NZ_InFerno

Yeah last time the error was the valvetronic motor being stuck, this time the error is the limits on the valvetronic.

Yeah idk. The valvetronic motor has been changed previously. When I had it at the euro mechanics they had the rocker cover off so would have thought they would have seen any issues there. Yeah will do that, while I investigate the misfire I need to get in there anyway.

Yeah I was just joshing around with the N54. Its a hard theory to confirm it's the shafts without pulling the rocker cover off afaik. I'm not really sure what I'll do, having put a few grand into it to get it running and it's still not working. Budget has kinda run out, especially for something like eccentric shafts/cam shafts. Cars probably not worth that much if I sell either ?

There is an N54 on Facebook marketplace.... I have the service history which is solid so really unsure why its gone so bad.

Searched the part number and seems like $1.5k just for the eccentric shaft on its own from various parts sites. I'll ring around locally and see what they would price up for the job.

Yeah I'm reasonably confident they're OK. Pre covid I had it in with the mechanics for this issue and they pulled the front of the engine off and checked the tensioners/guides and chain. Reported those were fine. They changed the eccentric shaft sensor and rocker cover gasket at the same time. It then ran for a couple days before playing up again. Going to ring them tomorrow and see if they remember what the eccentric shaft looked like but like KwS said we could see some marks/wear on the gear inside the engine that the valvetronic motor connects to. Also going to swap coils over if the weather is ok and see what's up with the misfire, as I haven't had that fault previously when a valvetronic error has presented.

On Carly they're two seperate things. You have to code the Ah(amperage?) size then register it to the vehicle.

Yeah, it was a new valvetronic motor and endpoints relearned.

Would this cause rough idle/running and similar fault codes for valvetronic? Any idea of cost? Digging into the engine is likely beyond my skills.

Yeah I went and did this on the black car, coded and registered within Carly.

Guess I got excited too soon, car is broken again. f**king sick of this bullshit. Threw an engine light driving home last night. Carly shows a 2A39 code(valvetronic, adjustment range) and a misfire in cylinder 1. Afaik we did everything correctly setting the limits on the valvetronic motor as the car drove mint for a hundred kms or so over 48 hours. Considering all that has been changed it seems unlikely, though I suppose possible, to be misfiring because of a coil(has new plugs). Internet reading on various forums about 2A39 suggests a lot of stuff that's already been swapped(see previous posts in thread) plus also cleaning eccentric shaft sensor or potentially something damaged inside the engine like the eccentric shaft or its springs. Anyone come across this error code or something like this before? I've changed a whole lot of bits and essentially the same fault is re-occuring, though its clearly mis-firing this time around, so still haven't chased down what was wrong with it when it first broke back in the glory days of 2019. Wonder at what point its worth buying a used motor and taking all the new bits of this pos motor.

Now turning to some things that were planned previously and never happened due to the car not being driveable(un-safe) during lockdown/most of my ownership: - Alignment. New rear tyres fitted, that have barely been driven on, this is first up. - Paint touch up on the wheels, hopefully same time as alignment. - Supersprint exhaust back box from my parts car. Will give it a polish before fitment. - New antenna, ordered today as I fitted a stock one sourced from here but I didn't like the look once fitted. Ordered a stumpy one. - Headlight and side indicator tidy up, have a headlight lens restore kit which I'll use to clean and protect the headlights. After all these things are done there's still a couple of cosmetic issues with the car. But I'm going to drive it and enjoy it for a while before dealing with them. Some pics from antenna fitting today:

So after many months of tribulations the car is running again! I'm very happy ? Huge shout out to @KwS for helping me out with the valvetronic motor diagnosis and install with bmw software to set the limits. Got it done quick and it worked! He's an absolute legend. Also thanks to fcpeuro for the parts, delivered during lockdown too! After multiple trips to a euro mechanic since owning the car at Xmas, it still wasn't running right. Replaced the PCV, MAF, Eccentric shaft sensor, rocker cover gasket and had the front of the motor off to check the chain and tensioner. This was all done individually over the course of a couple of months and several back and forth trips to mechanics. Each time the 130i would then run OK for a day or two but then have further faults and run like trash. After the last major bill that "fixed" the car. I bought myself a carly scanner(scan tool should be mandatory if you own a bmw for real) and decided I would have a crack at it myself. I don't doubt that the parts replaced by the mechanic had issues or were faulty but it wasn't the main cause and it always seems to deteriorate after leaving their care. @KwS and his bmw software gave me a hidden fault code pre-lockdown of a stuck valvetronic motor, which was giving off strange live readings. It would work OK after reset then proceed to fall out of parameters. A bit of googling and I ended up ordering everything in the valvetronic chain, electronic and mechanical. I replaced fuses and an electronic module linked to the valvetronic system, plus did spark plugs as a "while I'm there" job during lockdown(also did plugs on my black 4 door). Used carly to clear faults and it came back, sometimes car would start and drive fine for a bit and other times wouldn't even start. So all that was left was the motor(plus gasket). Valvetronic motor is the silver cylinder on the left hand side of the engine, this is actually my black 130i from when I was doing spark plugs. I didn't take any pics working on the white one lol Once we were set free, @KwS came round on Sunday and fitted up the motor and gasket. Not a super difficult job except for one tricky bolt underneath, having to wind and unwind the motor to tension and removing the electrical wiring on the side to make room. Plus the software adjustment. Some of the coils and plugs/wiring that need to be removed to get to the motor bolts for removal. After we started it up and set limits it ran so goddamn beautifully. Improved throttle response and actual power when you put your foot down. Been driving it last two days and it's just great. Really happy to finally have my car back after months of frustration.

Hey, appreciate the post. I've certainly been doing a lot of looking after the car and not a lot of driving it sadly. Its definitely getting to a state of looking and driving well with the cosmetic stuff I've been fixing up on top of the mechanical issues which I've spent so much time/money to get it back running right. The car was getting some praise from my mate the other day about the wheels, he hadn't seen the car yet as I've barely been able to drive it since I bought it at Xmas =( He was a big fan of the wheels, stance and general look of the car. Told him about all the things that had been done, mostly by you iirc, and how clean it looked because of it.

Guess I'm getting 3 of those

It was $7.5k for a while iirc, still a sharp price. Worth budgeting another couple of grand to fix any issues.

My white 130i had had the rear wiper deleted. Looks quite good. Rear wiper doesn't work on the other two 130i, read plenty about the fault and didn't think there was a cheap fix available. You got a link?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/bmw/listing/2613704071?tm=email&et=45&mt=F909EDC8-3C14-49CC-9D87-FCE0B397F44E Another 2 door, wonder if its the one which had stripes on it that was on trademe for ages.

Wonder if there is a prize for owning 3 ?

Auto box is good if you want an auto. Manual box is also good if you want a manual. So far I prefer the manual box, the 130i is a very engaging drive if you want to pedal it a bit and I like the manual when driving it. If my commute was different I'd probably prefer an auto, just depends what you're used to or like driving. My auto 130i has 220ks on it and still shifts nicely.

Yeah came with the car, even has M coloured stitching on it. Its oversized and probably a knock off but it does the job. Awesome, that's what I was hoping it would just pop out.

How easy is it to get this piece off? Mines quite scuffed so need to get a replacement piece for it. Or Alcantara wrap it to match the mirror...

Same ? Be so good to have a working car again! Now I just need to be allowed to drive it ?

Hmm that's makes it a bit trickier, guess I'll see what happens this week.

Fcpeuro order from the 25th March is in country, apparently will be delivered tomorrow. Will be stoked af if it happens, don't have a working vehicle atm.