SF Bay Area Vanos, Rod Bearing, Inspection II, etc. Services by Dan Avon

[mrgizmo04]

Just realized Dan hasn't been on this forum for around 6 months. Anyone know what's going on or where he's been??

Last I talked to him, he is no longer doing this.

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[mrgizmo04]

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[P Swayz]

Just realized Dan hasn't been on this forum for around 6 months. Anyone know what's going on or where he's been??

[P Swayz]

Agreed Dan is the best!!!

And Dan, I sent you a text to get some work done. Hit me back

[SVPREME]

When it comes to servicing our precious E46 M3s in the Bay Area, no one comes close to Dan. His expertise, efficiency and meticulousness far exceeds that of any indy shop or dealership I've ever gone to. When I first picked up my car in March, I had Dan take care of rod bearings as well as VANOS refresh. He's done a handful of other work on her ranging from suspension installs and other smaller jobs. Whenever an issue came up on my car, even on road trips, Dan always took the time to walk me through things. I can't recommend him enough and we're truly spoiled to have a passionate and experienced individual like him here in the Bay.

[M Coupe]

That is incredible attention to detail and reassurance that critical jobs will be done right from the get-go. I would never go to an indie (don't even mention dealerships) with guys like Dan around. Glad you are in the Bay Area as I may need your wisdom and expertise in "bullet-proofing" my VANOS in the future. I might have missed it but do you come to residences or the car needs to be in your possession?

[simon_c]

I've heard nothing but good things about Dan. I'm on the Peninsula and now with a newborn it's hard to get out to the East Bay where Dan is but had some interactions with him in the past and he has been nothing but a class act.

[DropTopKingM3]

Wow! I wish you were in NY. Im about to do the "big three" and additional maintenance and modification items. Would love to have someone as detailed oriented as you working on the car. Keep up the great work!

[gks10001]

Dan has incredible attention to detail. He just finished a suspension refresh and a rod bearing service and I couldn't be happier. I agree with the commenters above that you will not find a better mechanic/shop. This man knows e46 M3s inside and out!

[AtmosFearik]

I have been taking my car to Dan for a few years now. Its no secret his attention to detail is arguably better than most any dealership or BMW Indy shop around. I can attest to this. He is very meticulous with everything he notices, even if its not the focus of what he's working on. I've never had any issues with his work whatsoever. Everything is buttoned up and ready to go. He provides a detailed rundown of his work photos and all of his progress, so you will never come away unclear that the work was done and done right.
His costs obviously undercut any indy shop, and is beyond reasonable for the quality of work you're getting. I wouldn't hesitate to refer him to anyone with an E46. He knows his stuff and is a cool guy to boot!
PM me if you have any questions about my personal experiences with Dan. I'd be happy to give you more insight!

[M3Guy]

Dan goes beyond anyone I ever met in the mechanic field. He thoroughly documents, gives great advice, is honest, and very reasonable for his services. I dont think you can find better in CA, actually I'm damn near positive you can't..

[nervous24]

I’ve had Dan work on my car several times and I cannot speak highly enough of him and his work.

He will always take the time to offer advice/recommendations if needed and just generally make sure you have the right parts for the job.

If you are within any semi-reasonable distance of him and need help with pretty much anything on your car, get a hold of Dan and make the damn drive. His work is worth it.

[csynic]

Having moved over from Seattle 3 years ago, I turned to M3F to look for someone who could continue all the work done on my 02 Steel Gray M3. Dan's attention to detail is second to none - when he's working on the task, he's constantly on the look-out, taking pictures and reporting back on adjacent areas or potential problems that you may want to address in the future. He helps prioritize it in a pragmatic and cost effective way - no BS and straight to the point. He takes the effort to clean stuff up on the internals in order to make easier future diagnoses, and remembers stuff about my car from repairs I've shared from way back. He really makes the M3 ownership is so much easier.

He is very detail oriented, works very efficiently and clearly knows what he's doing. Dan's name keeps popping up in the multiple groups of m3 enthusiasts in the Bay Area I've met over the years, testament to the longstanding reputation he's developed for himself.

He's also a huge track nut, and cranks out some crazy lap times so he's totally qualified when it comes to track prep

Despite living an hour away from him, I've never had to think about going anywhere else. Dan's work is top notch, pricing competitive, and to top it off, he's a super responsive, detailed, and all-round stand up guy. My car continues to run great, and will keep coming back to him.


Thank you Dan!

