[m5rosemont83]

Anyone have a diy for replacing/checking Vanos o rings?
Seems to be a common problem and am interested in replacing..
Also if there is a diy somewhere about re soldering the connections?

I've been searching the board but can't find any instructions on the o rings?
Thanks all..

 

[Rhino]

I just picked up o rings from my dealer today, I was going to install them tonight, If you would like I can try to a DIY guide on replace and resoldering.

 

[mjch]

There are a couple of good posts on the site as I used them about 6 months ago to guide me through the process. As I recall, if all you are doing is replacing the O rings to eliminate oil leakage, no soldering will be required.

Pretty easy task. I think that if oil leakage is the problem you are looking to resolve, then it would be wise to replace the gasket between the VANOS Solonoid cover and the block.

I was attempting to piece meal replace bad solonoid valves, and ended up replacing all (4) solonoids and the board with the help of Dr. Vanos. Soldering of individual solonoids to the board was above my skill (or acceptable frustration) level.

The Dr. VANOS guys were VERY good to work with.

 

[mjch]

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e39...des-video.html

 

[m5rosemont83]

Rhino that would be awesome... A good diy would help many members!

It's not leaking but I was thinking it might help some of the performance issues a bit..
I was reading others posts saying replacing them had helped out..

 

[mjch]

The link I posted in my previous response is a good video for the critical steps of removal.

 

[m5rosemont83]

The link I posted in my previous response is a good video for the critical steps of removal.

Thanks mjch..
Thats a good video didn't know there were 4 on each side to play with..

I'm hoping Rhino will post that diy and show how to get to that removal step and how the correct way to put them back in is!

 

[MrCrashRR]

Well, I just did this, and can say that it was not very fun.

The basics are

1) remove maf / intake tube, disconnect the vanos, then remove the outer vanos cover
2) remove solonoids
3) replace o-rings and clean away mesh if there is any remaining
4) replace solonoid untill they pop back into place
5) tighten up

Step 2 was an issue. It took me the better part of 30 mins to get one of them to loosen up and come free without damaging anything. I also left some nice wrench marks on then even though i really tried not to. One of mine was very stuck and I just couldnt get them to come loose. I found the best way was to find a sutable leverage point and just apply slow outward pressure untill it breaks free.

After I replaced everything, she started up fine,and ran great.
Still not very happy about how hard it was to get them to unseat and would caution others that it may be frustrating to get them to break loose. There is nothing you will break by jst pulling outward and hard on them, but you can twist and break the board if you dont work evenly. Once they are out, they seem to pop in and out with reasonable effort.

Its a much tighter fit going back in, but i just used the palm of my hand and pressed firmly on each and they went in just fine.

I was going to do a full DIY with pics, but the trouble I had with their removal and wrench marks made me hold off. And I would caution others that this may get frustrating.

 

[Wurger]

Well, I just did this, and can say that it was not very fun.

The basics are

1) remove maf / intake tube, disconnect the vanos, then remove the outer vanos cover
2) remove solonoids
3) replace o-rings and clean away mesh if there is any remaining
4) replace solonoid untill they pop back into place
5) tighten up

Step 2 was an issue. It took me the better part of 30 mins to get one of them to loosen up and come free without damaging anything. I also left some nice wrench marks on then even though i really tried not to. One of mine was very stuck and I just couldnt get them to come loose. I found the best way was to find a sutable leverage point and just apply slow outward pressure untill it breaks free.

After I replaced everything, she started up fine,and ran great.
Still not very happy about how hard it was to get them to unseat and would caution others that it may be frustrating to get them to break loose. There is nothing you will break by jst pulling outward and hard on them, but you can twist and break the board if you dont work evenly. Once they are out, they seem to pop in and out with reasonable effort.

Its a much tighter fit going back in, but i just used the palm of my hand and pressed firmly on each and they went in just fine.

I was going to do a full DIY with pics, but the trouble I had with their removal and wrench marks made me hold off. And I would caution others that this may get frustrating.

