Update. BMW North America has an open recall of the VANOS sprocket bolts but almost a year later they do not have a remedy yet. If you know how to change the valve cover gasket, you should be able to replace the VANOS bolts at the same time. Just need a few specialized tools - Torx security bit, etc. Lots of UA-cam videos on this topic. My N52 VANOS bolts were only finger tight when I replaced and thread locked them. Job takes about 5 hours if you go slow and careful.
My 328i makes the *exact* same noise. I used a borescope to inspect the intake vanos bolts, no issue. Can't see the exhaust bolts though. Seems likely they are the issue.
Hey Craig, i have a 2010 328i with about 91,000 miles so far, wanted to know what was your mileage at the time of your failure. I'm hoping i don'tcthis problem any time soon. Thanks for the comment post.
@@craigdesrosiers3361 Thanks for reply!! I have a sulev also im just hoping this is covered by a warranty by the dealer here in Florida I'm thinking ahead of the game. Thanks again.
Hi how did you fix this sheared bolt heads? Did you have to lock the flywheel under the starter? Is that necessary? Did you loosen and take off the Bolt Tensioner?
I have the same question… An older German guy who had been driving BMW all his life, and that drives the same N54 535i as me said that this sound is normal supposedly.
I am getting this same code with my 2011 x5 i50 drive. Alot bough it doesn’t quite sound like this… definitely sound like there is some misfire of some sort. Could this be my issue? I also have a 2a7b code.
Vacuum pump causes similar rattle, use a stethoscope with a solid probe and apply to the pump case beneath the oil filter housing with the protruding vacuum tube, this is not the PS pump
Very interesting. Wonder if the repairing dealer actually found what was left of the bolt heads after all that. Hopefully they didn’t just replace the broken parts and “move on”.
Likely the latter. I'm not sure it went to a main dealer, i believe it had an aftermarket warranty so it would have ended up at one of their "approved" repairers. These warranty companies love workshops with low labour rates too...
Hi! I got a E92 bmw 2007 , 2.5i 92.000 miles on the clock..The problemI got is the engine just cut of at lower speed. I changed the VANOS solenoids the oil filter and the oil, but nothing happend, engine cuts of at lawer speeds.Can you give me some advices please! , I see you know all about this tipe of engines.Thanks allot!!!
Have you checked for fault codes? Worth checking for air leaks on the intake system, including the evap solenoid. Also good to know if the valvetronic is working correctly as this would be an n52 in e92 325i.
@@FourRingsAuto Yes i cecked the codes and its : 2A87 Vanos Mechanical , 29E1 Mixture control 2 and 29E0 Mixture control. This codes apear when i had my first engine cut off , now when the car stops the engine light shows on the dashboard and when I start the light goes off.What could it be ? Thank you!!!
@@betonbretondid you find an answer to this? I have the exact 3 errors and I checked these vanos bolts but there is none I have only a plastic cap. 2007 325i e92
@Four Rings Auto thank you for the help sir, my sisters car just started making this exact noise, same codes. Used the bore cam to inspect the intake side and has the old style bolts so im suspecting the exact same problem lol
Exact thing happened to my car today, opened the valve cover and found the same issue with the bolts missing on both gears, one sheared from the intake side and 2 from the exhaust side... unbelievable... do you think its worth fixing or should I just get a new engine...
Yup luckily called my local dealer and they fixed it and also replaced the valve cover too since it had issues along with the recall. I’m about 2 months before the 10 Year was up it was a 3k service bill if this happened much later
I have a N52 with this same issue. Will it be necessary to drop the pan and look for/retrieve the broken bolt heads? The oil also has fine metal shavings/glitter. Would this have caused damage or extensive wear to the engine components, such as bearings?
@@colorado.e9x most of the sheared off bolts were retrieved from the top of the engine, but one was not located. It likely went down to the oil pan. I did not remove the oil pan to look for it. The affected Vanos sprocket was replaced, and I had the bolts on the other unaffected Vanos sprocket replaced with the updated bolts as well. Did oil changes more frequently since (every 3k miles), and there are no more traces of metal in the oil.
Still hard to fathom that BMW employ a 'monitoring' system advising you exactly when to change the oil, often well past your typical 12 month interval. These machines are designed to see out the 3 year warranty period and not a day longer...
