Vanos Bulletproof at 64k?

[mrgizmo04]

On a somewhat related note, someone mentioned not to do valve adjustments while timing is dissociated, which makes perfect sense. Is there a difference on doing it before or after? I'm pairing a VANOS bulletproofing with my 60k Inspection II in a couple thousand miles here.

No difference whether doing before or after.

Where are you sourcing the shims? Hopefully not the $500 BMW kit?

[ethan]

Was there anything visual on the tool that looked off? I'm just trying to think how the top vs bottom holes on the tool have to line up yo send the pin through to cause bent valves.

Yeah, it was the orientation of the holes relative to the bar. But of course I only discovered that after having blown the engine and bought an OE tool against which I could compare.

They may have it figured out now (who knows how consistent they are?), but for the price of the OE tool vs. Schwaben or similar, it's cheap insurance.

[r4dr]

No difference whether doing before or after.

Where are you sourcing the shims? Hopefully not the $500 BMW kit?

I'm thinking about buying the Wiseco shim set, open to other ideas though. I'd rather not buy the $500 kit if possible...

[ATB88]

I'm thinking about buying the Wiseco shim set, open to other ideas though. I'd rather not buy the $500 kit if possible...

Problem with the wiseco set is that they only give you three of each size, so you need to hope that you don't end up needing any more than three of each. On my first valve adjustment I actually needed 6 224s, would've been screwed if I had the wiseco kit.

Ian/Obioban rents out his BMW kit which has a good number of each shim, and reduces the odds you'll be stuck waiting to get an extra shim delivered to finish your adjustment. Then when you're done you just order individual replacements for all of the shims you used (which are quite cheap), and then send it back. I say either do that, or idk buy two wiseco kits?

Or, if you're happy taking your time with VANOS, measure your valves and shims before you start the VANOS work and determine how many of each size shim you'll need, order them next day from FCP/ECS, and you'll probably have them by the time you finish your VANOS work if you go slow, or run into issues that slow you down, which can happen.

[mrgizmo04]

I bought 2x wiseco kits when they were super cheap and combined into one box.

Also, remember that, a used shim you pulled out can be reused, as long it's the right size that is needed for another valve, so don't just discard them.

[ethan]

I bought 1x Wiseco kit and then picked up extra individual ones by size from motorcycle engine parts retailers. Seems like they're pretty standard parts, but I'll let you know when one gets eaten and explodes my retainers.

[crbws6]

I would imagine that they put in a new unit that has new BMW seals (which wear out faster than the upgraded Beisan seals) and a new solenoid pack (which will still have the same failure mode as the old one), but other than that I wouldn't imagine that they did anything else, unless BMW had an upgraded part for the cam bolts? So, if you want your engine/VANOS to be reliable, you would still need to go back in and do a Beisan oil pump disc at the very minimum to prevent the exhaust hub from breaking, and probably cam bolts too. But then you might as well go and upgrade the seals and everything else because the BMW ones will eventually fail. Basically, BMW replacing the VANOS only resets the clock on the seals and solenoid pack, and all the other problems still need to be addressed. What mileage are you at now?

Thanks for the reply. Currently at 80k.

[terra]

Problem with the wiseco set is that they only give you three of each size, so you need to hope that you don't end up needing any more than three of each. On my first valve adjustment I actually needed 6 224s, would've been screwed if I had the wiseco kit.

Ian/Obioban rents out his BMW kit which has a good number of each shim, and reduces the odds you'll be stuck waiting to get an extra shim delivered to finish your adjustment. Then when you're done you just order individual replacements for all of the shims you used (which are quite cheap), and then send it back. I say either do that, or idk buy two wiseco kits?

Or, if you're happy taking your time with VANOS, measure your valves and shims before you start the VANOS work and determine how many of each size shim you'll need, order them next day from FCP/ECS, and you'll probably have them by the time you finish your VANOS work if you go slow, or run into issues that slow you down, which can happen.

The BMW kit has 6 of each size. Financially you're still much better off buying two of the Wiseco kits.

Also worth measuring the shims you take out - they might be just the right size for another spot.