2007 LCI N43 - oil hydraulic valve and VANOS

[Dithaz3]

Hello everyone,
My name is Zbigniew and i live in the Netherlands.
Since July 2019 i am an owner of BMW E87 LCI N43 with a power of 105kW from 2007 and unfortunately still i have some unsolved issues..

Some history:
In december i've send my car to a workshop to fix problems with mixing coolant with oil and probably i drived some time without knowing something bad is happening. Two weeks ago i had replaced all injectors, and still i am waiting to put new NOX sensor within my car. The last time my car was in the same garage, they have told me i should be prepared to change timing chain soon (doesn't matter i'd asked few times before i changed all injectors... i did 200 km in the meantime).

Yesterday i did a few tests with INPA on my car and i have found two things that are keeping busy my mind right all the time.

First thing is that my hydraulic valve status is out of range of good working profile (normally it should be over 40% all time):
- this is minimal % while standby (engine on, not driving):





- this is maximal % while running (engine on, driving):




also, here you can see the pressure going through this valve:



So my question is - should i replace oil hydraulic valve with the sensor (probably 11417584990 and 12617549796)? How long can i drive with this? Is there a way that something else is happening?


Second thing - according some information gathered from the internet:

If any of them is outside +/-7,0 .. 8,5%, perform the repair of VANOS (it’s mounted incorrectly)

I've checked old diagnostic photos i did few months ago and i saw that my VANOS is also out of range:




Could that mean that life of my timing chain passed? Should i replace VANOS ASAP? I doesn't know if it is a right question to ask.

If you got through this post i am very thankful.
BR,
Zbigniew

[tpayne1982]

hi! Have you solved your problem? Do you know about the electro-hydraulic actuator? I've found quite a lot of advantages about electro-hydraulic actuators, for example, very low power consumption, simple installation, because complex hydraulic supply system not required, and 100% duty cycle. I think this can really simplify my work and so I would like to know your opinion about it because there is not much information to be found on the internet. So far only on this site https://www.cowandynamics.com/electro-hydraulic-valve-actuator/ I have found the necessary information.

[SvenHz]

Hi Zbigniew, I have the same N43 engine in a 2011 318i with 131.000km done (also in NL). How are you doing 1 year after your post?
I have no complaints but recently got sporadic oil pressure warnings when hot + idling (typically after coming off the highway, waiting for a red light). I have cleaned out the hydraulic oil pressure solenoid and after 4 long drivers it seems that the problem is gone. In the mean time I finally got a working cable and with INPA I see approx. 26% PWM value when hot and idle which seems low (I can't see the pictures in your post anymore). Pressure is correct (remember to add 1000hPa to Istwert), around 2500 hPa in that situation. Any thoughts?