2007 BMW 328i (N52)

Just changed out my eccentric cam sensor due to it leaking oil into the electrical section causing it to basically malfunction. No codes were thrown, just poor performance, serious hesitation causing the shift pattern to be abrupt and untimely in it's shift pattern, some white smoke at and after warmed up. Car was basically choking. The dealer couldn't find the issue but I found it through "dumb luck" when changing the coils and plugs, I popped off the connector to see what it was due to caked oil around the plug. I didn't know the part so I posted the pic on e90post and it was identified, leading me to research more on this sensor. The sensor was filled with oil, obviously, that isn't right.

I will show as best as I can with narration and pics, it is a pain in the ass but I already expected that and allotted the entire day to do it and take my time.
With the crazy weather lately here in NJ, I have no garage so I had to be creative with what I have.



Disconnect battery...I removed the negative. Leave the trunk unlatched for easy access to reattach later...

I won't go into detail how to remove the cabin filter and all the covers, if you don't know how to do that, I would suggest not doing this until you are positive you can do it.



You need to remove the support bar for clearance, (circled in red) there is a plastic screw in the center of the windshield wipers, 1/4 turn and it pops out. remove the bolt, on the strut tower, remove that bolt as well.
Circled in yellow is the sensor we need to replace..



Disconnect these wires, push metal clips in and pull out on the connectors..


Remove all the coil sticks and the wire loom for the coils, there are snaps in the plastic wire loom housing, simply unclip them, take your time and get them all, so we can move it aside as far as it lets you.

Next to the fuel injectors, we need to remove this plastic wire housing that plugs into the injectors. The clips took me a few minutes to figure out which way to move them to remove it, it's a little tight in there but it's doable. I used a needle nose, you can use a screw driver too... You need to push away each side of the clip and pull up easily on the housing. Do one at a time and pull up just enough to disconnect it, then continue til it's all out. Then take the whole wire loom and move it over as far as you can to the passenger side of the car.


Go to the back of the valve cover and remove the oil vapor hose. Little tricky on this connector but there are 2 tabs on each side, it needs to be squeezed to release, it doesn't happen so easily, you may need to assist it with a screw driver just to get it to the point and pull/ push apart.


Remove the valvetronic motor, 2 bolts on top and one on bottom as well as 2 holding the gasket. It will kind of spring out a little, then pull it straight out.


Remove the shields in the coil housing, I used a "C" clip tool, these didn't come out as easy as it looks, they were snug in there so I had to squeeze on the handle and wiggle up til it released


Remove the DME housing cover and pull out the rubber grommets/seals in order to move the wiring, this gives extra clearance when removing the cover.
Remove the coolant overflow hose. I released pressure by slightly turning the bleed screw, then lifted up on the wire clip, then pulled the hose off the nipple. Do this easily so you don't break anything.


The sensor with oil in it.... to disconnect, tiny screw driver on one side, separate very very slightly and pull very little just to keep the clip out of the notch, do the other side the same way, then wiggle/pull up nice and easy.
Remove the seal around the sensor, just pull it out, it's snug so just give it a good pull.



Begin loosening all the valve cover bolts, the few behind the cover against the firewall are tucked in pretty good, you will need a swivel head for you socket to give that extra flex back there, otherwise it will be very hard to get it out. Remove all bolts including the center 3 bolts. 10 mm bolt heads in the center.
I did not take pics of the cover being removed due to it being a pain in the ass and hands getting all oiled up.
Line up all the bolts removed, I like to line them up the way I take it out just so there is no mismatches later on re install.


This cover is plastic, it is a pain in the ass to get out. I can't explain really how it comes out, I had to pull up on the front, turn it and just when I thought I wouldn't get it out without breaking anything, it came out. So don't give up, take a break, try again but be patient.

Now, we are exposed....


We need to loosen 3 bolts from the sensor, there is a hole in the orange chain guide to access the bottom bolt. Loosen bolts almost all the way out, be careful if you do not to drop it down into the timing housing.
It's a little tight in there, what I did was back the bolts almost out, and screwed the bottom bolt back in about halfway, this lets you clear as you pull the sensor out. So we unbolt, pull sensor off of shaft, and rebolt halfway on bottom bolt.


Drop in new sensor with it's new bolts supplied on it, screw bottom bolt in halfway, put it in place, unscrew bottom bolt again, seat it on the shaft, then bolt it up evenly on the 10mm bolts. Nice 5 minute job that took about 3 hours to get to...



Clean the mating surface for the valve cover and the 3 inside gasket surfaces around the coil holes.


Wipe dry/clean the grooved gasket area on the cover. and install the gaskets. press them in.


Install the valve cover, a slight pain but not as bad, just double check the gaskets to make sure they are still seated in their groove and didn't pop out of place.


Put in all your bolts and snug them. It calls for 9Nm on the torque. I did 9Nm plus another 1/4 turn. You do as you like but be sure to torque them to it's required torque specs.

Now, everything needs to get put back in place/connected and it's basically the reverse of removal, only difference is you don't have to unclip things, you just push them back in place.
Double check everything!!! Plugs are all connected and secured, hoses back on, etc..
Leave the covers off after everything is on, re connect the battery, turn power on and reset the clock, this gives a fault code so reset it. After you are sure everything is in place, start the car, it will sound funny, some hiccups but it's normal after major surgery. run it for a few minutes, look for leaking around everything. Shut the car off, if no leaks, put the covers back on and cabin filter.....
Close the hood and test drive


After extensive research, this sensor runs about $400-$435
I found it online through BMW of Bloomfield NJ on their parts catalog.
http://www.bmwofbloomfieldpartsonlin...?siteid=215185
It showed up for $310, I called and they said it's $435 but if I print out the online price, they will honor the online price, this was convenient for me not to wait for shipping.
I purchased the sensor, the seal that goes around the sensor, a valvetronic motor gasket, and the valve/cylinder head cover gasket. All for $398.
According to my researching, dealers quotes for this job were around the $2000 range.
The total time it took me was 6.5 hours, I saved a few bucks, learned the car through experience, know exactly what was done and took my time making sure it was done right. I like to measure twice and cut once so since I was not in a race or hurry to get done, it made it smoother this way knowing there was not need to rush through it to break any records.

I was not too detailed in this, most of this process takes simple common sense such as removing things and moving things out of the way. The cover itself was the worst of the job but still was not all that bad as some said it is.
If I have forgotten anything, I will edit it later. It's memorial weekend so I am kind of rushing through this post.
I hope it helps someone out there out in the future.

Another tip is....get everything you need before you start. I stopped at autozone and grabbed an inverted star bit kit. My valve cover bolts did not need to be replaced, the bolts that are painted blue, must be replaced. So if your bolts are blue, buy new ones, do not re use them.