S50 Vanos

[Aceman]

Well today I had my vanos replaced by Mr Vanos. Steve arrived at my house just before 10am and after introductions and setting his tools out he immediately set about stripping the engine. He was very knowledgable about the S50 engine and had several conversations about various facets enlightening me on certain aspects. The one thing that came very apparent and something that hat niggled me enough not to tackle this job myself was that there is a little more to just replacing the vanos unit or refurbing it as per the Besian guide which I am sure plenty others have read too thinking they could tackle this job themselves. In addition to the vanos being replaced Steve also removed the exhaust cam as there is a large thrust washer on the inside of the drive cog which tensions the cam end float that is contributory to the famous vanos growl that I was suffering.

Anyway suffice to say Steve did a fantastic job and is very meticulous at what he does. He was finished by 1pm and that included 15-20 minutes lunch so good going to say the least.

I will pop a couple of videos up showing before and after engine noise when I have uploaded them to YouTube.

 

[Aceman]

Patience Mark

Ok here is the video of the infamous vanos growl which had got quite bad on mine especially just after a warm start where it just sounds awful.

View: http://youtu.be/TW3P8BMhlns


Next here it is with the new vanos fitted and cams all times up correctly, valve clearances were also checked and all found to be fine with no adjustment required.

View: http://youtu.be/ooBj7R93r7M


All I can say is if anybody has any doubts as to whether their vanos is operating correctly get in touch with Steve at Mr Vanos as the performance of my Z3M is now astonishing, not sure if I have always had a loss of power since owning the car or whether it has been a gradual deteriation over the last 4 years but it is now transformed leaving me with a massive grin this afternoon when I took it out for a shake down.

Long and short of it is worth every penny so get it done if you are thinking about it.

 

[M666BMG]

Waiting for this

 

[GazHyde]

@Aceman - the videos are set to private

 

[Aceman]

Not now

 

[M666BMG]

Good stuff Ian. I'd like a chat on the phone with you soon?

Mark

 

[hard top]

Don't waste time and your money boys and girls, just get an M44...........

 

[Lee]

@hard top been drinking again

 

[pina4greg]

Just another off subject question.....does the cross brace make that much difference?

 

[Aceman]

Yes it is noticeable but if you are considering getting one get a decent one. The one I have fitted is Strong Strut which are regarded as the best but you do pay a premium. The Bertina ones look good at a great price though.

 

[Lee]

I can only back that up, I've also got a strong strut. The guys on the Piston heads forum did a group buy a few years ago so the cost was better

Lee

 

[Aceman]

One thing that I was pleased to see was under the cam cover was spotless with no nasty black build up of oil which is a good indication the oil at least has been changed regular. Absolutley no cam wear evident but Steve did say he has never come across one yet and reckons the S50 engine itself is pretty much bullit proof if serviced well obviously and runs one in a race car that has done 250k+ without problems.

 

[Boysie]

How far would he travel to do a vanos, just in case one day
I'm down south, no noises to date

 

[Aceman]

No idea Ray but I get the impression he goes all over the country doing this kind of work.He is only an hour away from me so wasn't bad but I guess if he lines up 2 or 3 jobs down that end of the country it will be worth his while.

 

[Boysie]

Cheers, have you disclosed the cost on here

 

[M666BMG]

Cheers, have you disclosed the cost on here

If you get yours done Ray I'll get mine, at mine if you like!

 

[Aceman]

Cheers, have you disclosed the cost on here

£695+VAT

 

[Boysie]

Is that everything, all the parts included

 

[M666BMG]

Is that everything, all the parts included

Yes it is I believe Ray.

But that was attending at Ian's house.

Further travelling will cost more I think.

Mark

 

[Boysie]

That's not a bad price Mark, when you think years back they wanted silly money, I don't think mine needs replacing yet as it sounds ok compared to Ian's car, which sounded like a bag of nails