[pete9903]

Calling all VANOS experts!

After a spirited drive a couple nights ago, I induced the subject codes and a lovely whine. It's not a belt whine (I'm 98% certain, have dealt with those), my fear is this is my intake VANOS crying uncle. I pulled both VANOS solenoids, cleaned them well (no debris after I blew air through holes), and swapped. Fault codes stayed on the intake side.

I have reset codes a couple times now. Always get 2A7C - Var. camshaft timing control, but once I also got 2A82 - VANOS intake.

Idle is rough and hunts, but acceleration is smooth. Is this typical of VANOS, or indicative of something else?

Appreciate any and all experience/insight, particularly on the whine (see link below).

Thanks in advance everyone.

-Pete

[Phil325i]

Could it be a PCV valve issue? Have you tried removing the oil filler cap with the engine running? Lots of vacuum resistance?

[Suvorovo]

As a new e90 330 owner, I highly recommend getting INPA which will immediately show vanos issues. Here are some screenshots which show advancement of the eccentric shaft during idle and revving the engine. There are also other indicators called adaptations and they will help you identify whether your engine has bigger issues like worn out bearing ledges which will prevent the vanos from functioning, stretched out chain, etc. Adaptations exist so the car can make minor changes to it's function as the parts wear out through use. If you have too many, the car has reached a limit and can no longer adapt on the worn out parts.

If you can confirm your eccentric shafts are advancing, then your solenoids are fine. Also, check your oil check valves that they aren't clogged. That's another cheap $40 fix if you need to replace.