VANOS Rebuild

[Slideways]

Great discussion here, thanks to OP for posting. I'm piecing together my valve adjust/VANOS job as well. Agree on factory timing tool and crank pin, that's what I'm going to get.

My own questions:

1] Do we need an extra timing tool pin 83300491086?
2] Necessary to replace timing chain guide bolt?
3] In the case of replacing sprocket bolts, what is the preferred tool to properly torque the bolts? 1/4" crow foot on some sort of small torque wrench?
4] Replace upper timing chain guide?
5] Can VANOS line be replaced (esp. with Gen part) with Supersprint V1 headers in place? I thought I discovered a post saying this is difficult with stock headers.

1) Only requires one pin. Quoting bmwfnatic for difference between setting bridge and checking tool

The setting bridge has the pins at an 88-89 degree angle, not a true 90. I think the purpose for this was to adjust for chain slack.

I recently obtained a bunch of special tools for the S54, S62, S65, S85 and more from a retired BMW engineer, and he told me in early S54 testing they were actually putting a valve shim under the bridge to play with chain slack and timing. I have a prototype S50/S54 timing tool of which the angle seems to be adjustable.

You are meant to set the timing with the tool you have, and after turning the engine over check the timing with special tool 83300493750 which is actually a true 90. In my personal experience if the pin didn’t go in on the setting tool, the checking tool would mostly send up sitting perfectly.

2) No. TIS has 13 Nm for the torque. Beisan has 24 Nm which I believe is incorrect and they should probably double check it and edit their DIY.



3) I'm assuming you mean hub bolts. They are Class 10.9 and I've reused them more than once. Crows foot is fine as long as you keep the head of the tq wrench at a 90 degree angle to the crows foot. If the crows foot is straight on from the head of the tq wrench, you have to do some math to get the correct torque.

4) Yes, Beisan's part seems to be best here. 80k+, stock is almost guaranteed to be broken

5) Yes, it should be fine although there might less access where the accumulator is located.

[Obioban]

VAC is never the way to go.

[PSUEng]

VAC is never the way to go.

Why? Truthfully I've not paid much attention on this forum, were their parts failing or something? I can't tell if Beisan makes a hub with larger tabs or not. I'm actually not a fan of have the disk drilled since I've not found any information that doing that doesn't weaken it, or affect balance, etc.

[TR_Beastmode]

Why? Truthfully I've not paid much attention on this forum, were their parts failing or something? I can't tell if Beisan makes a hub with larger tabs or not. I'm actually not a fan of have the disk drilled since I've not found any information that doing that doesn't weaken it, or affect balance, etc.

I had similar thoughts about the drilled discs. I suppose if the new holes are exactly 90° from the originals, the balance would still be acceptable. Strength would have to be less though. I dont know if that’s even worth considering though. At the very least, drilling new holes is weight reduction lol

[sapote]

I had similar thoughts about the drilled discs. I suppose if the new holes are exactly 90° from the originals, the balance would still be acceptable. Strength would have to be less though. I dont know if that’s even worth considering though. At the very least, drilling new holes is weight reduction lol

88, 89, and 90* referring to the cam bridge pin to the hole on the cam, not the pump disk

[sapote]

Thank you guys for your all your input. I’ve spent the last couple hours diving deeper into some things. I’m gonna explain things like you all don’t know what I’m talking about so you can follow my thought process, I’m not insulting you lol.

1) Sprocket bolts and Hub bolts: Beisan sells a kit with both bolt sets, for both intake and exhaust sides. The hub bolts are blue and “tell future technicians the Vanos has been worked on”. Plus, them being a cool blue color adds 5 HP at least. Hub bolts are torqued incrementally from 5Nm -> 7 Nm -> 10Nm -> 14Nm. The sprocket bolts are an “upgrade” over the stock BMW T30 torx bolts. Their procedure doc has torque specs for the BMW bolts (9 ft-lb/12Nm), but not for the replacement bolts. This makes no sense to me lol. Anyone know what those torque specs are? Or should I just remove the stock bolts, add loctite, and retorque them?

2) The upper timing chain tensioner bolt has a crush washer. Part #: 07119963342. This should be replaced when changing the upper tensioner. Beisans procedure doc mentions replacing the crankshaft chain tensioner crush washer as well. Part #: 07119963418. I’m assuming this is another name for the lower chain tensioner? Is this something I would even need to do if I’m not changing the lower tensioner?

3) Exhaust and Intake hubs have diaphragm springs and plates inside them. Beisan mentions replacing these with S62 parts because they’re an improvement. Is this something I should do?

