S54 Vanos Help

[Savageblunder]

Did you have the tensioner out completely before putting the gear back on? A chain link could have been bunched up somewhere, but it can sometimes be a tight fit to get the gear back on. It is a double link chain and does not have a lot of slack to slide the gears in without a little manipulation, i.e. taking both gears off and installing them together.

Thank you for your help. Yeah, I had tensioner completely out. I think my hands are getting weak lol. I’m 52 & noticing more car repair jobs that require ringtones of hand strength; esp w/ hands in awkward positions I seem to have more trouble with than others. I usually compensate by removing more parts to gain bettter access. It’s so weird, I’ve read everything Vanos s54 & saw 0.0% of people struggle w/ this & for
me it was such a PIA where you’re at the point your hand is bleeding, your causing, & wanna start throwing wrenches. But all the other stuff other 1st timers had a hard time with I didn’t.

Well didn’t start the car yet, will be a few days. Maybe a piston will hit a valve. That would be a struggle.

I was exhausted from a long day at work & only planned on messing with this car for 20 mins or so. I got sucked in - that was a mistake. I can very close to cross threading the tensioner in the block. I didn’t have the right socket, mine was too deep to keep tension on the tensioner while getting the threads started. I took it off with 1.25” wrench which worked fine, but getting it on you need a socket that isn’t like a 36mm (or 32mm can’t recall which size it is) tube & the tensioner just sinks completely in that socket, so you can’t put forward tension on the tensioner to get threads started. The tensioner threads just kept wanting to start so it was threading in crooked. Eventually I got it in smoothly - but it was a fight.

[Slideways]

Had an experience I can’t really explain… Finished rebuilding vanos(easy), removed exhaust cam gear took off chain tensioner & L upper timing chain guide. I replaced the worn (wasn’t broke) guide w/ Besian - which is beefier. Went to put it back together & had an awful time getting exhaust cam gear back on.

I tried everything - it was like the chain was too “tight” or not long enough. There just wasn’t enough slack in it to get cam gear back on end of cam. I ended up removing intake cam gear as well at one point - because I thought it may have become kinked at the crank or something or half jumped. I tried it w chain tensioner backed out, etc.. I took out Besian guide 2x cuz I thought maybe it was in backwards or something - it wasn’t. I tried prying down on new tensioner w/ an 3/8” extension wrapped in a rag. I tried putting both cam gears on at once - which coulda worked if I had 4 hands.

Eventually somehow got it. I spent over 2 hours just on this. Once it was on, chain seemed to have a normal amount of deflection if you push on it - not binding or anything. Finished rest of vanos install procedure following Besian. Took out spark plugs b4 rotating engine, as it always spins easier w/ no plugs & I decided I may as well replace them (30k miles) & ordered new ones & oil change kit cuz some Brake Kleen prolly got in the oil.

Timed the engine w/ bridge. Spun it multiple times. No issues - pins go in bridge w/ crank pin in & engine spins normally. Seems like in videos the exhaust cam gear goes on no problem, but they are mostly using old chain guides or if new - a BMW one. I’m wondering if anyone out there has used the Besian one & experienced this?

Did you have the tensioner out completely before putting the exhaust sprocket back on? A chain link could have been bunched up somewhere, but it can sometimes be a tight fit to get the sprocket back on. It is a double link chain and does not have a lot of slack to slide the sprocket in without a little manipulation, i.e. taking both sprockets off and installing them together.

[Savageblunder]

Had an experience I can’t really explain… Finished rebuilding vanos(easy), removed exhaust cam gear took off chain tensioner & L upper timing chain guide. I replaced the worn (wasn’t broke) guide w/ Besian - which is beefier. Went to put it back together & had an awful time getting exhaust cam gear back on.

I tried everything - it was like the chain was too “tight” or not long enough. There just wasn’t enough slack in it to get cam gear back on end of cam. I ended up removing intake cam gear as well at one point - because I thought it may have become kinked at the crank or something or half jumped. I tried it w chain tensioner backed out, etc.. I took out Besian guide 2x cuz I thought maybe it was in backwards or something - it wasn’t. I tried prying down on new tensioner w/ an 3/8” extension wrapped in a rag. I tried putting both cam gears on at once - which coulda worked if I had 4 hands.

Eventually somehow got it. I spent over 2 hours just on this. Once it was on, chain seemed to have a normal amount of deflection if you push on it - not binding or anything. Finished rest of vanos install procedure following Besian. Took out spark plugs b4 rotating engine, as it always spins easier w/ no plugs & I decided I may as well replace them (30k miles) & ordered new ones & oil change kit cuz some Brake Kleen prolly got in the oil.

