Exhaust Vanos Gear Broken

[wrose]

I removed the Vanos unit from my 06 Z4M roadster (with 67000 kms on it) today to replace the Camshaft Sprocket bolts . The good news is that the bolts were the updated bolts with Lock-tite (based on the effort to break them loose. The bad news for me is one of the engagement ears on the exhaust vanos gear had broken off( luckilly I found the piece ). Anyone had this issue? Any recommendations where to buy 1- The dealer here in NS is asking over $1000.00 for the part ( It comes with the Timing chain sprocket as a matched set). Warranty ran out Nov 2010 and BMW will not offer "Goodwill" on a US car in Canada. I will try Customer Relations for part help but not optimistic even though we have 2 other BMW's.
Tried to attach photos but did not work-must be me !
Thought this might be helpful info. for fellow M owners
Any thoughts?
Wayne

[boondocksaint]

If you have a part number, we might be able to do our usual canvasing of all things BMW on the web.

Are you talking about something in this pic?

[aerobod]

If it is part 11367832031 you need (Part #2 in the above diagram, which is only available as a set), it is going to be close to $1000, unless you can find a used one at a specialist parts breaker.

[onebluemcm]

He needs just the hub, part of #2 that has the two (2) squared off tabs on it. The tabs insert into 2 holes on the VANOS pump - this is how oil pressure is generated in the VANOS system. It is a critical component of the VANOS system - failure of both tabs would result in major internal engine damage. Failure of one tab could result in damage if the loose piece got into the wrong part of the engine. This is an internal engine part failure.

OP - I would strongly encourage you to peruse M3forum.com, the E46 section, to see more info on this. They have been trying to compile certain threads to document issues like this for BMW. Most of the information that is available for S54 valve train issues are on this website. Some of the threads are long and a royal PITA to get through, but very good information is there.

In my, and may other peoples, opinion it is total BS that an important internal engine part like the exhaust cam hub that drives the VANOS system is failing. You are most definitely not the first - there are reports of numerous examples of tabs shearing off on the exhaust VANOS hub. The suspicions are that it's a metallurgical problem with the casting of the hub. Something that of course we cannot do anything about but wait for it to break and then spend $1000 for a replacement part. It's just not right. If I could get my hands on a spare hub I would very actively persue finding a CNC engineer to make new hubs custom from steel, not cast iron, to have available for people when these break. Replacing it with a new BMW part is zero guarantee that it will not fail again - BMW doesn't know why it is failing, or at least they have not made any statements to address it. It's total crap.

[boondocksaint]

When the OP takes the broken one out, he can have it CNC-CAD engineered/cut - it's a symmetrical piece, kinda. I'll wager a competent person could make a whole one by inputting data from half or a third of the broken one.

[wrose]

Thanks for your imput all!!
It is the hub portion of # 2 in the diagram that is broken. Still not sure what to do about my 07 m coupe now that I've discovered this with this car now. It is under warranty until aug 2011 at least but I'd hate to loose the summer track season because of a broken engine!1
Thanks again
Wayne

[RBull]

^sorry to read about that Wayne. Hope you get it fixed soon and that it isn't something we're going to see on all cars.

My '07 warranty runs out a month before yours.

[onebluemcm]

Originally Posted by boondocksaint

When the OP takes the broken one out, he can have it CNC-CAD engineered/cut - it's a symmetrical piece, kinda. I'll wager a competent person could make a whole one by inputting data from half or a third of the broken one.

The problem is going to be the helical gears on the inside. Helical gears like this are super complicated and require extreme precision. I'd still be interested in looking into it but I bet just the helical gear part would make it very expensive just from an R&D point of view. And I'm pretty sure the average CNC mill won't be able to do this. Need someone with more smarts than I to really know...

