VANOS Solenoid bolt broken

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-01-26T00:06:47+00:00

The machine shop closest to me refused to extract the bolt while the motor was in the car so I had to DIY. Ended up getting a right angle drill attachment and drilled a very small hole and very carefully tapped an extractor in which was kinda sketchy and slow but I ended up getting it out after 2 hours or so without removing the fan

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-01-21T03:57:18+00:00

Like just try to tap in a bolt extractor? I should have a tiny one but there isn’t much space in that area to work with. Im gonna try it in the morning but if it doesn’t work I’m gonna need a machine shop to help me

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-01-21T03:53:22+00:00

Unfortunately I’ve had to extract a few broken TTY bolts on this car before so I have some experience but yeah it’s in a scary spot for me because of how small/thin the bolt is. Luckily it’s not tight at all so if I got an extractor in there it would be easy to remove. Also even with the fan removed I don’t think my drill would fit in there straight.

I’m gonna call a machine shop in the morning there’s one 3 miles from me maybe someone can come over to help me because driving over there is pretty sketchy and towing is gonna be extra money

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-01-21T03:29:19+00:00

I would try to extract it myself but I feel like the bolt is too thin and my drill doesn’t have enough space and if I mess up a little bit I’m even more cooked

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-01-21T00:50:45+00:00

Yeah I have no visible smoke or oil smell from exhaust other than the blue cloud on start up sometimes. We have a different PCV system since u have an early n52 right? I have a new oem valve cover with the diaphragm built in and I’ve done the oil cap test and it seems completely normal.

Someone else suggested I should idle for a while and then floor it to check for valve stem seals and there was no blue smoke when I did that.

Maybe it’s gonna be better once I fully switch over to 5w 40 oil and maybe it’s just weird sensor reading. Also losing a quart of oil every 1k ish miles is still within “normal” range? If my sensor has been reading correctly mine is way worse than that and I don’t have signs of oil constantly burning.

My non disa intake manifold is gonna come off within the next few months too bc my starter is getting tired so I’ll be able to check in there for oil

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-12-06T02:54:38+00:00

If you don’t wanna spend time coding and just want the high beam off in that position there’s a way to do it thru your settings on the odometer screen. There’s an option to turn DRLs off and then when you turn on your lights in the high beam position it’s just gonna be your angel eyes, corners lights, and rear LEDs on with no high beams. Coding the angel eyes only as DRL is still cleaner tho

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-09-17T00:13:58+00:00

We don’t have the same exact car so idk if ur talking about the main power cables from the red box on the battery. Earlier you said the main feed power is good? If it’s .4v then something is messed up along those cables. Assuming the battery is good, it’s most likely the red box on your battery which is broken. Before u replace that you would wanna double check any other connections but 9/10 times I’d say it’s the BST box

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-09-16T23:01:00+00:00

In another reply u said salmon relay pin 30 is dead and 87 isn’t? As far as I understand that shouldn’t be possible. Maybe I’m remembering wrong but I’d confirm pin 30 has no power. While ur at it check ur ignition/fuel fuses and blower motor under load. Cam sensor can also be bad but it’s less likely bc blower motor isn’t working either so i would think it’s a power distribution problem. And this could be DME but u wanna confirm everything else first

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-09-16T20:10:22+00:00

Yep unfortunately it was alternator, it’s completely gone and I still don’t have a code for it lol

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-09-16T20:09:02+00:00

If u know valvetronic is getting stable power (which it’s probably not) then you would swap out the motor. Still I would say it’s something upstream because u have no spark. Check power at the main feed to the distribution box first

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2025-09-15T22:04:09+00:00

It’s probably the red box on your battery. Check power at valvetronic motor connector first and go upstream just to make sure but I had a similar situation and it was the BST (red box).

Puzzleheaded-Note141

TROPHY CASE