Fixing Bad VANOS Rattle in M52TUB engine

[NZ00Z3 186]

My 2.0L Z3 with a M52TUB20 engine (same as the M54) and 112,700 miles (182,600 km) had the dreaded VANOS rattle really bad.  Anti-rattle rings were installed in the VANOS pistons when the seals were changed.  This provided an improvement but there was still rattle at idle.

Today I changed out all major VANOS spline parts and the rattle is gone.

Parts changed were:

·        11361744263 Sprocket inlet

·        11361438306 Tooth sleeve exhaust

·        11361715027 Double spline cup, 2 of

Do not attempt to replace or alter the spline on the end of the cam shafts.  You’ll totally loose your timing with no way back if you do.

You need the double VANOS timing tools to do this job as you upset the timing when changing the parts.  Timing instructions are in TIS and are easy to follow.

The difficulty of the job is the same as replacing the VANOS seals, so if you are tool handy, you should be able to do the job.  The hardest part was getting the plastic bung out of the crank lock hole and fitting the crank lock pin.  I did this with the Intake manifold in place (right hand drive car) by reaching up from the bottom and feeling my way around. 

Very pleased with the results.

Edited June 12, 2019 by NZ00Z3