540i M-tech "mechanic special"

[JimLev]

P0021 is bank 2 over advanced.
When you first start the engine the DME electrically tests the vanos solenoids. If they fail you get P0010/P0020.
The next test is Crank to cam timing. The spec is +/- 10º, a failure will code P0011 or P0012.
So you bank 2 trigger wheel is off. The quickest fix is to take the valve cover off, mark the current position of the trigger wheel to the vanos with a scratch mark. Loosen the 24mm nut and rotate the trigger wheel CCW about 5º, tighten the nut. After it’s back together clear the codes.

[scubajim20]

What he said /\

[Jayfabs]

P0021 is bank 2 over advanced.
When you first start the engine the DME electrically tests the vanos solenoids. If they fail you get P0010/P0020.
The next test is Crank to cam timing. The spec is +/- 10º, a failure will code P0011 or P0012.
So you bank 2 trigger wheel is off. The quickest fix is to take the valve cover off, mark the current position of the trigger wheel to the vanos with a scratch mark. Loosen the 24mm nut and rotate the trigger wheel CCW about 5º, tighten the nut. After it’s back together clear the codes.

I was going to recheck everything but I like your solution much better! Bank 2 is the driver side? Thanks

Also what is the best cheapest way to get new padding and leather for my driver seat? Can I find a good passenger side and convert it to my driver frame?

- - - Updated - - -

What he said /\

Thanks

[JimLev]

Right, bank 2 is the drivers side.
Someone will chime in about your seat questions. I think I remember someone using the pass seat on the drivers side.

[Jayfabs]

Right, bank 2 is the drivers side.
Someone will chime in about your seat questions. I think I remember someone using the pass seat on the drivers side.

I was pretty positive bank 2 is the left side aka driver side in the US.

[JimLev]

You are correct, don’t know how I screwed that up. Not enough coffee. I went back and fixed my error.

[Jayfabs]

You are correct, don’t know how I screwed that up. Not enough coffee. I went back and fixed my error.

Ok thanks. It is early.

[Jayfabs]

I finally got around to retarding the cam wheel yesterday. I tried twice and it did not fix my check engine light for the p0021 code. I would clear it but it would show pending after. The car runs super smooth.

[JimLev]

Some basic questions.....
1) Did you hold the cams when you tightened the center vanos bolt to keep the cams from rotating?
2) Are you sure you rotated the vanos all the way CCW?
3) About how much did you turn the trigger wheel CCW?

[Jayfabs]

Some basic questions.....
1) Did you hold the cams when you tightened the center vanos bolt to keep the cams from rotating? ​ I used the GAS tool for the initial job and I used a 27mm wrench to hold it yesterday.
2) Are you sure you rotated the vanos all the way CCW? I could not get them to OHM out on the initial job but they were fully CCW
3) About how much did you turn the trigger wheel CCW? It is hard to say but maybe 3 degrees twice yesterday. I find it hard to believe my GAS tool was off that far the first time. it ran great with no codes for multiple starts. It still runs great but has the code.

[JimLev]

Some basic questions.....
1) Did you hold the cams when you tightened the center vanos bolt to keep the cams from rotating? ​ I used the GAS tool for the initial job and I used a 27mm wrench to hold it yesterday.
But did you hold the cam when you initially torqued the vanos bolt?

2) Are you sure you rotated the vanos all the way CCW? I could not get them to OHM out on the initial job but they were fully CCWtorx bolt os tightened.
A lot of them won’t ohm, this isn’t a problem as long as you have them fully CCW when the torx bolt is torqued.

3) About how much did you turn the trigger wheel CCW? It is hard to say but maybe 3 degrees twice yesterday. I find it hard to believe my GAS tool was off that far the first time. it ran great with no codes for multiple starts. It still runs great but has the code.

I don’t use the GAS tools, I bought a Koch set long before GAS was making tools. I do remember Geargrinder saying a while ago it was possible to set up the trigger wheel tool wrong.
Did your set come with a trigger wheel tool for both sides, 2 tools? His initial kit cam with one that you’d use on both sides.
If you think you did everything right try turning it a few more degrees.

[Jayfabs]

I don’t use the GAS tools, I bought a Koch set long before GAS was making tools. I do remember Geargrinder saying a while ago it was possible to set up the trigger wheel tool wrong.
Did your set come with a trigger wheel tool for both sides, 2 tools? His initial kit cam with one that you’d use on both sides.
If you think you did everything right try turning it a few more degrees.

Yes it came with two tools for the cam wheels. I guess at this point I need to do a retiming. Is there any possibly for blocked passages ways in the vanos system causing the vanos to stay pumped up?

[JimLev]

There are a few oil check valves that oil flows thru on it’s way to the vanos.
Two are in the block, you’d need to pull the heads off to get to them. The other two are directly behind the vanos solenoids. They can be pulled out, and cleaned. They are only held in with an o-ring. They have threads on their ID, IIRC they are M10 x 1.0, you could thread a long bolt into them to pull them out. Some have use a 90º pick to get them out. Typically they get stuck open which causes the oil to drain out of the vanos when the engine is shut off instead of keeping it up in the vanos and distribution unit. If your engine internals weren’t all gunked up they are probably OK.