4) VAC hub versus Beisan hub: VAC hubs are made from a stronger alloy and the drive tabs are bigger. Bigger tabs reduce tab-to-disc clearance to 0.2mm on a stock disc. Beisan goes the other way, they drill the new holes smaller. Their hub has reinforced tabs, and the disc is machined to match them. They claim a clearance of 0.05mm when a Beisan hub and disc are paired together. I guess if you’re looking to replace both the hub and disc, Beisan is the way to go. If your disc is within spec and not messed up, then VAC would be the way to go.

5) Chase Bays Vanos oil line. Factory line is $330-350 everywhere I can find it. Aftermarket lines, rouge engineering, bimmerworld, chase bays, are all like $60. Are any of the aftermarket lines good alternatives? Or just keep my factory line and replace the washers? I’ve got a very minor oil leak and I suspect it’s the oil line. That’s why I’m considering replacing it in the first place.

bonus point) Beisan used AI to edit/write their procedures and it’s infuriating. They left a lot of the AI wording in their docs. “Here’s that section rewritten with more synonyms for the word “note”!” And a whole section will be repeated. It’s so confusing to follow in some parts.

1) none of these bolts ever caused the problem. The 12 bolts that backed out leading to bent valves are for the cam sleeves (connecting the female splines to the cam nose). Loctite them with Medium strength.
2) 07119963418 is the large washer under the chain tensioner, not for the chain guide.
3) don't use the s62 parts.
4) keep your original disk and pistons but reduce the clearance between driving tabs and the 2 holes.

[sapote]

"Quoting bmwfnatic for difference between setting bridge and checking tool

The setting bridge has the pins at an 88-89 degree angle, not a true 90. I think the purpose for this was to adjust for chain slack."

It's not clear if the bridge pin is at 88-89 degree means the smaller than 90 angle is on the intake side or exhaust side. I guess it's to the intake side for 1 or 2 degrees advance.

[maupineda]

Using other unit's disc is like swapping a rod bearing from another engine into yours. keep your original disc, this is assuming your unit is capable of delivering the 115bar per spec.

my car was a perfectly low miles car, I jumped the band wagon and 'rebuilt the vanos' only to give myself endless headaches. The Beisan disc delivered only 40bar of oil pressure, they kindly gave me another OE disc with redrilled holes, but it also did not deliver the whole pressure, just 80bar. I was having some mild drivability issues that were not there before the Vanos 'bullet proofing', and I could only finally cure it with a new unit. I went the VAC hub route with the larger tabs and all is well. so I went 360. do Vanos test, and if is good leave it alone. no need to look for trouble if there isn't any,.

[TR_Beastmode]

Thank you guys for your all your input. I’ve spent the last couple hours diving deeper into some things. I’m gonna explain things like you all don’t know what I’m talking about so you can follow my thought process, I’m not insulting you lol.

1) Sprocket bolts and Hub bolts: Beisan sells a kit with both bolt sets, for both intake and exhaust sides. The hub bolts are blue and “tell future technicians the Vanos has been worked on”. Plus, them being a cool blue color adds 5 HP at least. Hub bolts are torqued incrementally from 5Nm -> 7 Nm -> 10Nm -> 14Nm. The sprocket bolts are an “upgrade” over the stock BMW T30 torx bolts. Their procedure doc has torque specs for the BMW bolts (9 ft-lb/12Nm), but not for the replacement bolts. This makes no sense to me lol. Anyone know what those torque specs are? Or should I just remove the stock bolts, add loctite, and retorque them?

2) The upper timing chain tensioner bolt has a crush washer. Part #: 07119963342. This should be replaced when changing the upper tensioner. Beisans procedure doc mentions replacing the crankshaft chain tensioner crush washer as well. Part #: 07119963418. I’m assuming this is another name for the lower chain tensioner? Is this something I would even need to do if I’m not changing the lower tensioner?

3) Exhaust and Intake hubs have diaphragm springs and plates inside them. Beisan mentions replacing these with S62 parts because they’re an improvement. Is this something I should do?

4) VAC hub versus Beisan hub: VAC hubs are made from a stronger alloy and the drive tabs are bigger. Bigger tabs reduce tab-to-disc clearance to 0.2mm on a stock disc. Beisan goes the other way, they drill the new holes smaller. Their hub has reinforced tabs, and the disc is machined to match them. They claim a clearance of 0.05mm when a Beisan hub and disc are paired together. I guess if you’re looking to replace both the hub and disc, Beisan is the way to go. If your disc is within spec and not messed up, then VAC would be the way to go.

5) Chase Bays Vanos oil line. Factory line is $330-350 everywhere I can find it. Aftermarket lines, rouge engineering, bimmerworld, chase bays, are all like $60. Are any of the aftermarket lines good alternatives? Or just keep my factory line and replace the washers? I’ve got a very minor oil leak and I suspect it’s the oil line. That’s why I’m considering replacing it in the first place.

bonus point) Beisan used AI to edit/write their procedures and it’s infuriating. They left a lot of the AI wording in their docs. “Here’s that section rewritten with more synonyms for the word “note”!” And a whole section will be repeated. It’s so confusing to follow in some parts.

