S50 idle problem

[///MPROVD 131]

hey guy recently changed my vanos seals in my s50 as they were leaking oil.

Now im experiencing a strange idle problem since ive changed seals i also did a oil/filter change now the car idles still @ 650-700 rpm but sort of pulses almost? does this mean the cam could be stuck in a advanced stage or a retardant stage or im i just worrying haha?

The seals that i removed were very badly damaged and i was losing a fair bit of oil now everything seems fine no leaking no loss of power nothing else out of the ordinary other than this idling fault any ideas fellas?

[Allanw 1071]

hey guy recently changed my vanos seals in my s50 as they were leaking oil.

Now im experiencing a strange idle problem since ive changed seals i also did a oil/filter change now the car idles still @ 650-700 rpm but sort of pulses almost? does this mean the cam could be stuck in a advanced stage or a retardant stage or im i just worrying haha?

The seals that i removed were very badly damaged and i was losing a fair bit of oil now everything seems fine no leaking no loss of power nothing else out of the ordinary other than this idling fault any ideas fellas?

Vanos seals won't cause you to leak oil - the oil that makes it past the seals will end up back in the sump. the gasket or aluminium sealing washers could have been leaking, but they don't really affect the operation of the Vanos (unless the leak is huge, but then you'd have more issues than Vanos!). Usually worn Vanos seals eventually lead to a hunting idle, as the oil pressure stuggles to maintain a constant advance point for the cams.

How long ago did you change the seals? Our M54 idled fine before and after, though it was easily stalled, and the idle would hunt a lot while riding the clutch, reversing and the likes, before I did them.

You might be paying more attention, looking for faults, because you've made changes, or the car maybe adjusting to things still.

[///MPROVD 131]

Vanos seals won't cause you to leak oil - the oil that makes it past the seals will end up back in the sump. the gasket or aluminium sealing washers could have been leaking, but they don't really affect the operation of the Vanos (unless the leak is huge, but then you'd have more issues than Vanos!). Usually worn Vanos seals eventually lead to a hunting idle, as the oil pressure stuggles to maintain a constant advance point for the cams.

How long ago did you change the seals? Our M54 idled fine before and after, though it was easily stalled, and the idle would hunt a lot while riding the clutch, reversing and the likes, before I did them.

You might be paying more attention, looking for faults, because you've made changes, or the car maybe adjusting to things still.

i did the seals on Sunday the oil did leak from the vanos but between the bridge and the unit not really sure what could be causing it maybe it is adjusting, hopefully haha thanks for the reply

[///MPROVD 131]

still having troubles guys. any ideas?

i think it could be a coil pack issue as i had them out when i did vanos but i havnt noticed any power loss which im pretty sure a missing cylinder would feel a bit sluggish but im going to play around with the coils this weekend as i have a few spare im really stumped by this fault all i know is it was fine b4 i did vanos seals now its doing this, i recently did oil which seemed to kept it away not sure if this means anything or not ???/

please help me

[hybrid 1043]

Do you have an s50b30 or b32 ?

Reason I ask is if its MSS50 controlled I can run some of my prototype logging over the vanos for real time exhaust and intake values as well as target values from the DME. good to see if its functioning properly.

[BM WORLD 1283]

double and tripple check for any vacuum leaks around the intake system , hoses not on , split hoses ,

crushed hoses etc etc

Edited July 8, 2013 by Brent HARTGE535i

[gtstarped 73]

hey guy recently changed my vanos seals in my s50 as they were leaking oil.

Now im experiencing a strange idle problem since ive changed seals i also did a oil/filter change now the car idles still @ 650-700 rpm but sort of pulses almost? does this mean the cam could be stuck in a advanced stage or a retardant stage or im i just worrying haha?

The seals that i removed were very badly damaged and i was losing a fair bit of oil now everything seems fine no leaking no loss of power nothing else out of the ordinary other than this idling fault any ideas fellas?

hi jayden, currently experiencing a similar issues. josh scanned mine and picked up nothing so did more research and found there is a lot of threads on this, especially in the 3.2. i pulled my intake manifold off and cleaned the icv which appeared to have resolved the lumpy idle, intermittent hesitation up to 3000rpm and backfiring/ missing on deccleartion. it was mint for about 1000ks but has now returned.

so either icv is clogged again (unlikely), its not the icv, or its just stuffed. i also has suspicions it may be a vacuum leak through the brake booster due to heavy wear, and the gushing sound when i depress the pedal. changed the booster at the same time as the icv but still gustes even with another one. have changed discs and pads this week to eliminate this.

once i get over the frustrations, this is my to do list.