Timed the engine w/ bridge. Spun it multiple times. No issues - pins go in bridge w/ crank pin in & engine spins normally. Seems like in videos the exhaust cam gear goes on no problem, but they are mostly using old chain guides or if new - a BMW one. I’m wondering if anyone out there has used the Besian one & experienced this?

[Savageblunder]

Update for anyone who is interested. I changed all the seals in the vanos per Besian procedure. I was torn about even bothering to do this, as the original seals seemed good as new. I don’t think the S54 has issues with these seals as some other BMW engines do. Anyway I had the seals, so I did it. I do oil changes every 5k & everything just wipes clean as new.

[sapote]

1. issue #2 making me lean this way is on Z4 you cannot put Vanos back on with splined hubs installed - you have to put splined hubs on car first & then bolt the Vanos on to them on car, as there is no room due to radiator support.
2. So, in preparation, just in case - I pulled the caps to measure where the pistons are when they are all the way back in the Vanos & planned to re-install without the caps so I can verify they are bottomed out.
interesingly enough - at the back in the bore with pistons hitting the caps stops- they are not at the same depth. The exhaust is about 0.048mm from end of bore & intake is about 0.027mm below end of bore. ... but it does look like the exhaust may be off & that doesn’t make me feel any better about messing with it, if I can’t understand what’s going on with it initially. Maybe the engines were off from the factory?

1. I don't follow Beisan on this. I always put the splined shafts into the hubs first and thread the vanos pistons to the shafts later as this is easier to align and mount the vanos body, especially with re-drilled disc small holes with 0.1mm clearance to tabs.
2. They might not be at the same depth. It depends on the little bump on the each cap molding, which don't have to be precise. The bump is needed so the piston has a small gap to the cap flat end to allow for oil pressure to move the piston. No gap then piston can't move by oil P. This is why the precise timing is achieved only with the pistons touching the cap bumps before torquing the hub bolts.

[Savageblunder]

Honestly I’m not concerned about anything. I came here seeking the opinion of others who have actually done this job if they thought it was more likely my factory timing could be that far off or if something else was going on. I learned you really have to rock the heck out of the exhaust cam to check timing before dissasembly. & later the tool aftermarket tool was not accurate.

I’ve read numerous posts on forums from people claiming they’re following Besian procedure to the letter & timing S54 cams many many times, only to become frustrated because they keep going out of time after few rotations. I think I read one guy did it like 50 times! Other people following the same procedure get it on the 1st or 2nd try.

Maybe people on this forum don’t care; but I’m very curious why this is. In theory if you follow the Besian procedure it should be correct 100% of the time. It seems to be (almost) universally accepted Besian’s instructions are correct & well written. But, I’ve seen various reasons posted regarding why some have issues & some don’t: people being overly picky about the bridge being flat, slack in the timing chain, rotating the engine counter clock wise, variation due to stacked tolerances of the particular engine, turning the engine with the plugs in, Besian’s procedure misses key steps, aftermarket timing bridges are crap, & the hub bolts not being torqued / untorqued correctly during the “pretension stage”. I don’t like variables I can’t control when working on a vehicle,

I do agree with you this particular tool is a crappy Chinese tool & the fact that it comes with 2 pins is questionable. But, I’ve seen people on car forums post a bunch of stuff is “crap” just because it comes from China & in the real world most of the time the stuff works just fine.

[bmwfnatic]

You seem to be concerned about the wrong things.

Wiring an essay about torque wrenches to torque some bolts which do not affect timing, if you just get them reasonably as snug as possible with a normal length 10mm wrench without trying to purposefully break things they are perfect.

But somehow not concerned about using a crappy chinese tool which the video demonstrates is way off from the original.
The fact that those tools come with 2 pins shows that they didn’t understand how the tool and its tolerances are meant to work.

[Savageblunder]

BTW, the BMW procedure tells you to tighten the 3 and 9 o clock bolts to 10NM, then back out 90deg, not 14. one other thing the internet got wrong and everyone assumes correct and bet their lives on.

First, than you everyone for your opinions & help!!! I thought car forums were mostly dead, but this place is pretty lively.

Progress is being made! This is a weekend 2nd car so I’m just doing a little each day - no hurry.


