[stormtrooper7]

Is ECS the only place that sells these?

[stormtrooper7]

There are 2 of these in the N52? (2006 330i)

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by stormtrooper7

Is ECS the only place that sells these?

And a BMW dealer of course...

[mweisdorfer]

I believe there are 2 check valves on the N54 motor, but the diagram only shows one.

http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E9...ttached_parts/

Just did this DIY. My car has 115,000 miles on it with the original vanos solenoids in it. I have got the infamous 1/2 engine light 3 times in the last 3 weeks. So, I checked for codes and got code 002A87. I am hoping to avert spending $250.00 on two brand new vanos solenoids by doing this DIY. Time will tell.

I removed the one of the vacuum tanks and the wheel well liner. Removing the passenger, front tire and wheel liner just shed more light in this small area. I then sprayed brake cleaner in the two cylinder indentions to clean out any dirt and grease etc. before removing the check valves.

I used an e40 torx bit with a 1"extension. I had to feel my way from the top side of the engine with the torx bit and extension in hand to ensure the torx bit was in the slots. I then attached a 1/4 drive thin, ratchet and removed the check valves slowly but surely.

The new check valves took all of 10 min to put in and tighten up. I made sure to lube up the green O rings with fresh engine oil, prior to installing the new check valves. I re-sprayed the area with brake cleaner to ensure I had a clean area. I let the engine run for about 5 min, and I checked to see if there was any leaking. No leaks.

I don't think trying to take them out via the wheel well would work very well. I tried going in with an extension and swivel on the end with the e40 attached to it. It was more than a pain then it was worth trying to get the e40 to bite. It's not a straight shot into the grooves of the torx bit from the wheel well. This is what prompted me to remove the vacuum tank, and do it from the top even though you can not see the check valve at all.

[Phil325i]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

I believe there are 2 check valves on the N54 motor, but the diagram only shows one.

Erm... your diagram clearly says 'Quantity 2'.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Erm... your diagram clearly says 'Quantity 2'.

Yes, the parts list shows 2 parts needed. However, on the actual diagram there is only one drawing of the part instead of 2.

[mrheinze]

Just checked my 2006 330i (@ 90K miles).
I have had occasionally seen 2A87 codes reported (along with 2EF5). Absolutely agree that removing the wheel and liner is the best way to go to get to the valves. They were clean not at all showing signs of blocking or other crud. Cleaned them with solvent and air, put them back to see if this changes anything.

[AWDBooSTIn90]

Just did this on my 2007 E92 335i 6MT. Alot easier than i thought

For me, might be different for 6AT or xdrive not sure.

All i did was remove vacuum canisters. Unplug vacuum lines from canisters and tuck to the side.

Unbolt coolant reservoir(10mm x 2), unplug coolant level sensor(bottom of reservoir) and pull out of its spot. Push the tank gently forward and toward the DS slightly out of the way. Basically in the location where the vacuum tanks would be. I could get the tank to stay in place so I used a small bungee cord to gently pull the tank to the DS and keep it out of the way.

Pulled all wires out of harness talked about in this DIY. Pushed to the side. Theres 3 wires and one vacuum line. So 4 lines total for me.

Now for the vacuum line going to the front boost solenoid... What i did was pull the vacuum line out of the forward facing nipple, on the "T" directly above the front boost control solenoid. You will see what im talking about when you see it.

This gives you enough slack in the front wastegate vacuum line located in the bracket to pull it out of the bracket and out of the way.

Now everything is out of the way and clear to work.

I did not find it necessary to remove the bracket specified using a E8 bolt. And i did this all from above. No need to remove the wheel or fender liner. For me at least.

Then i used a T40 socket like described above and a short 3/8 drive extension(3") and a ratchet. Unscrewed both vanos check valve filters and removed from cylinder head.

To my suprise they were spotless. Now looking at them. I came to the conclusion that for some reason they were replaced already. I bought the car about 2 years ago from the 2nd owner ans it was dealer serviced its whole life and now currently at 126k miles. Since ive had it, ive regualrly changed the oil at 4-5k miles with Mobil 1 0W-40 European Formula synthetic only and a Mann oil filter(oem bmw).

