Routine maintenance gone wrong!

[mhughett]

This just goes to show that even the easiest of DIY's can go bad sometimes. I decided that with about 30k miles, I'd go ahead and change the vanos filter in my car. Seemed simple enough. After all, I've changed shocks/springs and can do my brake jobs in my sleep.

I watched the DIY video on ECS tuning's site and it seemed like about a 3-minute procedure. Took off the old filter using pliars, then used my hook shaped picks to get out the old O-rings. Then when I went to replace the new O-rings, I noticed that in the space where the smaller of the two O-rings goes, there is a little plastic ring that butts up against the O-ring and this plastic ring was damaged when I removed the old one (see attached link for picture of this). It was cut such that it no longer made a full circle. Why do they even have this plastic ring here. The bad news is that the plastic ring has no part number and cannot be replaced. Buying a new vanos assembly is about $175. Do I drive the car without the plastic ring or bite the bullet and get a new vanos assembly?

[Finnegan]

This is probably a stupid idea, but what if you ran buy an auto parts store to see if they carried a little plastic ring the same size?

Sorry man, this really stinks! I've had similar crummy things happen on "easy DIYs" and it's really frustrating and unsettling. On the other hand, you have to wonder whether a shop might just say "WTF" and replace it without the plastic piece or reuse the damaged one. At least with the DIY, you know there's a problem, and you won't just ignore it.

[seank]

Hmmm. I would call a professional. If you have already done so, ignore me.

[Finnegan]

Okay, good news, it looks like the "broken" white plastic ring is supposed to be that way.

Does it look like this? Looks like the plastic simply acts as a spacer, and is supposed to have a "break" in it. If yours looks like this, then .

More info: take a look at this thread, especially posts 16 and 17; and this thread, posts 52 and 53.

[mfanatic325]

hahah Ron to the rescue. RON FOR ADMIN!!!

[mhughett]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Okay, good news, it looks like the "broken" white plastic ring is supposed to be that way.

Does it look like this? Looks like the plastic simply acts as a spacer, and is supposed to have a "break" in it. If yours looks like this, then .

More info: take a look at this thread, especially posts 16 and 17; and this thread, posts 52 and 53.

Thanks for your help Finnegan. I thought about this but here is where it gets a little weird. I initially put it back in with it looking pretty much like the picture. I thought about it for a few minutes and I decided to pull it back out to make sure it is staying in place. When I pulled the assembly out, the ring was completely missing. I just about $hit. Then I saw the ring hanging in the threads of the head so I carefully pulled it out. At the time, I was glad I went back and checked. However now the ring looks like it might be missing about 2-3mm of its section and the open ends don't seem to have that clean cut look. Still not sure what to do. I don't feel good about putting it back in now and I hate the idea of spending $150+ for a new one. Plus I have this awful feeling that a small piece may have fallen into the engine. Ugh.

[Mirko]

Great to know as I plan to do sometime soon!

Does anyone replace the sealing plate or just the filter?

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by mhughett

Thanks for your help Finnegan. I thought about this but here is where it gets a little weird. I initially put it back in with it looking pretty much like the picture. I thought about it for a few minutes and I decided to pull it back out to make sure it is staying in place. When I pulled the assembly out, the ring was completely missing. I just about $hit. Then I saw the ring hanging in the threads of the head so I carefully pulled it out. At the time, I was glad I went back and checked. However now the ring looks like it might be missing about 2-3mm of its section and the open ends don't seem to have that clean cut look. Still not sure what to do. I don't feel good about putting it back in now and I hate the idea of spending $150+ for a new one. Plus I have this awful feeling that a small piece may have fallen into the engine. Ugh.

Dude just buy a new piece and forget about it. 150 bucks is not worth a) losing sleep b) potentially damaging engine

If it was a 1500 dollar piece, whole different ball game but we are talking about 2-3 fill ups at the tank

[Geauxkart]

It's called a backup ring, it's used in many hydraulic applications. It prevents the oring from extruding into the groove. They are split, but do need to make a full ring when compressed and installed in the port - just like piston rings.
So - do not use your damaged one. Buy the new part and consider it a fairly inexpensive lesson in mechanics!!

[Finnegan]

Geez. "Easy DIY" with complications.

Seems like the advice above is the best bet.