Great Video and Information,excellent !!The Question is how could and why would these "high grade bolts "shear" off?? would the vanos for some reason cause these bolts to shear ?? ty Sir
The bolt heads are weird looking do you know the name of the tool I can use to tighten the bolts I know I can tighten them one by one as I turn the cam shaft with a 20 mm or sumthing .. It’s a weird looking head bolt almost like a key
No the car was towed away to be repaired elsewhere. I guess it was the typical "I've got someone that can do it cheaper" - basically someone willing to do a patch repair or a bandaid fix.
@@FourRingsAuto I live in the city and the mechanics are really money hungry and I got diagnosed for a timing chain replacement at 96k then another mechanic told me that was wrong
@@FourRingsAuto hi do you know any specs of the bolt? i have exactly the same issue but no code, i opened the valve cover and had the same issue. www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=WX53-USA-06-2011-F25-BMW-X3_28iX&diagId=11_3746 realoem sell the whole sprocket but not the bolts
@@FourRingsAuto i actually needed the bolt part number, but i found it! for the once who need it it's:11-36-8-602-263 when it comes to the torque it's 6nm + 60° however there is something more interesting: BMW had a recall static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCRIT-14V176-2716.pdf (let's see it that will work in my case) interestingly in my case there was no Check engine
I want to just replace the bolts but they say I have to buy the whole sprocket even though it’s just the bolts that are broke. It’s pretty ridiculous that I cannot just purchase the new bolts! Would anybody if I could order the bolts separately? Thanks
@@bobaphat3676 yea you need maintainance just like every other make. But BMW is always cost an arm n leg to maintain compare to the Honda, toyota... I rather cruise a Honda, yota, lexus than that high end Bmw look from outside
@@linhchau9788 Not necessarily, depends on what make and mode, engine etc. Toyotas can suffer from catastrophic failure like water pump on the 2grfe for e.g. or belt failures. So you have to be specific. And they do cost more on average, but you have to consider the fact that German cars are manufactured with a different Engineering philosophy than Japanese cars. They are designed with more Engineering risk and stricter tolerances hence more possibility for things to go wrong. There are pros and cons to everything.
many thanks i fixed my intake cam gear after watching. saved me time and money
Update. BMW North America has an open recall of the VANOS sprocket bolts but almost a year later they do not have a remedy yet. If you know how to change the valve cover gasket, you should be able to replace the VANOS bolts at the same time. Just need a few specialized tools - Torx security bit, etc. Lots of UA-cam videos on this topic. My N52 VANOS bolts were only finger tight when I replaced and thread locked them. Job takes about 5 hours if you go slow and careful.
My 328i makes the *exact* same noise. I used a borescope to inspect the intake vanos bolts, no issue. Can't see the exhaust bolts though. Seems likely they are the issue.
It was indeed sheared VANOS bolts. Dealer fixed it all under the SULEV warranty. Oil pan was removed to retrieve bolts.
Hey Craig, i have a 2010 328i with about 91,000 miles so far, wanted to know what was your mileage at the time of your failure. I'm hoping i don'tcthis problem any time soon. Thanks for the comment post.
@@mofopopo437 It was around 93k miles. Been good for over 10k miles.
@@craigdesrosiers3361 Thanks for reply!! I have a sulev also im just hoping this is covered by a warranty by the dealer here in Florida I'm thinking ahead of the game. Thanks again.
You’re gonna have fun extracting those
Hi
how did you fix this sheared bolt heads?
Did you have to lock the flywheel under the starter? Is that necessary?
Did you loosen and take off the Bolt Tensioner?
Is that noise at 0:20 normal when you open the oil cap? The noise without the oil cap? Is it normal?
I have the same question… An older German guy who had been driving BMW all his life, and that drives the same N54 535i as me said that this sound is normal supposedly.
I have read that the metallic tapping sound from the oil cap is the vacuum pump
Is it normal for the intake sprocket to have that much play ?
Great video mate. Ty for posting this
I am getting this same code with my 2011 x5 i50 drive. Alot bough it doesn’t quite sound like this… definitely sound like there is some misfire of some sort. Could this be my issue? I also have a 2a7b code.
Same issue same car but why don’t the bolts exist on mine😭 the holes not even there wtf
Vacuum pump causes similar rattle, use a stethoscope with a solid probe and apply to the pump case beneath the oil filter housing with the protruding vacuum tube, this is not the PS pump
where did the bolts go, do they manage to get into the oil pan?