Ive put about 20k miles on the car since i got it and its my weekend car and i usually drive it in the twistys with some spirited driving. Engine is stock except for K&N drop in air filter and JB4, now MHD stage 1 ecu flash.

So i know 20k miles isnt a ton of miles but to me it shows that regular oil changes will keep these filters clean. Im going to check them again in a year when i have more mods like inlets, fmic, dp's, and E85 blend again.

I recommend anyone with over 80k miles to check and/or replace these because ive seen some pics of some nastyy clogged up vanos filters. Im sure this effects the vanos solenoids and engine performance and efficiency as well.

Good luck and take your time!

Anthony G

[Abax335]

Worked at the dealer for over 5 years, never trained nor have I even heard of these or seen one replaced/checked. Had a coworker go for engine technologies and this was never discussed as well.

At the same time we have never had a vanos problem go unsolved so I'm not 100% sure what this could fix

[Three_thirty_I]

So I have finally tackled this and a bit disappointed with my findings (but also happy with my findings for another reason).

First of all, on the older N52 this is really an easy job. You need to lift the front right side of the car off the ground and remove the wheel, then remove the forward wheel well liner. With that removed, you can then access these Check Valves through the wheel well - seems odd, but it's the only practical way to do this and also see what you are doing. There was only a small amount of oil that came out, but the car drove last about a week ago, so I suppose some of the excess oil may have slowly seeped down.

I removed the Vanos solenoids first and set them aside since I wanted to clean them too. I then started with the lower of the two Check Valves (I suspect this is the one for the exhaust side). You will need to unscrew it quite a bit until it comes out, and then you will see a small amount of oil coming out, but luckily not much, and once the Check Valve is out you can put some tissue paper there to soak it up and any that may still come out. The upper Check Valve is the same, just a little trickier to see.

Now for the disappointment - I was really hoping to find some dirty Check Valves when I removed these, but they were actually very very clean (never been removed and still the original ones). They literally just had oil on them as expected, but no caked on muck or any signs of being blocked at all. This is what they looked like after a quick dip in some clean petrol and a wipe with some tissue paper.



I then cleaned the two solenoids and wanted to use a variable power supply to try and actuate them, but luckily I checked the voltage with my multimeter before attempting this, for some reason my variable power supply is not working properly and supplying over 14 volts. So just gave them a good soak while agitating but they seemed pretty clean (cleaned them last about a year or so ago). I then let them stand to dry/evaporate.

Back to the Check Valves - I noted that you can suck air through both of them, and you cannot blow air through them (if that makes sense), so the internal valve is functioning as it should. I also did this to help clean any possible blockages that maybe can't been seen. I sprayed them with some carb cleaner then wiped dry, more sucking of air through them, then a final dip in petrol before letting them dry.

All nicely cleaned Check Valves and Vanos solenoids ready to be refitted:






I put the Check Valves back in their original locations since I can't see any reason not to, but swapped the Vanos solenoids around (they are now back to their original factory positions).

I will have to see how the car behaves when I drive it tomorrow. If I notice a positive behaviour that might be short lived, then it is possible that one of the solenoids is faulty or not working correctly. But at least it shows that my engine is still very clean generally thanks to the more frequent oil changes. And it is in fact now due for an oil change which is why I had to do this job now.

[AndyW]

For N54, I removed the wheel. wheel liner and vacuum canisters (the whole mount). Gave me access using a universal joint. The old valves appeared clean but the check valve function was much less smooth and was more sticky than the new ones. Glad I replaced (@120k). Thx for this DIY and thread!

[pits200]

This can be done with only removing the engine cover. Definitely a little tighter and you need the proper tools.

[Three_thirty_I]

Originally Posted by pits200

This can be done with only removing the engine cover. Definitely a little tighter and you need the proper tools.

