Need help asap!! Vcg and vanos seal repair problem!

[Xler8n]

Im highly upset and worried, im not sure what to do. So i just got this 2000 323i about 4 months ago with 150K. Runs good most of the time and idles very rough sometimes but then goes back to "normal". It was given to me, so free car but i have to take care of the repairs. Done several things, Thermostat, Water Pump, Fuel Pump and Filter and a FSU i got out of a junker so now i have AC!! I dont have to pull the fuse for the blower so i dont kill the battery. Anyhow, I got my parts today. A new Valve Cover Gasket, NGK Plugs and the VANOS seals; i figure i might as well do while im in there. When i took off the valve cover, I ran into THIS!!! The person who had this car OBVIOUSLY DID NOT take care of it. Ive tried cleaning some of that GUNK but i'm afraid if i remove the VANOS it will fall apart. Some of my mechanic friends said not to try to clean the GUNK, that the motor is toast, and that burnt oil is holding everything together. To just put on the new VCG and pray everything continues to work as it should. I have never seen a car this bad. So i dont know whether to abandon the VANOS seal replacement and just put the new VCG on and don't dump anymore money into the car and just drive it till it blow up. I need some ADVICE ASAP. I plan on putting everything back together tomm (Sunday) but im LITERALLY AFRAID to take the VANOS out.

[MauiM3Mania]

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[MarcoZandrini]

The motor isn’t toast! That junk is likely sludge caused by infrequent oil and filter changes. There are several ways to rid the engine of the sludge, including dumping some “engine cleaner” into the oil. Don’t! The simplest way to clean the engine is frequent oil and filter changes. Every 5000 miles is a good interval. The second method is to substitute a quart of synthetic automatic transmission fluid (ATF) for a quart of synthetic oil. Why? ATF has a lot of cleaning chemicals necessary to keep the small fluid passages in an automatic transmission clean. I rec that you change the oil and filter after 1000 miles if you go this route.

[johnjmurray]

+1 to Marco. These motors can last your lifetime if taken care of. Go for the VANOS seals. Fluctuating idle is prolly a dirty Idle Control Valve near the throttle body under the adaptor valve (DISA).