2006 ZCP (Clubsport/OEM+) Build Journal

[maupineda]

1 - The helical gears within the VANOS unit wear over time. These helical gears are not replaceable unless you replace the entire unit.

2 - A ‘rebuilt’ coil pack will never perform as well as a brand new coil pack that comes included with a new unit. Most retailers like Dr.VANOS will even tell you this: if you want the most performance out of your VANOS, purchase a new coil pack.

3 - Although valve body’s can be cleaned, in my opinion, theres no comparison between a valve body / pistons with 150k miles and a brand new unit.

I’m going way overkill, in that I purchased a brand new unit and I’m refreshing said new unit with Beisan parts. I intend to keep this car for a while, so the added cost really isn’t a factor to me over say refurbishing my already broken unit or purchasing a used unit to refurbish.

Do not replace the seals, as much as we like to think aftermarket seals are better, there is not enough R&D to objectively say so. Where is the data? Other than internet hype. There are cars running for sure with those, but to what standard? Very few people test VANOS pressure and response time. If you care about your car, do frequent oil changes, your new unit will outlast you.

[cornerbalanced]

Do not replace the seals, as much as we like to think aftermarket seals are better, there is not enough R&D to objectively say so. Where is the data? Other than internet hype. There are cars running for sure with those, but to what standard? Very few people test VANOS pressure and response time. If you care about your car, do frequent oil changes, your new unit will outlast you.

Very much noted, my only concern is that I don't know how long this unit has been sitting. If it was produced 5-10 years ago, I worry about the OE rubber seals just sitting for that amount of time with no lubrication.

[maupineda]

Very much noted, my only concern is that I don't know how long this unit has been sitting. If it was produced 5-10 years ago, I worry about the OE rubber seals just sitting for that amount of time with no lubrication.

I understand your concern, if you pull the pistons out, and inspect the seals if they look and feel soft and pliable, they are ok. I am sure they were lubed for assembly, and they are sealed in plus the unit was packaged in dry wrap, so I don't think they would be bad. but have a look. but in the end, is your call. I have learned my lesson the tough way, and "overhauled" my car when it was perfect and I went around in circles to go back to where it already was. sometimes is best to leave things alone

[Slideways]

Very much noted, my only concern is that I don't know how long this unit has been sitting. If it was produced 5-10 years ago, I worry about the OE rubber seals just sitting for that amount of time with no lubrication.

There should be a date stamp on the unit or on the box.

[cornerbalanced]

There should be a date stamp on the unit or on the box.

Checked, 2012 for everything.

Ultimately decided to have the gaskets replaced, I think after ten years of sitting the oil started to deteriorate the original seals. Didn’t want to chance anything.

[cornerbalanced]

Entry 3 - 1/9/23

Parts are finally all together, ready for install. As comprehensive/insane as you can get for a VANOS job from what I've seen.



Fresh Beisan Hub installed, VANOS "sweet spot" found and marked.



New VANOS unit being prepped for install.



Found the issue with my previous VANOS unit, rebuilt by an extremely reputable vendor in 2013 using a Beisan oil pump disc. From my limited knowledge, the pins backed out and started to score the housing of the VANOS unit itself.



You can see just how worn these pins are from making contact with the housing of the VANOS unit. From my research, the only other instance I have seen where this has happened resulted in engine failure. I consider myself extremely lucky in this circumstance.



Finally, fresh spark plugs. Not pictured: fresh coil packs, valve cover gasket, all associated grommets, etc.



After all of this, FINALLY, the car feels exceedingly strong. Pulled against a friend's E46 which is catless + tuned, so I'm happy (my car is completely stock power-wise apart from a CSL airbox). Next up, diving into the suspension. Removing tint. ZCP wheels. Potentially getting HTE to dyno tune my car, as my car is bogging under acceleration in lower RPMs, which I presume is a consequence of improper tuning with my CSL airbox.

[Dbpiedade]

Really comprehensive job on the Vanos..

Can you post a complete list of what you bought? I would like to perform something similar (except for the brand new unit, would just rebuild my own), but I kind of get lost on everything that can/should be done on the Vanos and around it “while in there”.

Thanks!

[cornerbalanced]

Really comprehensive job on the Vanos..

Can you post a complete list of what you bought? I would like to perform something similar (except for the brand new unit, would just rebuild my own), but I kind of get lost on everything that can/should be done on the Vanos and around it “while in there”.

Thanks!

Sure! I’ll get a list going. The Beisan stuff is pretty straight forward, but my mechanic provided a list of OE parts which was really helpful. Will try to find that today.

[CrisSilberGrau]

cornerbalanced which pins are those, not sure I know what part they are exactly, and yah they look worn.

[Slideways]

cornerbalanced which pins are those, not sure I know what part they are exactly, and yah they look worn.

Oil pump disk pistons. There was an issue with the tolerance of those pistons and swapping them between the original and redrilled disks.

[CrisSilberGrau]

Im always a bit anxious to take on this type of fine mechanical work, but the more and more I see it done by all of us... I had mine done at a shop, with the VAC hub and beisian anti rattle, new cam bolts... only thing that was not done is the solenoid which i need to do.

I appreciate doing the work on your own because only you care as much about your car, not many share the same sentiment.

[Dbpiedade]

Sure! I’ll get a list going. The Beisan stuff is pretty straight forward, but my mechanic provided a list of OE parts which was really helpful. Will try to find that today.

Thank you! From reading about this, it seems there is always that extra part here and there and a good list would be awesome tbh.

[cornerbalanced]

Thank you! From reading about this, it seems there is always that extra part here and there and a good list would be awesome tbh.

Here’s a cart link for most of the (OE) parts associated with the refresh. Ontop of this I did a valve cover gasket kit, spark plugs, coil packs, the entire Beisan catalogue (apart from the oil pump disc, since mine was new and I was getting the upgraded Hub) … further did the S62 diaphragm springs, and lang racing cam gear bolts.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/cart?utm_sou...1060621482%231

[cornerbalanced]

While my E46 is down awaiting its fresh engine, a buddy let me borrow his E92. It has been interesting to compare the E92 (also manual) to my E46 ~fairly~ back to back...was able to rack up a few hundred miles on the E92 in the past few days. The car has MCS 2-ways, Drexler GT4 LSD & 4.10 gears, 295 squared, rear end gutted, etc. While the car feels incredibly visceral, my E46 feels undoubtedly more rewarding to drive. With that said, the E92 easily kept up with my buddy's 991.2 GT3 in the canyons; something my E46 wouldn't be able to do.





Hoping to get the E46 back on the road in the upcoming weeks. The replacement S54 just got delivered, going to be refreshing every bottom-end gasket, most top-end gaskets excluding cracking the head open. Cooling system refresh, clutch, ceramic-coated Bimmerworld headers, O2 sensors, HTE tune, clutch, Z4M FCABs, and so forth. Fingers crossed good enough for another 150+k miles. If anyone has any recommendations as to anything else I should do while the engine is out, please chime in.

[Slideways]

Check that the head gasket is sealing with a leak down test. It'll be much easier to replace it while the engine is out of the car if it is indeed leaking between cylinders. A compression test won't always catch a head gasket problem.