Inspection II and valve adjustment DIY

I am planning to order the inspection II kit from ECS unless someone can recommend a better place to get it.
I never done a valve adjustment, is there someone that would like to help and or rent the shims kit?
Thanks everyone for reading.

I'm down for helping as I'd like to get some experience. Are you going to tackle the cam bolts at the same time?

I just ordered a clutch fan wrench and have a set of torque wrenches. Andrew/Alvin have a timing tool to rent, I wonder if they have a shim kit and would consider some $$$ to use the shims (and they can keep the old shims for the kit).

Thanks alot for the offer, i dont have a torque wrench and the fan tool so i really apreciate your help. I am willing even to replace the shims used and order them at BMW. Do you think that would be beneficial to change the bolts too?

Originally Posted by Zenocchio

Thanks alot for the offer, i dont have a torque wrench and the fan tool so i really apreciate your help. I am willing even to replace the shims used and order them at BMW. Do you think that would be beneficial to change the bolts too?

If you're going to have the engine open, might as well replace those bolts or at least check them. There's only 2 major failures with this engine, the exhaust hub and the cam bolts, so I'd check both if the engine is already open.

There's a DIY on M3F that shows how to take the Vanos off using the timing tool with 2 timing locks (the tool only comes with 1, so would need to get another, I wonder if ECS sells that part individually) that looks far easier than others I've seen.

Make sure you are pretty handy and confident, first time took me 20 hours for vanos bolts, and you do need quite a variety of tools, timing tool, fan tool, 32mm socket with monkey bar, and a camera to reference things

For valve adjustment, u don't need a shim kit, just measure and u can just get the individual shims at the dealer

Thanks Alvin. The M is my DD so I have to complete the job in a weekend. Are you still renting the kit?
On a 05 with 90k km is it really necessary to change the bolts? What do you think?

It's nice to do but a weekend is too stressful, if I were you, just do valve adjustment and chexk your exhaust hub. If broken then do the whole deal since u will be stuck without a hub anyways

Originally Posted by alvinchow

It's nice to do but a weekend is too stressful, if I were you, just do valve adjustment and chexk your exhaust hub. If broken then do the whole deal since u will be stuck without a hub anyways

I was thinking the same actually. Most likely I have the updated bolts on as it's an 05. Thanks mate!

Is there anyone going to the autoX event on Saturday?

What took so long Alvin? The most stressful part to me looks like getting the hubs reassembled.

I'm going to be doing my servicing while vehicle is in winter storage so will be looing for a shim kit also.

Removing the hubs is quite a job. I think a visual inspection of the tabs is sufficient for the exhaust hob. the bolts on the intake are the ones that back themselves out. I was thinking that i would just try to move it around to see if there was any play in the hub before going through all the extra work of dismantling the vanos.

Originally Posted by Noodle555

Removing the hubs is quite a job. I think a visual inspection of the tabs is sufficient for the exhaust hob. the bolts on the intake are the ones that back themselves out. I was thinking that i would just try to move it around to see if there was any play in the hub before going through all the extra work of dismantling the vanos.

Everything I have read makes me skeptical of diagnosing the bolts any other way than pulling them.

I've pulled the Vanos solenoid on mine, 20 min job. The rest of the Vanos is only 9 bolts and 2 nuts once the top of the engine is open. The method on M3F by locking both cams looks easy... then again I'm slightly crazy and like this sorta stuff!

mine is a 05, and was backing out with 3 left

it is not that simple, lol. just to have the TDC perfect take a while, and rotating cams and get the vanos gearbox disconnected take a long while, toughest part should be the friction torque to get the hub just grip, and let you rotate 180 from tdc to tighten everything down. timing the cam
was not easy either even with the proper tool

Originally Posted by alvinchow

mine is a 05, and was backing out with 3 left

it is not that simple, lol. just to have the TDC perfect take a while, and rotating cams and get the vanos gearbox disconnected take a long while, toughest part should be the friction torque to get the hub just grip, and let you rotate 180 from tdc to tighten everything down. timing the cam
was not easy either even with the proper tool

Yikes, 3 of 6 on an 05... mine is an 03!

The method with locking both cams means no rotating 180 to tighten the hub bolts, so you don't need to get TDC perfect since once the cams are locked nothing should move... that said... something is bound to move so it'll take longer.

Originally Posted by taylor192

Everything I have read makes me skeptical of diagnosing the bolts any other way than pulling them.

I've pulled the Vanos solenoid on mine, 20 min job. The rest of the Vanos is only 9 bolts and 2 nuts once the top of the engine is open. The method on M3F by locking both cams looks easy... then again I'm slightly crazy and like this sorta stuff!

The DIYs I've seen on m3f look like waaaay more work than you described. If there is a quicker method to simply check the bolts them I'm all for that. Failure of tabs or bolts means kaboom and tons of money with potentialy bent valves and damaged cylinders. Makes me want to replace hub for the cryo one and change the bolts.

Dr vanos seems to overcharge for the cryo hub as i have read the cryo treatment is quite inexpensive.

I got my cryo treated and vanos rebuild by dr vanos at the same time, he didn't charge me anything extra


once the cams are locked, nothing moved EXCEPT the hub and the vanos gearbox is moving, while you need to have that portion aligned at the same time connect to the vanos actuator, is tough and i off my timing couple times and throw a cel

How about those shims

Does anyone have the camshaft locking tool? I dont really want to order all the vanos gasket if I don't have the tools. To inspect the vanos tabs there is no need to take the vanos apart, right?

Originally Posted by Zenocchio

Does anyone have the camshaft locking tool? I dont really want to order all the vanos gasket if I don't have the tools. To inspect the vanos tabs there is no need to take the vanos apart, right?

To inspect the tabs just requires turning the engine, which you'll need to do to get each cam lobe to point straight up. Turning the engine requires the 32mm clutch fan wrench I just ordered and should be here Fri.

You don't actually need the timing tool (aka cam locking tool) to adjust the valves since you're not moving anything that will affect the timing. Alvin/Andrew have the timing tool, I think there's a thread on here where they've offered to rent it. They probably only have 1 lock pin, I'd order another and lock both down.

the timing tool actually not use for locking, but to align the cam spot on, you lock the engine by locking the flywheel

Originally Posted by alvinchow

the timing tool actually not use for locking, but to align the cam spot on, you lock the engine by locking the flywheel

That's a much better way of putting it. The cams don't need to be moved to adjust the valves, so the tool isn't need to align the cams.

There is apparently a pin to lock the vibration damper at TDC?