E82 Broken Vanos question

[esauloff]

Hi there.
Could you please advise me about broken Vanos on my E82?

2012 E82 coupe, about 77k miles.
Sometimes I've got "0x2A7C VANOS Inlet Cold start" but it was on and off.
I do not drive much now so it happened for about 6 months.
Finally now have some time to fix it.

• I started with both new Vanos solenoids, not OEM but not the cheapest made in China. It does not matter probably.
• Cleaned both Vanos filters on the left side of the engine. Both were in good shape.
• New oil and filter.

But it did not fix the error.
Went to two places for diagnostics - BMW service and good proven but small shop.

At BMW service, they blamed Vanos gears but could not make any guarantee, without removing the valve cover.

Small shop said that Vanos probably is ok but thought it is oil pressure during engine startup.
They wanted to check camshaft bearings, whatever it means.
Most probably they referred to this info - https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...46779-9999.pdf and https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/20...47067-9999.pdf.

Decided to do whatever I can so far by myself, especially with $3k estimated price at both places.

And here is what I see after valve cover removal.
Intake Vanos gear is missing one bolt head, on the photo, other bolts are very loose. Exhaust gear has all bolts loose.

I want to clarify please:

• Since it is definitely Vanos gears, do I need to check camshaft too, while valve cover is of?
• How to find broken bolt head? By removing oil pan completely and hoping it is there? Maybe any other options?

Thank you.