My Rattle is Gone!!!!!!!

[kayger12]

Sorry. I know it's not earth-shattering news, but I've been living with that damn vanos rattle for almost 2.5 years now.

Banged out the Beisan seal and rattle kit today.

This is my third go around with Beisan and I was again very happy with their product. Everything was straight forward with no issues. I'm glad I went with Beisan over Dr. Vanos as installing the new spacer bearings wasn't a big deal and saved some good coin.

While I was tearing her down, I found a PS fluid leak. Diagnosis: bad hose clamp (reused it when I installed the new PS fluid reservoir last year-- apparently not a good idea).

Only issue I ran into was a rookie mistake on reassembly-- after methodically tightening down the valve cover bolts I realized that I pinched an O2 sensor cable under the passenger side of the valve cover. Had to back her off, clear it, and lock her back down. Added some time to the job, but lesson learned.

Took her out for a test drive and was just ecstatic that the damn rattle is gone.

Didn't notice any improvement in power delivery as my vanos was replaced about 30K ago under CPO, so the seals weren't in bad shape yet.

As anyone who has done this before knows, there's always a little trepidation when you pull the valve cover off the first time. Never quite sure what you're going to find.

In this case, I'm happy to report she looked damn good for 70K miles.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/20130406_121210_zpsda8aaf40.jpg

So that's about it. Just a happy ZHP camper right now. :roundel

[midlandtech]

Congrats! This is on my to-do list

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[Mtnman]

:thumbup

[WOLFN8TR]

Congrats Keith! Good to hear it worked out. Man is the inside of your engine clean!

[kayger12]

Thanks, gents.

Was definitely happy with the condition of the motor.

When I opened up my first E46 I was worried because my sister-in-law who owned the car before me did the ol' 15K mile oil changes. This is what I found at 99K miles...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/IMG_3530_zpsb2bed331.jpg

[WOLFN8TR]

What a Difference!

[nike001]

Holy clean internals!

What oil do you use, Keith? The color of the cams and surroundings are said to be mostly because of the oil that is/was used. Different oils dye internal parts from what I understand.

[kayger12]

Interesting. I've only used BMW 5w-30 changed out every 7500-10k miles. Not sure what was used the first 45k miles of her life.

The pic of the 325 was dealer changed BMW 5w-30 at 15K intervals.

[BCS_ZHP]

Congrats on solving that rattle.

And I think my eyes must be out of focus, am I imagining dirt on the right shock tower? Fluid stains on the wiper fluid reservoir? Dust on the intake manifold?

Just busting, KG, but guaranteed to result in the most spectacularly clean engine bay you've ever seen during our Reunion. Yes, you too have OCD like the rest of us.

[kayger12]

Congrats on solving that rattle.

And I think my eyes must be out of focus, am I imagining dirt on the right shock tower? Fluid stains on the wiper fluid reservoir? Dust on the intake manifold?

Just busting, KG, but guaranteed to result in the most spectacularly clean engine bay you've ever seen during our Reunion. Yes, you too have OCD like the rest of us.

Haha-- yeah, that was the first few weeks of ownership of the 325i pre-engine detailing.

I will make sure the ZHP doesn't disappoint!!

[Tnhl1989]

Make sure that the value cover isn't leaking. I done that before and it was slightly bent and smoke was coming up for months. Thought it was the valve cover gasket so changed it and finally realized it was the valve cover itself.

[brettbimmer]

She looks great Father Keith! Happy to hear that your Bimmer is quiet. Incidentally I'm a huge fan of shorter oil changes for long, trouble-free engine life too! If the oil is run in our cars for 15k, the filter seems to fall apart, which can't be good for functionality.

-Brrrrrrrrrrrrettski

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[kayger12]

Make sure that the value cover isn't leaking. I done that before and it was slightly bent and smoke was coming up for months. Thought it was the valve cover gasket so changed it and finally realized it was the valve cover itself.


Looked good after the test drive. I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks for the info.


She looks great Father Keith! Happy to hear that your Bimmer is quiet. Incidentally I'm a huge fan of shorter oil changes for long, trouble-free engine life too! If the oil is run in our cars for 15k, the filter seems to fall apart, which can't be good for functionality.

-Brrrrrrrrrrrrettski

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Thanks! With you on the shorter interval changes. Definitely the way to go.

[zhpnsnv]

Baller.

[328ioc]

Keith.

I use the same oil change schedule and mine looked the same as yours when I did my vanos last year.

Yours does look damn beautiful though.

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[kayger12]

Keith.

I use the same oil change schedule and mine looked the same as yours when I did my vanos last year.

Yours does look damn beautiful though.

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Good deal. Definitely sticking with that interval.

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[BavarianZHP]

Thanks great! I still have the rattle and the VANOS is on my to-do list. How harmful is the rattle? Can it wait a bit? I don't track my car and drive it non aggressively... I haven't hit over 4.5k rpm yet. Hahaha.

[danewilson77]

Thanks great! I still have the rattle and the VANOS is on my to-do list. How harmful is the rattle? Can it wait a bit? I don't track my car and drive it non aggressively... I haven't hit over 4.5k rpm yet. Hahaha.

Not harmful.

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[BCS_ZHP]

^ isn't it past your bedtime gramps?

[kayger12]

Thanks great! I still have the rattle and the VANOS is on my to-do list. How harmful is the rattle? Can it wait a bit? I don't track my car and drive it non aggressively... I haven't hit over 4.5k rpm yet. Hahaha.

It can wait forever. It's not in any way harmful, just damn annoying.