I believe I saw somewhere BMW is inconsistant in there torque spec for these hubs & they said 10nm under Vanos procedure & 14nm when replacing cams. I could have imagined that, but I don’t think so - or wherever I read it could be wrong.

The issue with a toque wrench (at least I’m having) is all the 10mm crows foot wrenches I’m finding are 3/8” drive & a 3/8” drive toque wrench is not accurate measuring 14nm & no way it’s accurate measuring 10nm. It’s way too low on it’s rated scale, toque wrenches are not accurate at there highest & lowest numbers.

i was a Ford dealer tech for 7 years outta high school (I’ve been out of the car biz 25 years). I’ve always heard this about torque wrenches & decided to actually test it now 1/4” vs 3/8” w/ a 14mm socket & it’s WAY off. You have to rotate the bolt another 200° or so w/ the 3/8” to get the “click”. Again, I own cheap Harbor Freight click torque wrenches, if you have an $800 Snap On 3/8” drive digital torque wrench your probably using a much more accurate tool.

Yes, you could use a 1/4” to 3/8” adapter & a 1/4” torque wrench w/ a 3/8” 10mm crows foot. In theory it will effect the torque readings somewhat, multiply that with the slight change a crows foot can make & it seems to me there is a enough room for inaccuracy a torque wrench wouldn’t even be worth it.

Stanley Proto & Snap On both make 10mm 1/4” drive crows feet. That would be the tool to get, but both are like $35 + shipping + a week waiting for them to get here. The tool in the photo is on Amazon, but again 3/8” drive. I saw the Carslisle tool in the photo is similar - I’m guessing it’s also 3/8” drive.

Here is a video of the slop of factory hub vs Besian. My factory hub was not gouged up & tabs look to be in perfect shape:

https://youtube.com/shorts/xm1vfcXm6CY?si=riNkpkoT1RwhdMlK

I’m in the camp of “use factory hub w/ Besian or Dr Vanos re-drilled oil disc”. Besian is one of the few aftermarket companies I trust (the only?) & yes I know they made a hub that had issues. This fix addresses the factory problem using modified factory parts. This is the best way to go. Cryo-treated-chromoly-on-steroids looking monster hubs seem like an awkwardly engineered solution to a problem that was already solved with re-drilling factory discs. This is my opinion only, I’m not trying to say anyone who thinks / does differently is a dummy. I’m not an engineer or an S54 expert. I really do not like buying parts from any company with “racing” or “performance” in their name. I’m not a racer and honestly I’m just looking to maintain factory “performance”.

As for where to buy parts, my very 1st choice is Rock Auto. For most things I’m looking for OEM for the lowest price. Parts they don’t carry that are BMW brand or similar I usually go with BimmerWorld - they seem to be the best if you ask me. However, their website sucks. I decided to change my plugs & oil while I’m at it, & last night ordered both from FCP Euro cuz I was in a hurry & annoyed at BimmerWorlds website, as the menus don’t work half the time on iPhone.

[ethan]

Given that my M3 was made in April 01, how likely is it that I would have the "original" hub version?

Can't answer your question directly, but unless you're just curious, I don't think you need to care because presumably the tabs from the two versions of the BMW hub and the Beisan hub all fit the same pump disk hole diameter or else Beisan couldn't offer a universal disk redrill service for cores without asking your VIN. I.e. whichever of those hubs you have, if you've got good tabs and a redrilled disk, you're good to go.

[WoGGo]

I've reused two stock hubs and many others choose to do the same as well. Haven't heard of any issues when paired with the redrilled disc.

Beisan manufactures their own exhaust hub, and I'd choose that hub to replace a stock hub with a broken tab. Their hub has to be paired with a redrilled disc.

Hmm... I was just reading this from the Beisan S54 Exhaust Sprocket Hub Solution post:

Due to the less tapered thicker wall design, the Beisan hub tabs are the same thickness as the BMW original hub version tabs, and thus are notably thicker than the BNW new hub version tabs.

Given that my M3 was made in April 01, how likely is it that I would have the "original" hub version?

[ethan]

Wouldn't this mean that the hub is more important to change than then oil pump disc, given that most of us has 100K + miles/km?

I have a stock hub going strong at 215k miles. It doesn't seem to be mileage causing the tabs to break: It's unaddressed play/slop between the hub tabs and the oil disk holes. Read the Beisan site for more information.

[Slideways]

Wouldn't this mean that the hub is more important to change than then oil pump disc, given that most of us has 100K + miles/km?

Besides VAC's hub, are there any others that can be used with a stock/unmodified oil pump disc that people have had good experience with?