[mhughett]

Originally Posted by Geauxkart

It's called a backup ring, it's used in many hydraulic applications. It prevents the oring from extruding into the groove. They are split, but do need to make a full ring when compressed and installed in the port - just like piston rings.
So - do not use your damaged one. Buy the new part and consider it a fairly inexpensive lesson in mechanics!!

I agree that absent finding a new ring, buying a new one is the best solution. FWIW, the old filter was NOT dirty like the ECS video showed. I wouldn't have changed it at all had I known what it looked like but I had already bought the parts and thought that at a minimum that I should use new o-rings to reinstall the part. Oh well, I hope this helped someone in the future that might be contemplating this job.

[marksbmw]

Originally Posted by mhughett

This just goes to show that even the easiest of DIY's can go bad sometimes. I decided that with about 30k miles, I'd go ahead and change the vanos filter in my car. Seemed simple enough. After all, I've changed shocks/springs and can do my brake jobs in my sleep.

I watched the DIY video on ECS tuning's site and it seemed like about a 3-minute procedure. Took off the old filter using pliars, then used my hook shaped picks to get out the old O-rings. Then when I went to replace the new O-rings, I noticed that in the space where the smaller of the two O-rings goes, there is a little plastic ring that butts up against the O-ring and this plastic ring was damaged when I removed the old one (see attached link for picture of this). It was cut such that it no longer made a full circle. Why do they even have this plastic ring here. The bad news is that the plastic ring has no part number and cannot be replaced. Buying a new vanos assembly is about $175. Do I drive the car without the plastic ring or bite the bullet and get a new vanos assembly?

So, after all that, was the filter dirty, did it need changing

[mhughett]

Originally Posted by marksbmw

So, after all that, was the filter dirty, did it need changing

No. See post 11.

[Finnegan]

Did the ECS instructions mention anything about the backup ring or offer to supply one?

Seems to me that:

• They should note the it looks "broken" stock--that confuses a lot of people.
• Better yet, they should supply a new one as part of their kit.

The search I did last night turned up quite a few folks who thought they'd broken it (even when not broken) and quite a few who had rings that suffered the same fate mhuggett's back up ring.

[mhughett]

Originally Posted by Finnegan

Did the ECS instructions mention anything about the backup ring or offer to supply one?

Seems to me that:

• They should note the it looks "broken" stock--that confuses a lot of people.
• Better yet, they should supply a new one as part of their kit.

The search I did last night turned up quite a few folks who thought they'd broken it (even when not broken) and quite a few who had rings that suffered the same fate mhuggett's back up ring.

No, there was no mention of this piece at all. I didn't even notice it when I was removing the o-rings because they didn't say anything about it. They used a very small screwdriver to remove the o-rings--I used a curved pick, which in hindsight and knowing that there was a delicate plastic piece next to the o-ring, I probably would have used something less sharp. I can't blame them for not supplying a spare since BMW does not even list a part number for this backup ring.

Of course this is not a dealer stocked part and it will be several days before my car is back on the road now. Good thing I still have my good ole 530i as a backup car.

[Ron Stygar]

Originally Posted by mhughett

No, there was no mention of this piece at all. I didn't even notice it when I was removing the o-rings because they didn't say anything about it. They used a very small screwdriver to remove the o-rings--I used a curved pick, which in hindsight and knowing that there was a delicate plastic piece next to the o-ring, I probably would have used something less sharp. I can't blame them for not supplying a spare since BMW does not even list a part number for this backup ring.

Of course this is not a dealer stocked part and it will be several days before my car is back on the road now. Good thing I still have my good ole 530i as a backup car.

BMW recommends plastic needle for o-rings. Like a small handle screw.
I removed the end to half circle. Maybe save the white ring.

Part 83 30 0 490 533 $15.11

[mhughett]

My replacement part finally came in today so after 8 days of not being able to drive the car, it was nice to have her back. I studied the new part closely to look at the white plastic ring. It fit quite loosely and it clearly has a cut in it so that it can be installed and/or removed. However, based on the condition of my filter after 29k miles, I doubt I will ever remove the valve again. I change my oil every 5-7k miles and the filter had no residue or blockage at all on it. As long as you don't use the full oil change intervals as set by BMW, I wouldn't worry about this filter at all.

[imom]

My car gets oil changed about every 7500 or less since I don't drive so much that the annual kicks in... so I guess I'll skip on the vanos filter change for a little longer... I'm at about 32K now... thanks for posting.