Thin wall vanos solenoid socket

[OrzechNJ]

So Im doing vcg and upper timing chain cover gaskets on my m62tu and I didnt know I have to remove vanos solenoids...
My question is
Are there any stores I could find socket like this or online is the only option ? Autozone and advanced auto parts doesnt have one..
Or maybe there is some other way to remover upper covers without touching the water pump?

Thank You
Pat

[edjack]

Carefully examine the chain guides for wear.

You may need to flag down a MAC or Snapon tool truck for the socket.

[Roxie]

You do not need to remove the solenoids, just the gaskets for them on the cover itself. Only need to remove the solenoids if you are doing the distribution covers as well (which would require removing sprockets, so you should be good)

[OrzechNJ]

I already took vcg off and I got upper timing cover loose but there was no way to take them off without removing solenoids or water pump.. Im heading back home now so I will try again shortly

[OrzechNJ]

Checked again and absolutely no way to take them off without removing water pump or solenoids.. I will try a few more stores tonight.. If I have no luck I will order sacket online tonight

[BimmerBreaker]

Grind down a normal size socket?

[JimLev]

Grind down a normal size socket?

Won't work, been there done that. The deep well sockets aren't long enough to reach the hex on the solenoids.
When I bought my timing kit a thin wall socket came with it.

[R Shaffner]

One of my dad's favorite expressions was: "The right tool makes a hard job easy, and the wrong tool makes an easy job hard."

(Not that I haven't needed to use the wrong tools, or make my own.)

That's true in this case. I tried a variety of things, like plumber's shower sockets. I got one loose but not the other. Then I found a cheap thin walled socket on eBay that did the trick. Good luck!

[R Shaffner]

Also, how old is your water pump?

I drove my '97 540 for 230,000 miles. It left me stranded three times (blown expansion tank, broken upper hose fitting on the radiator, and a sudden water pump failure that locked up and snapped the belt while driving on the highway).

I've heard that from others too, about the water pump. Many water pumps start whining or leaking before they fail, but these are more likely to give no warning and suddenly fail. The upper covers leaked on an '02 540 I bought as a replacement. When I fixed the leak I replaced the water pump as preventative maintenance. And I installed a cooler thermostat to put less pressure on the cooling system and all those plastic parts. (I strongly suggest that too.)

[OrzechNJ]

No leaks or weird noises coming out of pump and as fat as temperature car works fine, 150k miles on the clock. I found socket for $30 plus shipping and hopefully it showes up in the beginning od next week.. Ive been thinking about installing lower temp termostat as well..

[geargrinder]

There's threads about plumbers sockets - IME those don't work, I tried 'em for a while with zero success.

Definitely there's some way to get the UTC's off around them - I've seen plenty of pix of examples - but I suspect its on a stripped down engine without anything else in the way - pretty sure if you're doing a whole chain job then you can leave 'em be no problem (cuz so much stuff comes off the front to get out of the way...)

What I have (since I can't borrow Jim's so easily anymore...) is a some kind of special axle-nut-deep-well from some flaps place - on the rack w/ all their other special tools. Was cheap. It needed to be ground down - oddly it fit pretty much OK on one side (right?) but would bind against the UTC on the other... I have a big ass heavy duty bench sander and just turned it down a bit... you don't have to do the whole thing of course just the depth of the covers.

[JimLev]

I threw out the plumbers sockets after I got the real deal.
IIRC I think it was Manny that was able to get the drivers side upper timing cover off without removing the solenoid. Think the water pump had to be removed.

[OrzechNJ]

Correct the water pump is on the way.. I even couldnt take one of the bolts out that is sitting behind it..
This socket should do it
https://www.germanspecialtytools.com/collections/bmw-tools/products/bmw-vanos-solenoid-socket-116420
Id rather to wait a few days and do things right..

[OrzechNJ]

Socket showed up today.. Hopefully I will get car back on the road today..


http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff493/kasztan_0/Mobile%20Uploads/AB698236-80D5-4F9C-B878-A7E8360CE4B9.jpg (http://s1238.photobucket.com/user/kasztan_0/media/Mobile%20Uploads/AB698236-80D5-4F9C-B878-A7E8360CE4B9.jpg.html)