Hi, I thought I'd share my VANOS service experience with the forum. I bought my '54 plate X3 in April with 92k miles on. I had noticed that lower end torque was a bit rubbish and my acceleration was dubious.
So I decided to buy the PTFE VANOS seals from X8R to upgrade from the buna BMW ones.
I performed the service yesterday and it took around 5-6 hours. I took my time and didn't rush, and was a pretty easy upgrade
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This is what I found when I took the cover off. I couldn't quite believe the state of it. I was sure now I was doing the right thing! This is apparently what happens if you don't give your car an oil service at the correct intervals and use non-synthetic oil. Im going to be changing my oil every 10k miles from now on!
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I got it cleaned up and started the procedure to remove the unit
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FYI, remember to replace the valve cover gasket as well. Mine had become like brittle plastic and surely wasn't doing its job
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With the unit out, cleaning and seal replacement could begin
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I can only upload 5 pictures per post, so I'll continue in VANOS part 2 :-)
VANOS Service Part 2:
Used Gunk to clean the unit
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Removed the old seals on both pistons
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The piston cleaned up and new seals installed
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The reassembled unit back in place. Very happy with my work.
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They say you need to drive the car around 250 miles in the city so the seals can bed in properly, but some improvement should be obvious...Im finding the car runs so much smoother, the gear changes seem more fluid. The lower end torque is a massive improvement. I can't say with any certainty about improved MPG yet, as Ive only had 4 or 5 trips into town. But I'm noticing that my usual 23/24mpg is now should 27mpg. I'll keep my eye on the MPG and report back if anyone is interested...
I would highly recommend this maintenance procedure for anyone who owns an M54 engine, and who maybe noticing lower end torque issues (tbh, id just do it anyway, as the BMW seals will fail eventually anyway!)
M
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