I've reused two stock hubs and many others choose to do the same as well. Haven't heard of any issues when paired with the redrilled disc.

Beisan manufactures their own exhaust hub, and I'd choose that hub to replace a stock hub with a broken tab. Their hub has to be paired with a redrilled disc.

[WoGGo]

I would 100% do the oil pump disc. kaiv has so many souvenir exhaust hub tabs to show that it is not worth the risk.

Wouldn't this mean that the hub is more important to change than then oil pump disc, given that most of us has 100K + miles/km?

Besides VAC's hub, are there any others that can be used with a stock/unmodified oil pump disc that people have had good experience with?

[ethan]

Chill, people come here for advise from others that have experience with the topic, and that is what is being offered here. I always speak for what I do on my own car with my own money, their hub just works for me. and by the way, is the only one product they sell I have ever used, so your comment is completely inaccurate.

Lastly, I wish I found data driven recommendations when I did my VANOS "fixes", that would have saved me 1k's in unnecessary parts replacements, so I do for others what I would like for myself.

Well, VAC definitely is a "terrible company which has screwed many members of this forum", so my comment isn't "completely inaccurate." And it's worth reiterating because I too would like to "save [others] 1k's in unnecessary parts replacements". In fact, I'm looking at $1,049.95 of useless harmonic damper right now, and I don't want others to get ignored by VAC when SHTF with their half-baked products.

Nothing personal - your VAC hub may be perfectly fine. I'm still going to voice my dissatisfaction with them as a company. ECS did me dirty too, but at least nobody likes them anymore in part because people share their stories on forums. Don't give these people money.

[maupineda]

Thanks, I jiggled the exhaust splined hub & got it the cam to retard more To the guy guy w/ the comment about aftermarket timing bridge (I knew it was coming - probably one of the 1st things I wrote - ), I ordered a BMW bridge, it came damaged, a week to get a new one - I got the aftermarket one overnight & am going to compare it to the BMW one & return it if it’s not good. But YES I am using a BMW one before buttoning anything up & I have a redrilled BMW disc from Besian. So far the aftermarket cam tools seem fine, at least when I compare the top each other (setter vs checker) - setter is more “accurate” it seems. Whole set was $65 - if it matches the results from BMW one I don’t see anything wrong with it

I hear you about internet hype. I’m totally with you on that - I think replacing rod bearings w/ good oil analysis is a waste of time & money. I don’t (generally) replace parts unless they are broken. I don’t believe most of these aftermarket “race”, “upgraded”, or “performance parts” are no where near as good as OE or OEM. I think w/ vanos there is a known issue w/ the tabs & a known fix & it’s a rare exception. I have to laugh every time I see someone “bullet proofing” this or that on a vehicle spending thousands of dollars replacing perfectly good OE parts.

The vanos hub is the one thing that got me. Besides the fix of multiple known issues (tabs, bolts, chain guide) I had an oil leak both at the vanos gasket & the oil feed line. For the last 3 years or so, underside plastic tray has been wet from an oil leak, not enough to leak on the ground, but enough to collect sludge. I tracked it down to CPV & Vanos stuff.


I don’t have INPA, as I don’t have a windows laptop & didn’t really want to buy one for this one thing, I have no interest in coding anything & the Foxwell scanner is painfully slow & awkward, but works for what I need it to do.

I realize many people successfully have done this w/o torturing bolts, but all the 10mm crows foot I’ve seen are 3/8” drive & IMHO you can’t accurately torque 14nm with a 3/8” drive torque wrench w/ a 3/8” to 1/4” adapter & a crows foot. This is not because of the crows foot, but mainly because 14nm falls way low on the scale of what an average 3/8” torque wrench is rated at & your average torque wrench is innacurate near the lower & upper limits of its acceptable torque value.

Just out of curiosity it tested this w/ a 1/4” & 3/8” drive torque wrench on a 14mm bolt @ 14nm. Where they clicked wasn’t even close. Granite, I’m using cheapo Harbor Freight torque wrenches, but they have served me well in the past. I’m already in the process & I think I’ve decided to go on with steps that require re-timing the engine - mainly because I wanna replace the plastic chain tensioner with the beefy Besian on I got & because I’ve spent soooo much time researching this I think I’d feel like a puss if I didn’t do it at this point.

BTW, the BMW procedure tells you to tighten the 3 and 9 o clock bolts to 10NM, then back out 90deg, not 14. one other thing the internet got wrong and everyone assumes correct and bet their lives on.