I found some older vanos-focused threads. I’m still learning how to navigate this site lol. In regards to the S62 diaphragm springs, seems like stock springs are the way to go. People seem unsure if they’re detrimental or not, so I’m just gonna stick with stock.

I’m also starting to wonder if I even do the anti rattle kit. Doesn’t seem to make a lot of noise anyway, I was Just gonna do it because I’ll have everything apart already. I know they reduce noise by reducing play in the splined shafts though, so there is some legitimate mechanical purpose behind it. But is that worth doing if I dont care about the noise?

[deedz]

Using other unit's disc is like swapping a rod bearing from another engine into yours. keep your original disc, this is assuming your unit is capable of delivering the 115bar per spec.

my car was a perfectly low miles car, I jumped the band wagon and 'rebuilt the vanos' only to give myself endless headaches. The Beisan disc delivered only 40bar of oil pressure, they kindly gave me another OE disc with redrilled holes, but it also did not deliver the whole pressure, just 80bar. I was having some mild drivability issues that were not there before the Vanos 'bullet proofing', and I could only finally cure it with a new unit. I went the VAC hub route with the larger tabs and all is well. so I went 360. do Vanos test, and if is good leave it alone. no need to look for trouble if there isn't any,.

what is the vanos test procedure?

[PSUEng]

I found some older vanos-focused threads. I’m still learning how to navigate this site lol. In regards to the S62 diaphragm springs, seems like stock springs are the way to go. People seem unsure if they’re detrimental or not, so I’m just gonna stick with stock.

I’m also starting to wonder if I even do the anti rattle kit. Doesn’t seem to make a lot of noise anyway, I was Just gonna do it because I’ll have everything apart already. I know they reduce noise by reducing play in the splined shafts though, so there is some legitimate mechanical purpose behind it. But is that worth doing if I dont care about the noise?

Who said the noise is a problem? The person selling the anti-noise kit? In all seriousness, gotta research this stuff. Were BMW engineers perfect? Of course not. But what if this design was intentional? In 20yrs, I don't recall any commentary on this forum or M3Forum.net from any reputable BMW person on any subject which we debate regarding engine, or chassis, technicalities.

[deedz]

Using other unit's disc is like swapping a rod bearing from another engine into yours. keep your original disc, this is assuming your unit is capable of delivering the 115bar per spec.

my car was a perfectly low miles car, I jumped the band wagon and 'rebuilt the vanos' only to give myself endless headaches. The Beisan disc delivered only 40bar of oil pressure, they kindly gave me another OE disc with redrilled holes, but it also did not deliver the whole pressure, just 80bar. I was having some mild drivability issues that were not there before the Vanos 'bullet proofing', and I could only finally cure it with a new unit. I went the VAC hub route with the larger tabs and all is well. so I went 360. do Vanos test, and if is good leave it alone. no need to look for trouble if there isn't any,.

to avoid this same scenario I'm thinking about buying a complete, pre-built replacement from say Dr. Vanos, and buy the VAC hub. Is that what you did to solve the headache?

[Slideways]

I found some older vanos-focused threads. I’m still learning how to navigate this site lol. In regards to the S62 diaphragm springs, seems like stock springs are the way to go. People seem unsure if they’re detrimental or not, so I’m just gonna stick with stock.

I’m also starting to wonder if I even do the anti rattle kit. Doesn’t seem to make a lot of noise anyway, I was Just gonna do it because I’ll have everything apart already. I know they reduce noise by reducing play in the splined shafts though, so there is some legitimate mechanical purpose behind it. But is that worth doing if I dont care about the noise?

Try Google search - nam3forum + topic. The vbulletin search is meh.

Skip the rattle kit if there is no excessive noise. The bearings in the spline shafts are not prone to failure. I feel like there is more risk in rebuilding them and making the bearing/shim clearance too tight.

[TR_Beastmode]

I’m all for the noise. I haven’t turned my radio on in months because I just listen to the car while I’m driving lol. But if there’s something bad causing the noise, I want to fix it

[TR_Beastmode]

to avoid this same scenario I'm thinking about buying a complete, pre-built replacement from say Dr. Vanos, and buy the VAC hub. Is that what you did to solve the headache?

Was looking into this as well. I don’t think the prebuilt bundles come with an exhaust hub, and dr Vanos sells a Cryo exhaust hub. So I wonder if the drilled disc is supposed to pair with that specific hub. Getting a professionally rebuilt Vanos seems like a safer option than rebuilding it myself, but I want the satisfaction of doing it myself lol