[wrose]

A contact on the M3 forumn suggested I contact Chris@Dr.Vanos . He replied that he has the gear with improved strenghened tabs available .He also has rebuilt vanos units for the S54 that are an upgrade from the Oe unit.
-Great news!!
hope this info. is helpful if others need this part.
Thanks all
Wayne

[wrose]

Update on Exhaust vanos gear replacement
-When I removed the Vanos gears i found the old style cam sprocket bolts but they were all tight. I replaced the gears without the camshaft timing tool by indexing all the parts prior to removal and the engine ran for about 2-3 minutes (no noise or bangs ) and then shut off as if you turned the ignition off and would not re-start. After some pondering and research I concluded that the ECM had seen something out of perimeters and shut the engine down. I decided to start over by ordering the camshaft timing tool from Get BMW Parts-great to deal with/ recommend highly and got my future parts business even though there is a local dealer across the street.
I set the camshaft timing with the tool and re-assembled and success!!
I guess what I'm saying is have this tool to ensure the repair is done correctly-without it is like calling a coin flip- Not to mention the added stress of waiting for 2 weeks to determine if i had damaged the engine.
Finally, I have the Cam Tool as well as the Valve adjustment kit if any forum member requires them for DIY.

[HaiDef]

Wow i know nothing about car engines and reading this scares me since i wont know how to do it myself

[DaveL--2mnycars]

Great posts here!
Sounds like a chronic problem. Should there be an extended warranty?

[onebluemcm]

Originally Posted by wrose

Update on Exhaust vanos gear replacement
-When I removed the Vanos gears i found the old style cam sprocket bolts but they were all tight. I replaced the gears without the camshaft timing tool by indexing all the parts prior to removal and the engine ran for about 2-3 minutes (no noise or bangs ) and then shut off as if you turned the ignition off and would not re-start. After some pondering and research I concluded that the ECM had seen something out of perimeters and shut the engine down. I decided to start over by ordering the camshaft timing tool from Get BMW Parts-great to deal with/ recommend highly and got my future parts business even though there is a local dealer across the street.
I set the camshaft timing with the tool and re-assembled and success!!
I guess what I'm saying is have this tool to ensure the repair is done correctly-without it is like calling a coin flip- Not to mention the added stress of waiting for 2 weeks to determine if i had damaged the engine.
Finally, I have the Cam Tool as well as the Valve adjustment kit if any forum member requires them for DIY.

Excellent to hear that you were able to to this work on your own and have a successful outcome. Great news in fact. It's not your average valve train repair job. Each time I hear someone is able to do this it gives me more confidence that I could do it too. And I think I'm being ultra conservative in my fear of doing this job because I have done a ton of other complicated repair work over the years.

[wrose]

I found that Hogger453 has a 5-part you-tube video on this that is excellent and will ease the unknown-great presentation. You'll find it on M3Forum.net
Worth a look!!
Any questions let me know

[mikeinsf]

Originally Posted by wrose

I found that Hogger453 has a 5-part you-tube video on this that is excellent and will ease the unknown-great presentation. You'll find it on M3Forum.net
Worth a look!!
Any questions let me know

I was curious and snooped it out....

[inTgr8r]

wow.. nice job Wayne.
I'll dig in & do the valves shimming, but IDK if I'd be brave enough to tackle this job.

[RBull]

That's good news Wayne.

Looking forward to seeing the car with the splitter and especially with the SC set up.

[turbotoy2791]

This was a failed exhaust hub that my brother and I modified. The new tabs are made from 4130 chrome moly. The ring is pressed over the hub .250 then tig welded with 312 ss. The dimension are the same other than the tabs being thicker. We need more hubs too fix so if you have one let me know

[msh441]

Scarey, scarey.

Somthing to check when I do valves this summer.

[turbotoy2791]

Originally Posted by msh441

Scarey, scarey.

Somthing to check when I do valves this summer.

just let me know I will help any way possible

[G80indy]

Originally Posted by wrose

I removed the Vanos unit from my 06 Z4M roadster (with 67000 kms on it) today to replace the Camshaft Sprocket bolts . The good news is that the bolts were the updated bolts with Lock-tite (based on the effort to break them loose.

What does this mean? Someone did the bolts mod to this car prior? or was that original?

[beta]

Originally Posted by 330indy

What does this mean? Someone did the bolts mod to this car prior? or was that original?

The shop that I go to said that they had replaced bolts in at least 3 cars and none of them had loose bolts. Not every M has loose vanos bolts, it's probably a small percentage.