the CPS or other sensors, etc that could be and in preventative sense, should be addressed?

If I have no codes for the Camshaft Position Sensor I don't replace it. That can be seen using BMW Logger or P.A. Soft BMW Scanner 1.4.0.

I guess at this point if someone wants to, they can inspect their Thermostat Housing, see if there are any cracks or leaks. If so replace it as it will be easy at this point.

You can clearly see the thermostat housing right there and easy to get to:

Originally Posted by jblack03zhp

And reverse thread torx?

Because the direction the cam assembly spins BMW uses REVERSE thread Torx. If the Vanos was replaced before it is good to replace them as sometimes people go left first and strip out the Torx pattern.

They are found under this:


Here it is being taken out, remember to loosen it you need to go to the right!


Here is that REVERSE thread Torx bolt:

op i didnt waste my time reading your post but the job is very simple and if you are good at wrenching on cars will take under 3 hours .. my friend can do it in under 2 hours no problem.

from what i recommend getting would be a

-new valve cover gasket
-new vanos gasket
-new vanos piston caps because they can crack or break when improperly using the needle nose's
-maybe new reverse thread vanos screws if you slightly stripped yours
-shop towels to clean everything up when you remove the vanos unit and pistons


and last but not least the rattle repair kit i dont think i saw it in your op but why not do it while your in there .. it will start rattling down the line and you will say to yourself s hit why didnt i do it when i had it cracked open.

happened to me and i had to do the job all over yesterday for the rattle repair kit.

no excuses not to do the rattle repair if you have the money and dont waste your money on all those other things in your op just the simple nuts and bolts no cps's need to be replaced those can be done at any other time if they fail with alot more ease.

I wish I knew my torque wrench didn't torque in reverse . I broke the head off the TORX bolt with the threads stuck in the shaft! I was able to back it out with a pick tool. Good thing I had bought 1 extra bolt.

Also, if your doing a good job, torquing and cleaning everything, I have no idea how it can be done in 2 or 3 hours. It was an all day project for me with at least 2 rolls of paper towels.

Make sure to apply RTV sealant to the half moons (FRONT & BACK!!) & vanos seals when reapplying...and buy a new valve cover gasket & grommets!

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

I wish I knew my torque wrench didn't torque in reverse . I broke the head off the TORX bolt with the threads stuck in the shaft! I was able to back it out with a pick tool. Good thing I had bought 1 extra bolt.

Also, if your doing a good job, torquing and cleaning everything, I have no idea how it can be done in 2 or 3 hours. It was an all day project for me with at least 2 rolls of paper towels.

Make sure to apply RTV sealant to the half moons (FRONT & BACK!!) & vanos seals when reapplying...and buy a new valve cover gasket & grommets!

cholea oum on this forum does it in under 2 hours with a good amount of time diking around cleaning up and talking .

Thanks for for your input guys!

Man... 2 hours? Thats pretty solid. Is he a BMW Tech? Or just an avid DIYer?

He's just a diyer that can do everything I throw at him with out looking at DIY 's so you could say 1 of those guys

Originally Posted by Steven747

He's just a diyer that can do everything I throw at him with out looking at DIY 's so you could say 1 of those guys

Ahh, very cool. Thats how I was with Chevys, Jeeps, and sound systems way back in HS. Bought the ZHP first year of college and man, overall design and engineering puts the domestic stuff I was use to, in the stone age. I guess thats why Im over analyzing this procedure. Just dont want to mess anything up.

Sent from my DROIDX using Bimmer App

First time i done the vano's seals it took me less than 4 hours including rattle repair kit, used only the bare minimal. Valve cover gasket, vanos gasket, sealing rings for the vanos oil hose. Never used a torque wrench, never broke or stripped and bolts. Gonna do the 330i soon.