[DanAvoN7]

Performance Modifications

I mainly perform vanos overhauls, rod bearing services, Inspection II services, etc. but I also enjoy taking on projects where I work with customers to develop a plan for their car if they are looking to improve the overall performance beyond how it came from the factory. Below I have included some notes/pictures from a service I performed on a customer car to show the process and the level of work that I perform.

I had previously worked on this car to perform a rod bearing service, valve adjustment, and some other maintenance items. After this initial work to make sure the car was mechanically sound, we later talked at length about his plans/goals for the car. His car is an occasional weekend car that he also wants to take to track days. We came up with a list of modifications to improve engine performance as well as some suspension modifications to compliment his existing coil over setup while still keeping the car street-able. I sourced all of the parts ahead of the planned work and took inventory of them as they arrived.


With the section1 removed for the planned header install, a set of Rogue Engineering transmission mounts were installed. These help to keep the transmission in place during spirited driving and they don’t add a lot of NVH so it’s perfect for a dual duty car.


Removal of the factory headers was next. This car is an early 2001 that came with the rubber hose/hose clamped oil return line. We timed this work for when the car was due for an oil change so that we could install the revised BMW oil return line that uses a stainless-steel hose and a AN connection at the oil pan. This revision was made early on in the E46 M3 production and is a good part to install as the rubber line/hose clamp is a potential failure item.


A set of Euro headers installed with new primary o2 sensors. Factory heat shields reinstalled along with an SAP block off plate. Valve cover leak free and clean a few thousand miles after we performed a valve adjustment!



A set of Turner Motorsport underdrive pullies installed along with new belt drive components.


An AFE Stage 2 intake installed. Their dry filter was selected to avoid fouling the MAF which is a common issue with oiled filters.


Next up were the suspension items starting with a Hotchkis front sway bar. Adjustable end links were also installed and later adjusted on a set of leveling pads to ensure no pre-load on the front bar.


The previous owner had replaced the RTAB’s with the revised version prior to my customer purchasing the car. These were not installed correctly as shown with the “splits” not at the correct 12/6 o’clock position.


Old bushings removed with proper bushing tools so as to not damage the rear trailing arm. A set of Turner Motorsport sealed moonball RTAB’s were installed.



The new tune file calibrated for the new modifications arrived from Epic Motorsports and was flashed.


Work completed and car ready to hit the track!

[DanAvoN7]

Cooling System Overhaul

The E46 M3 cooling system is pretty stout. Many of these cars are now well over 100K+ miles though. Combined with the old age of the original parts and many of the parts can begin to wear/tear. It’s often a good idea to overhaul the cooling system as preventative maintenance; especially if you drive in a hot climate or plan to track the car. Below are some notes/pictures from a recent cooling system overhaul I performed on a customer car to share the parts I use, the process, and the level of work that I perform.

The work begins with an inventory of parts. For this customer and the majority of services I perform, I sourced all of the parts ahead of the planned work. For cooling system parts I source Genuine OE BMW as the majority of these parts aren’t available as an OEM part direct from the manufacture that makes the part for BMW. I have seen cars with other “OEM” parts that aren’t the same as the genuine part and they’ve often had issues. The most prevalent issue I’ve seen is with OEM hoses in which the O-rings used to seal the hoses to the radiator compression set shortly after install and then leak.


Original radiator with 88K miles compared to a new radiator. It is very common to see this much debris accumulating between the radiator and AC condenser and this car has fairly low mileage!


The AC condenser has the majority of the debris as it sits directly in front of the radiator. With the radiator removed I can safely use compressed air to blow the majority of the debris out of the AC condenser from the backside forward. This is often overlooked/not performed when replacing a radiator and if not cleaned it can really hinder airflow to the radiator!





New radiator installed


Another step often overlooked is fully draining the cooling system. The radiator only holds part of the cooling systems overall coolant. The majority of the coolant is held in the block and if not drained you are only replacing some of the coolant in the system. As part of all coolant services, whether in a cooling system overhaul or just an Inspection II service, the engine block drain is removed to allow for draining.


New water pump, thermostat, O-rings, and cleaned thermostat housing installed.


To verify that the system is not only water tight but also air tight and free of any leaks, I use a vacuum bleeder to check and then fill the system. This tool pulls a vacuum on the entire cooling system and if vacuum is held it verifies that the system is leak free. It then sucks coolant in to the system under vacuum ensuring no air is trapped within the system.


The car is test driven to ensure the cooling system is functioning properly prior to return to the customer.