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[kayger12]

^ isn't it past your bedtime gramps?

Apparently, yes. :rofl

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[BimmerWill]

Very nice im glad you got that straightened out. Valvetrain looks gorgeous. I was nervous as well when I pulled mine at around 190k I believe after all the horror pics id seen of dealer changed cars. Especially considering the car hadn't been in my care for the first 120k. In the end I was pretty pleased all things considered.

Not as pristeen as yours but I was happy lol.

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[Washburn]

Congrats, man! damn I wish, when the time comes someday, I can find find a fellow mafia bro to help me do this/do this ... :)

[BimmerWill]

Cngrats, man! damn I wish, when the time comes someday, I can find find a fellow mafia bro to help me do this/do this ... :)

Order the parts and bring them to the reunion. IIRC several members did their vanos over the weekend in the past. Makes the job much smoother and less time consuming when you have several people there who have done the job before.

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[Washburn]

^ That's a great idea - right now my job is killing me, and I probably won't (hopefully) need it done for another 40-50k miles, and by then, I sure hope I have more time off/can come to reunions, etc.
Thanks!

[BimmerWill]

^ That's a great idea - right now my job is killing me, and I probably won't (hopefully) need it done for another 40-50k miles, and by then, I sure hope I have more time off/can come to reunions, etc.
Thanks!

Well if you end up tackling it on your own and run into trouble always feel free to jump on here and post up your issue. There's usually several of us on here no matter what time it is lol. Im procrastinating studying for a final at the moment lol.

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[SoCalZman]

Does the cleanliness of the top of the engine have a direct correlation of the health of the engine overall?

[danewilson77]

No....but could be an indicator of how it was maintained.

Not sure I understand your question? :dunno

[zhpnsnv]

No I don't think it technically does. But we like things clean, even inside. If you pull that cover and see goop everywhere, that might not be good for the longterm life of the internals. I say might because I have no technical idea.

[johnrando]

Great news. Congrats Keith. C/f bin covers, angel eyes still on the list (not that I'm keeping tabs or anything) :shifty

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[kayger12]

Very nice im glad you got that straightened out. Valvetrain looks gorgeous. I was nervous as well when I pulled mine at around 190k I believe after all the horror pics id seen of dealer changed cars. Especially considering the car hadn't been in my care for the first 120k. In the end I was pretty pleased all things considered.

Not as pristeen as yours but I was happy lol.

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I'd definitely be happy with that at 190k!


Congrats, man! damn I wish, when the time comes someday, I can find find a fellow mafia bro to help me do this/do this ... :)

Thanks. Reunion is definitely a great place to bang this out. Plenty of people there willing to help.


Great news. Congrats Keith. C/f bin covers, angel eyes still on the list (not that I'm keeping tans or anything) :shifty


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Lol, I was looking at the CF sheet in the garage yesterday and thought about you. :)

One of these days, haha.

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[Hermes]

Keith,

Congrats on fixing your issues! If I held my position I would've owned your same car but I fell for the Imola car on the lot. Glad to see you're taking ultimate care of your beautiful car.

Side note: scared to open up the M54 or the M62 after seeing Keith's engine....

the ZHP should be clean enough, but not sure what condition the 144k mile V8 is in.

hopefully everything will look good

[Ryans323i]

Congrats on getting there and doing werk. She looks great and no more rattle. Peace of mind and peace of ears!

[ryankokesh]

A+


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[kayger12]

Keith,

Congrats on fixing your issues! If I held my position I would've owned your same car but I fell for the Imola car on the lot. Glad to see you're taking ultimate care of your beautiful car.

Side note: scared to open up the M54 or the M62 after seeing Keith's engine....

the ZHP should be clean enough, but not sure what condition the 144k mile V8 is in.

hopefully everything will look good

Thanks, JP. I'm sure yours will look just as good.


Congrats on getting there and doing werk. She looks great and no more rattle. Peace of mind and peace of ears!

Amen!


A+


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:)

[Dave_B]

These are on my short list.

Glad the DIY route seems straight forward enough.

[redwagon]

good stuff!
How much time does t take to get this done?
for a first timer or someone that's done it a bunch of times?
Tim

[BimmerWill]

good stuff!
How much time does t take to get this done?
for a first timer or someone that's done it a bunch of times?
Tim

If you have done it in the past Its been known to take a considerable less amount of time. Mine took me a solid 12 hours in total if I remember correctly. Most of the trouble I ran into was due to the old VCG being plasticized to the valve cover and spend a lot of time getting the old pieces out. It def is something you don't want to rush when changing out the seals themselves though and you must have an accurate torque wrench as well when tightening everything back up.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give it around a 6 or 7 simply because of the time it consumes first go around and it can be a little tricky replacing the seals. There are plenty of write ups all over the place on it though so the more research you do prior to tackling it the better and quicker off you will be.

[danewilson77]

good stuff!
How much time does t take to get this done?
for a first timer or someone that's done it a bunch of times?
Tim

4-12 hours depending on experience and how proactive you are.

If you're a first timer and you just get it done.....maybe 6 hours?

[kayger12]

4-12 hours depending on experience and how proactive you are.

If you're a first timer and you just get it done.....maybe 6 hours?

This. About 6 hours on my first one, a little less on the next two.


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[redwagon]

thanks guys....didn't realize it was that much time, but the more I look into it the more it makes sense. Thanks!
Tim

[johnrando]

I watched/helped Charlie do his at the last meet. It's not hard, there are just a bunch of steps you have to do.