Ok great vid. But is there a video on the fix for the problem. I think I just might have the same issue right now
I got this code in 2019.
2A87 P0015.
After clearing the code, I have symptoms but the code no longer appears. Why?
Thanks mate much appreciated it
My car has no symptoms while driving. Relief only occurs when reversing.
yeah all i had to do was replace the ccv on my motor no more codes for only 15$ test your ccv before doing this procedure
how did you remove the bolts ?
Very interesting. Wonder if the repairing dealer actually found what was left of the bolt heads after all that. Hopefully they didn’t just replace the broken parts and “move on”.
Likely the latter. I'm not sure it went to a main dealer, i believe it had an aftermarket warranty so it would have ended up at one of their "approved" repairers. These warranty companies love workshops with low labour rates too...
Can I get a vanos fault code even if the engine oil is low?
Possible yes. Usually due tho to blocked vanos filters in the side of the head.
Hi! I got a E92 bmw 2007 , 2.5i 92.000 miles on the clock..The problemI got is the engine just cut of at lower speed. I changed the VANOS solenoids the oil filter and the oil, but nothing happend, engine cuts of at lawer speeds.Can you give me some advices please! , I see you know all about this tipe of engines.Thanks allot!!!
Have you checked for fault codes? Worth checking for air leaks on the intake system, including the evap solenoid. Also good to know if the valvetronic is working correctly as this would be an n52 in e92 325i.
@@FourRingsAuto Yes i cecked the codes and its : 2A87 Vanos Mechanical , 29E1 Mixture control 2 and 29E0 Mixture control. This codes apear when i had my first engine cut off , now when the car stops the engine light shows on the dashboard and when I start the light goes off.What could it be ? Thank you!!!
@@betonbretondid you find an answer to this? I have the exact 3 errors and I checked these vanos bolts but there is none I have only a plastic cap. 2007 325i e92
Well it looks like i know what im doing next weekend lol, will probably need a new valve cover gasket too eh?
Yes always replace the gasket if the valve cover is being removed.
@Four Rings Auto thank you for the help sir, my sisters car just started making this exact noise, same codes. Used the bore cam to inspect the intake side and has the old style bolts so im suspecting the exact same problem lol
Worth checking for sure!
Exact thing happened to my car today, opened the valve cover and found the same issue with the bolts missing on both gears, one sheared from the intake side and 2 from the exhaust side... unbelievable... do you think its worth fixing or should I just get a new engine...
Fix it. A used engine you don't know anything about it's history.
there was a recall for this issue
Yup luckily called my local dealer and they fixed it and also replaced the valve cover too since it had issues along with the recall. I’m about 2 months before the 10 Year was up it was a 3k service bill if this happened much later
@@bmw-wagon how old is your car? I take notice that this happens to cars between 2009 und 2011
You’re on target! I got a 2011, just glad it happened sooner than later and got replacements for free
I also got the 2A87 P0015 Vanos code, is it because of vanos engine retardation on reverse?
Can I use a solenoid valve while starting?
What is the year of construction of your car?
I have a N52 with this same issue. Will it be necessary to drop the pan and look for/retrieve the broken bolt heads? The oil also has fine metal shavings/glitter. Would this have caused damage or extensive wear to the engine components, such as bearings?
Did you ever find an answer to your questions?
@@colorado.e9x most of the sheared off bolts were retrieved from the top of the engine, but one was not located. It likely went down to the oil pan. I did not remove the oil pan to look for it.
The affected Vanos sprocket was replaced, and I had the bolts on the other unaffected Vanos sprocket replaced with the updated bolts as well.
Did oil changes more frequently since (every 3k miles), and there are no more traces of metal in the oil.
Still hard to fathom that BMW employ a 'monitoring' system advising you exactly when to change the oil, often well past your typical 12 month interval. These machines are designed to see out the 3 year warranty period and not a day longer...
I don't know anyone who uses that. They recommend 15k intervals. It's ridiculous. I do 5-6k. That's about what everyone else does.
my bmw has the same sound that yours had. so what was the problem?
Watch the video and you'll find out?
