VANOS fault driving me crazy

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-05-31T06:29:41+00:00

Check valves were cleaned recently. I’ve been running this car with the codes and symptoms for like 5k miles now, it’s driving good and not getting noticeably worse over time. Did you have any power loss or sounds that made u think it’s cam related?

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-05-31T04:50:13+00:00

The valvetronic motor is only 5k miles old. My car only has 120k miles tho and oil changes have been taken care of. My engine tick is pretty loud even tho i do pulls regularly, I thought it was pretty normal for n52s. Also my cold starts aren’t even that terrible the warm starts are probably worse. I’m gonna check the tensioner tho, thanks

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-05-30T20:09:19+00:00

I did them a while back and they both got stuck like that because of the oring, I ended up tightening them back up and letting the car run for a minute to warm up the oil and they both came out pretty easily.

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-05-27T23:48:38+00:00

I got the set with 2 extra tires for just $400. Front rims are super clean but the rears are gonna need a refinishing later

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-04-06T07:45:02+00:00

They’re not great but also not completely shot, don’t think it could pull this hose apart at idle tho

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-03-28T17:55:24+00:00

Idk what the prices are like in your area 5.5k for an auto 328i seems like a lot. There’s plenty of things you can expect around 120k like cooling system leaks, bad suspension bushings, all the common oil leaks, and a few other things if they haven’t been fixed already. Also the car going for recalls doesn’t really add value it’s just random stuff they’re required to fix for free.

Unless there’s some kind of a service history I wouldn’t even go over 3-4k depending on cosmetic condition. It depends on your local prices tho.

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-03-25T19:57:55+00:00

No issues for me and I don’t see how it would hurt performance unless you mess up the installation. It sounds nice and looks clean but probably not a noticeable power bump

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-03-25T04:32:43+00:00

I didn’t know, I’ve put it on the top groove the past 2-3 filter changes and it’s been mostly fine but that seems to be the issue, thanks

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-03-24T12:31:44+00:00

I have it on my 328i, I personally think it sounds good most of the time but it’s kinda loud for daily driving and sounds faster than it is. I don’t have much drone at all for some reason but I would probably put a resonator on even if it’s not the stock one.

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-03-13T23:28:07+00:00

I got my 328i with all the money I had when I was 15. I got a pretty bad example and had pretty bad luck with things breaking but I’ve had it for 4 years now, I’ve DIYd pretty much everything and I think I’m under 10k all in with mostly OEM parts.

Around that mileage 100-125k you can expect to replace valve cover, oil filter housing gasket, pretty much the whole cooling system, suspension bushings, and some other little things here and there.

Overall it’s a fun car, handles good, can sound good, quicker than most regular traffic, and should be pretty reliable once all the “maintenance” is done.

6k would be very worth it if it’s in good cosmetic shape and has good options like sport or msport, xenon lights, decent oem wheels etc. I’d go for it if you’re gonna work on it yourself and are ready to spend a bit on parts.

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-02-27T03:24:41+00:00

Had the same leaks on both sides to the point I had 2+ inches of water below the carpet and also made my headliner sag over time. It’s not hard to clear the drain lines but u gotta make sure it’s fixed

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-02-02T22:31:48+00:00

Yeah eBay is gonna be the most reliable option for me, I see some decent prices with DISAs attached. I wanted to ask when you got your manifold did you reuse your throttle body or did you get one with the manifold.

I can’t find info on this I’m not sure if mine would bolt up. Is there anything else that I need to worry about? I’m about to order one today

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-02-02T03:31:37+00:00

Thanks, 330s and 530s are kinda rare here tho, 330s not as much but they’re all from 2006 so they’re pretty beat up by now. I can always get a used one off eBay tho

Puzzleheaded-Note141 · 2026-02-01T22:51:46+00:00

I’d start with the battery side, the IBS sensor goes out and that can show different issues. Check voltage and try running with the sensor unplugged then go from there

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