If you do re-time it make sure you hold the cams with a wrench when you are tightening the vanos bolt. Some have said the GAS cam locks cam bend slightly as they are aluminum.
Make sure you have the flywheel locked at TDC. Some have used the lock pin to get the Jesus bolt off and back on which can bend the pin, that introduces a few degrees of error.

[timpnw]

@jayfabs - This really sounds like what I had using GAS tools. Not the tools fault, but my lack of experience. I had to re-time as moving the timing wheels didn't change things. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-(P0011-P0021)

The giveaway was turning the engine over by hand going back to tdc, and the cam guides not just 'slipping back into place'. To get that correct, I tightened up the exhaust cam first.

[Jayfabs]

There are a few oil check valves that oil flows thru on it’s way to the vanos.
Two are in the block, you’d need to pull the heads off to get to them. The other two are directly behind the vanos solenoids. They can be pulled out, and cleaned. They are only held in with an o-ring. They have threads on their ID, IIRC they are M10 x 1.0, you could thread a long bolt into them to pull them out. Some have use a 90º pick to get them out. Typically they get stuck open which causes the oil to drain out of the vanos when the engine is shut off instead of keeping it up in the vanos and distribution unit. If your engine internals weren’t all gunked up they are probably OK.

If you do re-time it make sure you hold the cams with a wrench when you are tightening the vanos bolt. Some have said the GAS cam locks cam bend slightly as they are aluminum.
Make sure you have the flywheel locked at TDC. Some have used the lock pin to get the Jesus bolt off and back on which can bend the pin, that introduces a few degrees of error.

I never used the locking pin to hold any unbolting or bolting procedures. I used a 27mm wrench to hold the cams anytime I tightened or untightened a bolt

@jayfabs - This really sounds like what I had using GAS tools. Not the tools fault, but my lack of experience. I had to re-time as moving the timing wheels didn't change things. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-(P0011-P0021)

The giveaway was turning the engine over by hand going back to tdc, and the cam guides not just 'slipping back into place'. To get that correct, I tightened up the exhaust cam first.

Thanks I will check out your thread. I timed everything and then rotated 2 full turns and rechecked everything with the blocks back on. Maybe I installed the cam wheel tool wrong. It happens.

[Jayfabs]

Just a little update. I just got done with retiming the car and for now my codes are gone. Here is what I did different. This time when I tightened the cam bolts I started with the exhaust cams and then tightened the intake per timpnw. Also the main thing I did different that I found was I rotated the engine 2x times after the timing job and then reinstalled the pin and cam blocks. I then slid the biggest bolt that would fit in the inspection hole of the top front cover and it’s supposed to slide into the cam wheel hole. I was slightly advanced on the passenger side so I just backed the wheel up a couple mm's if that to make it perfect. I started the car multiple times after and went for a drive. No codes are showing.

oddly enough I had a sharpie mark on the drivers vanos from when I was trying to retard the cam wheel. I’m actually more advanced than before. That sharpie mark used to be in the center of that fin. I guess something was off/different.
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[CPHES]

That is quite a spread on the sharpie mark. Hope you are good now.

[Jayfabs]

That is quite a spread on the sharpie mark. Hope you are good now.

I must have made a mistake the first time. So far between yesterday and today there is no check engine light and nothing pending.

[scubajim20]

that would be great news after all the extra time you had to put in

[Jayfabs]

that would be great news after all the extra time you had to put in

Thanks. Everything is good still with no codes.

[vinyldude]

I think your experience matches mine (from way back) that it was the cams being tightened slightly off that fundamentally caused the codes. It is tricky to get them aligned just right especially due to the vanos-moving intake cams. After rotating the engine the cam blocks should slide right in or there is some alignment issue.
It is possible to get rid of the codes though by adjusting the trigger wheels to hide the fact that the cams are slightly misaligned.

[Jayfabs]

I think your experience matches mine (from way back) that it was the cams being tightened slightly off that fundamentally caused the codes. It is tricky to get them aligned just right especially due to the vanos-moving intake cams. After rotating the engine the cam blocks should slide right in or there is some alignment issue.
It is possible to get rid of the codes though by adjusting the trigger wheels to hide the fact that the cams are slightly misaligned.

I tried to retard the intake cam wheel twice with no luck. If you look at my post where I said I fixed it There is a sharpie mark on the vanos that used the be in the center of the small fin. right now i'm at least 5 degrees advanced from where i was the first time. So I'm assuming my vanos was not fully CCW the first time but I doubt it as i was double checked multiple times. I wonder if the chains stretches. IDK but I have have no codes now.

[Jayfabs]

Hey guys I'm back again. I recently had a P0022,P0128,P2179,P2189 code pop up. I swapped the cam sensors but the P0022 code did not change. I went back in and re-timed the car again and it still did not change. After that I went back and moved the cam wheel forward a couple degrees on the driverside and it went away but now I have a P0343 code in its place. The car is also running horrible. Any ideas where I should start?


update: the P0022 and everything else was a bad vanos solenoid.