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So I have a bad vanos

5K views 25 replies 8 participants last post by  Stinger9 
#1 · (Edited)
So the rebuilt motor I bought and installed a week or so ago obviously wasn't rebuilt right. After a week of driving, and having a gut feeling about it, I rediagnosed it at my work. and of course, a long laundry list of faults got pulled up. The obvious ones I knew of before hand were from my headers, I have yet to intall the O2 sim, but on top of that, I got about 6 vanos related faults from both intake and exhaust.

The diagnostic machine was pretty cool, it showed the postioning of both vanos solenoids in real time, and I found that the exhaust side is faulty and not moving at all.

This whole engine replacement has been probably the biggest F up and headache I've ever dealt with and am getting tired of having one thing after another get in my way of getting my car running legit again. Anyways, I happen to have my old vanos, which I had a feeling would come in handy, so my next plan is to try to swap them out.

I have read the beisan vanos seal replacement diy, and am just wondering how many of you have done it. Are there any snags involved with removing/installing a vanos? I know they are very delicate and the last thing I wanna do is destroy another motor. I plan on most likely replacing the seals in my original vanos then just swapping the whole unit over. Any input from experience would be much appreciated guys thanks again!
 
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#3 ·
Yea the motor was a nightmare, luckily I had help with it. Wiring was the biggest headache ever. I'm sure I can tackle the vanos, especially after assembling a shortblock, but i just want to know what to expect with this new project. Did you feel anything noticeable from replacing your vanos seals? Did you have to re-time your engine after removing and installing your vanos?

And has anyone experienced similar loss in power as I am from their vanos? Pick up is very slow and, I can stomp the accelerator to the ground and the car will creep until it hits 3k or so.
 
#7 ·
Are you sure the engine does not need timing by swapping a bad vanos unit with my original unit in good working order? I have techs at work saying otherwise, which is freaking me out a little lol. I'm pretty set on replacing the vanos seals asap on my original since it is already out and couldn't be easier to do lolol. Swapping the units is another story :/
 
#16 ·
It took all day for me because I was being careful, but wasn't hard to actually do. I didn't notice much of a difference in performance, but at least my car doesn't almost stall out on cold mornings anymore. Make sure you have the tools the DIY says you need. You really need them.
Did mine yesterday, and had to go out and get a pair of short (4") flat-nose pliers. The radiator gets in the way of anything longer for pulling out the exhaust side VANOS seal.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I did this last year, and it was a piece of cake. I had only owned the car for about a month and had never done any work on it, but it still only took 6 or so hours. I'm sure if you already know your way around the engine it could take much less. The scariest part of the whole thing was taking out the reverse-threaded vanos bolts. I ran "righty-tighty lefty-loosie, now the opposite" through my head about a million times before I put pressure on them, but they came right out. If you follow the instructions you won't have to touch the timing at all.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I did this last year, and it was a piece of cake. I had only owned the car for about a month and had never done any work on it, but it still only took 6 or so hours. I'm sure if you already know your way around the engine it could take much less. The scariest part of the whole thing was taking out the reverse-threaded vanos bolts. I ran "righty-tighty lefty-loosie, now the oposite" through my head about a million times before I put pressure on them, but they came right out. If you follow the instructions you won't have to touch the timing at all.
Yea I read thru the beisan diy a few times and removed my original vanos off my old motor, so I'm sure swapping the two units won't be too difficult. If all you guys have done it without re-timing then you all must be right. I just wanted to double check before I go thru with it. Thanks for the pics too.

Am I going to need a new VCG when I do this? I just put a brand new gasket in with that new motor or do you guys think I'll be safe?
 
#11 ·
No touching timing necessary or locking the engine when doing the job.

I read the instructions multiple times until it became reflex in my mind.

Saved a copy for my laptop to use when doing the job.

Did rattle fix at the same time. Why not when everything is wide open and all you need extra is an impact wrench and 4" bench vise with liners.
 
#15 ·
Thanks guys, sorry for the delayed reply, but I will take all your advice to heart. I will be ordering the vanos seals in the next few weeks when I get some extra cash and will prob do the vanos swap in the next couple months. Hopefully the job will go quick just having to swap the 2 units out, that should shave some time off of it
 
#21 ·
Oh, one more potential gotcha, while it's fresh on my mind: Some torque wrenches are only calibrated for right-hand torque. Check that yours is good for left-hand torque before you use it on the left-hand-threaded bolts.

Best of luck!
 
#22 ·
The danger of snapping the head off of these is so good, and with nasty consequences, that I'd not use a torque wrench. I used a 1/4" drive and just snugged the bolts tight to the left by feel. No need for the ultimate tightness as the normal rotation of the cams is in the direction to keep these tightening.
 
#24 ·
I can't disagree with anything that you say here IF someone has an accurate torque wrench for the extremely low range that is required. But I'm giving my advice to those in general who will use a torque wrench that could get them in trouble with inaccurate torque applied. Heck someone just mentioned that they didn't even have miniature needlenose pliers to pull out the oil seals!
I snugged mine up by hand gently 10,000 miles ago and I'll bet it never gives me a problem. Yes, it does require a bit of experience wrenching around cars.

And if my falling out of the sky was dependent upon the precision of 6 ft-lbs, I'd be out buying that $300 low range electronic torque wrench! All of life cannot be as precise as is needed there.
 
#25 ·
Ah, I see what you're saying. I thought you were just straight up telling him not to use one. I bought a cheap one off of amazon, then converted 6 ft-lbs to 72 in-lbs. As long as you're within 5ish in-lbs on either side, you shouldn't have too much to worry about. The wrench I bought would not do torque to the left, so I ended up dissembling the ratcheting head and reversing it. Worked like a charm, and I think it only cost me around $50. If you absolutely can't bring yourself to buy a torque wrench :ben: ... then you could do it by feel, but I'd still be nervous.
 
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