1) tighten lower hose from compressor unit.

2) block off brake booster and check idle

3) check hoses again for holes between airmass and throttle body

4) change/ clean other icv i picked up from Brent

5) change the tps although josh got all the correct readings and it certainly changes when i unplug while idling, I've found out it was a recall item on m3's and is worth a go for $100

6) then i guess I'll get a couple of coils and change two at a time, but i believe if these fail they show up a code

weird thing happens too which may be the key, if its idling ok i can drop the bonnet and car will hickup obviously like this has caused the issue on demand?

I'm not convinced sending it to bmw yet before i try all this as they will do the codes i can do and then do all of these anyway, I've also read most success in fixing has been done by people themselves, not specialists making educated guesses, however i could be proved wrong.

if your over the shore i think it might be worth comparing the issues, you know where i am eh?

happy to hear from anyone that's sorted this issue before.

cheers Tim

ps. my 3.0 also had a massive leak from the vanos to block seal before i pulled it out.

[gtstarped 73]

Do you have an s50b30 or b32 ?

Reason I ask is if its MSS50 controlled I can run some of my prototype logging over the vanos for real time exhaust and intake values as well as target values from the DME. good to see if its functioning properly.

happy to wave your wand over my ships anchor if you so like

[euroriffic 609]

Sounds as if you havn't put the vanos in to the cam marks and it's retarded, especially if it hasn't seemed to have lost any power and if you've ruled out vacuum leak.

[///MPROVD 131]

hey guys many helpful reply's.

thanks tim id be happy to bring the car over i know where you are as i have brought a few things off you b4 as for josh mentioned that testing sounds like a good way to start as i saw Justin said about the intake marks that is also a possibility im in Te Atatu if anyone is willing to give me a hand, any help would be greatly appreciated as this is a real pain

its a s50b30

Edited July 8, 2013 by ibboostn

[///MPROVD 131]

Sounds as if you havn't put the vanos in to the cam marks and it's retarded, especially if it hasn't seemed to have lost any power and if you've ruled out vacuum leak.

can i change this by simply rocking the intake cam at tdc or do i have to fully remove unit again, thanks

[gtstarped 73]

More reading for you. The top three on here are what I'm getting but no codes, like I said worth a try I reckon!!!!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt...Position-Sensor

Another link

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=610143

[///MPROVD 131]

More reading for you. The top three on here are what I'm getting but no codes, like I said worth a try I reckon!!!!

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showt...Position-Sensor

Another link

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=610143

sounds goog i have a few spare tps but there not from m3 but the link did show how to test and providing both m3 and non m3 tps read same figures at the same position then they should be compatible. i have 2 tps

[euroriffic 609]

can i change this by simply rocking the intake cam at tdc or do i have to fully remove unit again, thanks

May be able to do it without removal. Have a look through the baisen instructions and make sure it all looks like how you've done it

[///MPROVD 131]

May be able to do it without removal. Have a look through the baisen instructions and make sure it all looks like how you've done it

i follow instructions as best i could and cant see that ive done anything different is there anyway to tell if it isnt in position aslo fault is temperamental and comes and goes if the cam was retarded would it not occur all the time ?

[euroriffic 609]

I wonder if you've damaged the circuit board on one of the solenoids and it's only sometimes getting a connection and cutting in and out? A scan should pick that up I would of thought

[///MPROVD 131]

I wonder if you've damaged the circuit board on one of the solenoids and it's only sometimes getting a connection and cutting in and out? A scan should pick that up I would of thought

yeah could be tim and i run scans yesterday no solenoid faults, do they show faults? also i was considering pulling some solenoids from a m50 are they a straight swap? the scan did show faulty o2 sensors but im pretty sure the fault was there befor, but i am trying some others to see if it helps

based on the intermittent faults it not likely to be the intake piston, right?

thanks for the help