The vid above is very helpful (Vantaam5 vid).
The part where you left wrench marks is just a pressed container, not the actual solenoid so no worries about that.
The solenoids are not directly connected to the board so you can turn them both ways slightly and this will help a LOT in the removal stage. you need to be very careful with the grip though, as not to break the tiny pcb on solenoids side and also make sure you do not overstretch the wires when wiggling them.

 

[m5rosemont83]

Any luck on the diy rhino?

 

[Rhino]

I haven't had a a chance yet, How often are you in the San Jose area?

 

[ard]

The vid above is very helpful (Vantaam5 vid).
The part where you left wrench marks is just a pressed container, not the actual solenoid so no worries about that.
The solenoids are not directly connected to the board so you can turn them both ways slightly and this will help a LOT in the removal stage. you need to be very careful with the grip though, as not to break the tiny pcb on solenoids side and also make sure you do not overstretch the wires when wiggling them.

1. When you initially 'wiggle' the individual solenoid, by slightly rotating it, MAKE SURE you rotate in the direction that loosens the wires.... rotate the wrong way and they can pull out.

2. I sprayed WD40 around and behind the solenoid board to help.

3. Once free, I was able to hold onto the solenoid and use a screw driver to gently lever out each solenoid a mm or two at a time.

 

[BrendanSC]

I'm planning to do mine tomorrow and if I get time I will take some photos. There are plenty of threads with pictures of the solenoids and good instructions. My plan was to follow the excellent Raikku/Vantaam5 video and instructions. I have not done it before so I will be taking my time and feeling my way around the leverage part.

If Rhino figures out his issue and writes it up that will be a better one to follow but judging by his own thread he has his other things on his mind right now.

 

[Mr.Devere]

Are you guys changing these as a preventitive measure? I read some comments about leaks and codes, I have the 2 gaskets and full set of o-rings but no error codes or signs of oil leaks, do you think I should just leave them alone or replace due to mileage @ 110k.

Mike

 

[m5rosemont83]

I haven't had a a chance yet, How often are you in the San Jose area?

I'm not usually but not too far I'm in Sacramento.. I can make a trip :wroom:
lol pm me with details!

I'm planning to do mine tomorrow and if I get time I will take some photos. There are plenty of threads with pictures of the solenoids and good instructions. My plan was to follow the excellent Raikku/Vantaam5 video and instructions. I have not done it before so I will be taking my time and feeling my way around the leverage part.

If Rhino figures out his issue and writes it up that will be a better one to follow but judging by his own thread he has his other things on his mind right now.

Thanks Brendan some more pics would be great..
I know Rhino's a busy guy and is chasing an intermittent power problem.. I believe he's going to be doing this as part of his strategy as well..
The main thing that I'm looking to see is how and where to solder..

 

[BrendanSC]

Are you guys changing these as a preventitive measure? I read some comments about leaks and codes, I have the 2 gaskets and full set of o-rings but no error codes or signs of oil leaks, do you think I should just leave them alone or replace due to mileage @ 110k.

A lot of people seem to do this as PM. One of mine is a bit weepy and I want to see what condition they are in so I added it to my list. No codes. The parts don't cost much. But I have a bad habit of taking things apart and fixing things that are not broken so maybe I'm not the best example.

 

[BrendanSC]

I don't know if I will have the time to take photos and write it up. But I did have these links saved and they are pretty much all you need along with the video mentioned above:

http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e3...42-diy-instructions-vanos-solenoid-valve.html

PDF of TIS procedure - click on the Solenoid Install link on the left of this page
E39 M5 Vanos

 

[BrendanSC]

So why did I do this? It all went according to plan until I broke a wire on one of the bank 1 solenoids as I was drying it off. Eventually managed to get the wire soldered back on and got everything back together. Great. Now for a test drive. Started the car and it idled fine for a couple of minutes but after about 100 yards of driving things went bad. SES and these codes:

72 - “Exhaust camshaft VANOS position control, Cyl #5-8”
C8 - “Misfire, Cyl #5”
C9 - “Misfire, Cyl #6”
CA - “Misfire, Cyl #7”
CB - “Misfire, Cyl #8”
CC - “Misfire, multiple cylinders”
D1 - “Misfire during warm-up, Cyl #5”
D2 - “Misfire during warm-up, Cyl #6”
D3 - “Misfire during warm-up, Cyl #7”
D4 - “Misfire during warm-up, Cyl #8”
D5 - “Misfire during warm-up, multiple cylinders”

So, the bank 2 board is acting up. I took off the cover and everything was seated, tested each solenoid with my multimeter and got ~4 Ohms all 'round. At least they are ok then.

