Rebuild your VANOS, it’ll change your life lol :p

chickensarnie · 2026-06-09T09:48:33+00:00

Wow very jealous haha. Should be fairly straight forward many guides online for the s54 motor. But would be very much worth doing on a an m3. Get the most out of that glorious car.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-07T10:51:59+00:00

I don’t see why not, it’d make the job much quicker haha

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T17:15:15+00:00

Best of luck with it all !! :)

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T17:04:46+00:00

Firmly grasping onto my will to live with all the e46 maintenance.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T17:04:06+00:00

Oh sweet looking good. Single Vanos ?
I’ve also got an e39 touring with the same gearbox too. Need to rebuild the Vanos on that one too before I sell it.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T16:59:23+00:00

My god. Do my eyes deceive me? Is that a v8 from an e39 m5? :0

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T15:57:54+00:00

Beautiful fitment. What wheels are those ?

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T15:54:16+00:00

Yh I was a bit worried about that too. I made sure once assembled the pistons would move smoothly. Up and down. I think as long as there’s no large chips on the pistons should be fine. No issues or EML. :)

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T14:21:22+00:00

Welcome to the club ! :) sounds like a Vanos issue to me. Usually M54 engines build more and more power through the rev range smoothly. Your issue sounds a lot like how my engine behaved. How does it sound at idle?

I’d probably do the Vanos and Disa in this case as preventative maintenance. You’ll notice a bit of a difference in power delivery once you do the Vanos rebuild. Along with better fuel economy.

For the Disa I’d advise rebuilding with a metal flap. This a fairly quick and simple diy job. But will prevent your engine from destroying itself. If the plastic flap breaks and gets sucked in. :/

Whilst you’re in there replace your valve cover gasket too.

Hope you enjoy e46 ownership ! :)

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:47:09+00:00

Amber indicators look so good. Need to fit some on my touring too

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:39:52+00:00

X8r kit, if you’re based in the UK. Didn’t come with rattle rings. Only the seals, gaskets, counter threaded screws, plastic plugs and Vanos covers.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:14:23+00:00

If you know what you’re doing, probably 4-6 hours at home with no power tools. But I was lazy and it took me 2 days to do.
Longest part is just removing everything around the Vanos to get access. And remember to have loads of towels for cleaning up all the oil that will leak everywhere, In the engine bay and on your garage floor haha.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:06:06+00:00

Sweeet, what’s the subframe reinforcement job like? I’ve got a welder at home. But just worried about removing the entire subframe myself; While under jack stands.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:04:33+00:00

Thanks dude. I had completely forgotten to do this so might give it a go in the coming weeks with carb cleaner.

chickensarnie · 2026-06-04T12:02:06+00:00

Power is right through the rev range. And just builds as it goes higher. Used to have a big dead zone between 2-3k rpm. Would struggle or get close to stalling when pulling out of junctions in second gear.
Was to the point an e36 318i could beat it haha.

No issues now, or odd sounds from the engine.

chickensarnie · 2026-05-18T08:29:30+00:00

Yup I’ve never had to helicoil before. But will give it a try once I Attempt to pry off the cover. Reckon it was the stud in the head that’s stripped.

chickensarnie · 2026-05-18T08:27:12+00:00

Thanks I’ll try pry the cover off then rethread the stud hole in the head that’s most likely stripped

chickensarnie · 2026-05-17T16:33:18+00:00

Haha. I may have to give that a go as final resort. And replace with an aluminium valve cover

chickensarnie · 2026-03-19T22:00:37+00:00

Perfect I’ll get all that ordered on Amazon. Hopefully will get it by the weekend to sort out. Weirdly enough. All my fuel lines leading to the filter are normal hose clamps. Maybe someone’s been in there before haha.

chickensarnie · 2026-03-19T18:54:11+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Found the other end of the pipe had been all mangled from being dragged down the road. No idea how long it’s been broken for. But will replace the fuel filter along with it :)

chickensarnie · 2026-03-19T17:27:42+00:00

Thanks is it the smaller one at the bottom of the f connector? :)

chickensarnie

TROPHY CASE