Vanos Seal Leak - Rebuild (again) while I'm in there?

[Cubieman]

Mine is leaking from the timing cover, but the majority of that oil travels down seam of the head>block rearward, I'll have to fix that when I pull the pan for R.B's.

[BL92]

You guys sure it's the VANOS gasket? Pretty much every S54 I have ever laid eyes on is leaking in that area... Never really figured out why

It seems the most logical spot on mine




Not sure what else it could be either, Vanos will be off tomorrow, I will post more photos, so we can inspect

[bmwfnatic]

It seems the most logical spot on mine




Not sure what else it could be either, Vanos will be off tomorrow, I will post more photos, so we can inspect

Yours seems relatively clean, usually that whole corner is just kind of fucked.

[BL92]

I decided to clean the area instead today, reassemble and drove 14 km

Got back, I took everything apart again. The leak is evident on this bolt

So tomorrow i will remove vanos via beisan method and post pics of the gasket to investigate

[bmwfnatic]

I decided to clean the area instead today, reassemble and drove 14 km

Got back, I took everything apart again. The leak is evident on this bolt

So tomorrow i will remove vanos via beisan method and post pics of the gasket to investigate

Great work!

[BL92]

No idea why it was leaking tbh

Gasket intact and vanos face is clean

[D-O]

Bringing this one back with what perhaps are dumb questions.

My Vanos received the full Beisan treatment by the previous owner 9 years and ~35k miles ago. Now the gasket is leaking. Can I simply disconnect the control pistons from the splined shafts and leave the splined shafts in the hubs and then re-connect them after I have cleaned up and set the new gasket in place, or do the splined shafts have to come out of the hubs? Do I need to set and confirm the motor is at TDC using the crank pin and cam bridge?

Thanks.

D-O

[Cubieman]

Bringing this one back with what perhaps are dumb questions.

My Vanos received the full Beisan treatment by the previous owner 9 years and ~35k miles ago. Now the gasket is leaking. Can I simply disconnect the control pistons from the splined shafts and leave the splined shafts in the hubs and then re-connect them after I have cleaned up and set the new gasket in place, or do the splined shafts have to come out of the hubs? Do I need to set and confirm the motor is at TDC using the crank pin and cam bridge?

Thanks.

D-O

If just doing the gasket, leave the splined shafts in the hubs so you do not have to time the engine.

I can't recommend Toyota FIPG highly enough for that lower bolt hole as well as the parting lines of vanos>head.

[D-O]

Thanks. I have some Honda Bond I was planning on using. Are you of the opinion the Toyota FIPG is superior?

[Cubieman]

Thanks. I have some Honda Bond I was planning on using. Are you of the opinion the Toyota FIPG is superior?

That would very likely be just fine, I have never used that stuff so don't have an opinion on it.

In all reality some auto parts store RTV would be alight as well.

I just like the packaging of FIPG, consistency of it, the fact it doesn't start to glob up and get ruined after opening the tube and storing it for long periods of time. Also the availability of it locally is nice.

Sometimes you get drei bond and it's that syringe-like tube, those also seem to go bad after first use even if you put in a plastic baggie or whatever.

[D-O]

Understood and thanks again.

When you say I will not have to time the engine does that mean I can skip the crank pin and cam bridge?

[Cubieman]

Understood and thanks again.

When you say I will not have to time the engine does that mean I can skip the crank pin and cam bridge?

You may need fully retard the exhaust cam to get the splines to stick out far enough to detach them, that part I can't quite remember.

If that is the case you would need to pin the crank, I would check the beisan instructions, I think linked in this thread.

The timing bridge you definitely will not need.