Probably can be done without having to remove much, but if it's the first time that you are doing this, and you don't want the few drops of oil that will spill out making a mess, then it is better to do as the OP did (and I did) by removing the right front wheel and forward wheel liner - really not that much extra work considering the benefit of better access and visibility for the job at hand.

[GoRomeo]

Interesting...thanks for sharing OP

[Dormermike]

Originally Posted by Meeni

Reposting here the same message as there: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...9&postcount=54 for future users



Ok, so I did the swap today.

Once one removes the wheel liner, it is not a very had job. There is an AC pipe somewhat in the way but it is not that bad at all. Took me maybe 20 minutes to get the swap done including the liner removal and an oil change.



Now, look at the ugly things I found in there. You'll have no problem finding which one is the faulty one, coming from the top, controlling the intake vanos. That's a lot of finely ground metal shavings. I have nothing in the oil filter, and the magnetic drain plug came out clean as well, disturbing.

I had a broken bypass valve in the oil filter housing cap, which I believe is the root of what happened here. I do not think this replacement is necessary if you do not experience symptoms like stalling with braking. Cleaning and swapping VANOS solenoids is always a first step, as is checking the crankshaft position sensor and the vanos position sensors. This is an unlikely issue that's worth investigating before going full berserk and replacing the heads.

Did you find out the cause of the metal shavings ?

[Jai]

Hey guys, found this thread 2 weeks ago and just did mine!
European 2006 330i N52.

The hardest part was the wheel liner as one of the screws didn't want to come out, rust and idiots working on the car previously.

Also, as just said, idiots, when I did my first oil change after driving the car a few thousand KM / Miles I found out the oil filter was loose in the housing, nothing in between so wasn't filtering correctly. So that MIGHT have something to do with the below.... But that has been fixed and this is 2 oil changes further.


Left one is bottom. Right one is top.


Just did a few KM of driving and it feels smoother when I let my foot off the gas pedal or press it. Also, seems to have more power in the lower end. But... might be placebo

[Phil325i]

Seeing all that crud, I suggest that next time you change the oil you cut open the paper element you've just removed and check for the presence of anything metallic...

[Jai]

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Seeing all that crud, I suggest that next time you change the oil you cut open the paper element you've just removed and check for the presence of anything metallic...

I actually did that 2 weeks ago when I changed oil + filter. I didn't see any stuff like this to be honest. Upon checking the two vanos check valves again this morning, it had dried/dripped off a little and I can see clearly some metal looking shavings...

Ran 30KM's yesterday and today and it incredibly more smooth with AC on and runs great, way more torque in lower end. The metal shavings do worry me a little though... Gonna drive 3500KM's with this car in my Holiday, 4 days from now (German autobahn and all...), we'll see. Thought I'd post the pics of the vanos check valves though for anyone wanting to do it, it's fairly easy to do when you have the wheel liner off and the right tools

[Dormermike]

Let's see the metal shavings. Could be timing chain throwing off metal. I know of a n52 which has been showing tiny aluminium slivers in the oil filter for the past 20k miles and no issues.

[Pinscher]

I did this through the top with a mirror and flashlight if anyone is interested to do it that way. It helps to have at least a 3 or 4-inch extension to your T40 bit before the end, and another 4 inches after the bend to attach to your ratchet.

If you had one of those flexy cameras this job would be a sinch.

[arhoads335i]

how impossible is this when you have relocated inlets

[shanes]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I plan on doing this swap soon at my next oil change. I was in the fenderwell last weekend replacing the halo bulb and finally got a good look at the job and it looks easy with the right tools. My car has 287,000 miles on it and has only ever seen CBS OCIs (averaged 17,500 miles up to 221,000). After 221,000 I dropped to a standard 10,000 mile OCI because the CBS OCI system goes defunct after the car reaches 186,000.

I'll post picks of my check valves once I pull them. We'll see if you CBS OCI theory is true.

I read your post about the CBS reminder system going south after 186,000 miles.. my 2011 328i is at 185,000 now and I’m kind of expecting this. Is there still confirmation that this is still known to happen even on the LCI cars? I’m thinking of resetting everything this week to hopefully delay a non reset situation after 186k.