Four Rings Auto I don't speak English I had to translate to be able to comment
@@molongoful problem is broken bolts on the vanos unit. (Variator)
Great Video and Information,excellent !!The Question is how could and why would these "high grade bolts "shear" off?? would the vanos for some reason cause these bolts to shear ?? ty Sir
Unknown. Manufacturing defect perhaps. Porsche have a recall on their v8 engines in the 92A Cayenne and Panamera to replace the bolts.
@@FourRingsAuto yes .ok ty Sir
I assume you found the bolt heads in the oil pan?
Unfortunately the job went elsewhere due to some paid warranty the guy had and the warranty company only wants their repairers to fix it (cost based).
What if my bolt head is still there but just loose
Still needs fixing
The bolt heads are weird looking do you know the name of the tool I can use to tighten the bolts
I know I can tighten them one by one as I turn the cam shaft with a 20 mm or sumthing ..
It’s a weird looking head bolt almost like a key
Also it’s at a weird angle not much room maybe a L key can fit in that spot to tighten them
Was the rear bolt broken?
Is there another video ?
No the car was towed away to be repaired elsewhere. I guess it was the typical "I've got someone that can do it cheaper" - basically someone willing to do a patch repair or a bandaid fix.
@@FourRingsAuto that’s shitty , good video regardless . Thank you for getting back to me 🙏🏽
Did it make a rattle sound at start up? I’ve been having a rattle sound at start up, not sure if it’s the same issue as this car
From memory it rattled all the time. Timing chain tensioner or vanos gear can cause cold start rattle.
What year was this vehicle?
Hi my car literally sounds like this! What was the issue ? And what was repaired ? Thanks
Is it possible for the code to appear for reasons other than vanos?
It's a vanos timing code. So it's gonna be related to cam timing, vanos operation, oil pressure, vanos solenoids, etc.
So if I have this code, is this forsure my issue?
You need to get a mechanic to diagnose the issue.
@@FourRingsAuto I live in the city and the mechanics are really money hungry and I got diagnosed for a timing chain replacement at 96k then another mechanic told me that was wrong
Maybe you need to find a better mechanic.
@@FourRingsAuto both had awesome reviews. But yah might just have to go to dealer
I wouldn't go to the dealer if you think your current mechanic is money hungry. The dealer is much more hungry!
Is this repairable? or do I need to replace 11367583208 and 11367583207? Great video!
Replacement variators and the bolt that holds them to the camshaft.
@@FourRingsAuto hi do you know any specs of the bolt? i have exactly the same issue but no code, i opened the valve cover and had the same issue.
www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=WX53-USA-06-2011-F25-BMW-X3_28iX&diagId=11_3746
realoem sell the whole sprocket but not the bolts
You need the torque setting for the bolt that holds the sprocket to the camshaft?
@@FourRingsAuto i actually needed the bolt part number, but i found it!
for the once who need it it's:11-36-8-602-263
when it comes to the torque it's 6nm + 60°
however there is something more interesting: BMW had a recall
static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCRIT-14V176-2716.pdf
(let's see it that will work in my case)
interestingly in my case there was no Check engine
@djthedog thank for posting this.
how did you fix the noise tho? i have the exact one, and i changed every fucking thing on my car :))))
I want to just replace the bolts but they say I have to buy the whole sprocket even though it’s just the bolts that are broke. It’s pretty ridiculous that I cannot just purchase the new bolts! Would anybody if I could order the bolts separately?
Thanks
I think we should crash the car and buy a new one
Thank you for the laugh, I needed that 😂
The woes of owning a bimmer. When things work, it's bliss. But when things start to fail, it's a nightmare.
BMWs are the worst ever built cars.... I am done. Pretty on the outside and crap on the inside.
not necessarily. You need to maintain them diligently to have them performing optimally. They aren't corolla budget repair cars
@@bobaphat3676 yea you need maintainance just like every other make. But BMW is always cost an arm n leg to maintain compare to the Honda, toyota...
I rather cruise a Honda, yota, lexus than that high end Bmw look from outside
@@linhchau9788 Not necessarily, depends on what make and mode, engine etc.
Toyotas can suffer from catastrophic failure like water pump on the 2grfe for e.g. or belt failures.
So you have to be specific. And they do cost more on average, but you have to consider the fact that German cars are manufactured with a different Engineering philosophy than Japanese cars. They are designed with more Engineering risk and stricter tolerances hence more possibility for things to go wrong. There are pros and cons to everything.
Now ugly on the outside.