scottalexander

You removed the diaphragm in the CCV, install a new one, and then re epoxied it back in place, and now it actually works?

If it works, you are an artist of the first order. Congratulations.

Tejas

ha ha... lol..
Actually it does work perfectly fine. the thing is, you need to use a screwdriver and hammer it slowly in the middle of the cap. before you do that use a plier with a good grip and break off the tabs on the top. and then hammer a screwdriver in the middle. use a plier to break off the old membrane housing. after all the heat cycles it is so brittle it just breaks off. Use a smaller plier to break off the housing where it is plastic welded. trust me its easy once you look at it. I was prepared to order a new valve cover but once i made the hole i knew what to do. there is a spring under the membrane take it out clean and remember to put it back. the new membrane sits only 1 way. you cant mess that up. you do not even need to remove the valve cover to do this job. i did this while its on the engine. If you do take the valve cover off clean the CCV with a strong degreaser and take it to a self car wash and use a power jet to clean out any clogs. apply generous amount of epoxy to the membrane housing not the valve cover and then while installing it rotate it left and right couple of times to evenly spread the epoxy and let it sit overnight and boom you are done. I wish i had pictures of this. I thought there was a DIY but i just read the instruction on the vanos-bmw .com website and improvised it. dont worry about removing the old housing carefully. break it into as many pieces as you want so that you dont damage the valve cover. I have no vacuum leaks whatsoever.

Tejas

So now.. the dealer said the codes i have wrt vanos is applicable only to n52k engines in 3 series cars even though the bulletin says it applies for all cars using that engine.
Stealership quoted 8000$ for vanos solenoids, new valve cover, ccv hose, oil pan gasket and oil change included. I am just going to DIY this now.
First i am going to remove the valve cover and try to clean it. if it works and oil consumption stops yayyy.. if not new valve cover . Oil pan is next on my to do list, I am thinking of going castrol edge gold 5w30 for my oil as i have never had any problems with that.
Any suggestions on reusing the solenoids by cleaning or just buy new ones ?

scottalexander

There's been a lot of debate on cleaning the solenoids. Cleaning is a short term band aid solution.

Also the conventional wisdom is you have to buy OEM solenoids.

Cheap solenoid will throw codes and act ineffectively.

Next:

You are now on your way to saving $8,000.

How much was the BMW dealer diagnostic?

Tejas

oh the only good thing is diagnostics is free...got a car wash and everything. I am going to order all the parts i need including control arms,wheel bearings engine mount. i can replace all of these while doing the pan gasket.. !!
I will look into cleaning them for the time being.

scottalexander

I just put on new strut arms (upper control arms).

I had to buy a special chisel to spread the pinch clamp.

seanjordan20

My special chisel was a big ass flat head. Worked like a charm. 😂

donpb

If I had to do all of that work, that's the sign for me to buy a newer car.

Tejas

i bought the car 5 months ago. just ticked to 120k miles. bought it at 100k miles. all of the 20k miles is pure highway. most of it bw TX and NJ. no way in hell i am selling this car. i agree the problems are not something i can ignore. but its not something that will make the car run less efficiently. its just standard fixes you have to do at this milage. My e46 needed 2 headgasket replacements and an engine rebuild. after doing all that this is a piece of cake for me. time consuming, definitely.worth the effort. YESSS.. I love my bimmer and will do everything to make it right. this car takes me 1000s of miles without ever dropping below 500 miles to the tank. thats an indicator the engine is good. but needs a bit of maintenance but i love her..!!

Tejas

I was thinking the same too..!! my flat head has a square handle and i can use a wrench to rotate it.