Next step is to pull out the board and visually inspect it. Hopefully it's something I can fix with my lame soldering skills.

Are you guys changing these as a preventitive measure? I read some comments about leaks and codes, I have the 2 gaskets and full set of o-rings but no error codes or signs of oil leaks, do you think I should just leave them alone or replace due to mileage @ 110k.

Right now I am questioning my judgment on that. They were pretty grungy and did need the cleaning I feel, but maybe a GT1 test is a better investment if you think something is wrong. Turns out neither of mine was leaking after all, must have been some spillage or valve cover gasket.

 

[Wurger]

Are you guys changing these as a preventitive measure? I read some comments about leaks and codes, I have the 2 gaskets and full set of o-rings but no error codes or signs of oil leaks, do you think I should just leave them alone or replace due to mileage @ 110k.

Mike

I'd take them out just to remove the gauze filters (I personally removed the whole plastic ring that holds the filter nets), they tend to break off and can cause much bigger vanos problems if they block oil channels inside. Good opportunity to resolder the solenoid connections and give it fresh o-rings too Vantaam5 has a good DIY video of the removing...

 

[BrendanSC]

Phew. Pulled my bank 2 board, cleaned it up and re-soldered and all is well. So far anyway.

I promised a few pics but I think with my experience, any DIY write up is not going to be any better than the existing ones. Instead here are some pics and a couple of gotchas I ran into.

Before you start the job make sure you have plenty of gloves, towels and access to a soldering iron or someone who can solder. Buy or borrow a multimeter too. You will at least want to test and I say only test impedance (3.8 - 4.0 Ohms on all mine) as it would be very easy to overcook the board with a home-made power supply.

Take photos at every stage. I had to interrupt my work to do something else and when I went back to put everything back together I could not remember the orientation of the gasket. I was able to look at my photos to see how it was before.

The cable supplying power the solenoid board was a pain to take off in my car. It connects to the harness right under the front of the plenum and there is a clip holding it there. I broke mine of course.

On bank 2, it is difficult to remove the cable and board from the car as it gets caught. Get this taken care of before you pull the solenoids out. Afterward when you have oil everywhere it's a lot harder.

Be very careful wiggling and twisting solenoids to take them out. You can apply pretty firm pressure pulling outward though. the solenoid are not solidly attached to the board, there's only a grommet holding them in there. But the small yellow and black wires on the board are very delicately soldered on. Only one of mine was trouble to take out but boy did it put up a fight.

This is what my board looked like coming out. This one is a bit blurry as I was trying to deal with the oil.

I used brake cleaner, a toothbrush and a razor blade to clean. I pulled the old o-rings and the filters off with a needle nose pliers. The filter looked ok at a cursory glance but fell apart as soon as I touched them. Well worth getting these out of there. Oil will seep out of the holes as you clean and get all over board, especially around those grommets. There was a lot of crud there. Take your time and do it right and remember to handle everything carefully.

All clean with new o-rings installed and oiled up. Ready to go back in the car.

Oh <insert favorite="" bad="" word="" here=""> no

I soldered it back to the top as best I could. Seems pretty solid. Looped a tiny piece of electrical tape round the wire and fresh solder to hold it to the solenoid. Wrote my favorite bad word on the tape. Didn't feel like taking a pic at that time.

Based on my experience with the boards over the last couple of days I recommend taking the time to clean up the joints and re-solder where you feel necessary. They were not that special to begin with and heat + time do not treat them well.

</insert>