new to me, 98 M3

[cpandrewschmidt]

patsbimmer1 said:

Buy some hdpe from menards.  You won't regret it!  I agree with jdesign, carry it all the way across the front.

yeah, will definitely look at HDPE for it.  I'm going for this look.  I think carrying it all the way across just makes it look too much like the stock splitter already on there.  But I'll still mock one up to see if I like it more.  

[Jdesign]

Well its your car, you can do whatever you please    

eBay has some molded parts similar to what you are thinking. I didn't search much, but I am sure there are flat versions as well. $40 seems better than spending a few hours making your own.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/92-99-BMW-E36-3-SERIES-M3-FRONT-BUMPER-LOWER-VELOCITY-GT-SPLITTERS-/192010946516

Otherwise this is what I had in mind:

[cpandrewschmidt]

Hi all,

Couple months or so ago I did a Vanos reseal. I have a lightweight flywheel which doesn't have a pin to lock the flywheel. I made some CAM locks myself and proceeded with the job. During the job my locks slipped a bit. I realigned with the head as best I could and proceeded. When done verified TDC on flywheel and all looked good through several rotations. 

Since then I've been battling those codes you've seen in this thread. I've replaced all known issues for that; plugs, coil packs, o2 sensors, fuel filter, smoke test, etc. I planned to do all those anyway as routine maintenance as the new owner so that's fine. However, I'm still getting the code. So, that brings me back to my Vanos job as the only other variable that's changed. More I read I see people talking about it being off a "tooth" Are they referring to the splines when re-inserting the Vanos? After watching some video's I'm not 100% confident I had that in correctly. So, I'm re-doing it to double check my work. After seeing a few techniques on youtube i'm more confident I'll be sure it's right. 

I'm at the point to lock the CAMs (with real cam locks this time). Here's a picture of my exhaust cam. Crank is TDC, lobes pointed at each other upfront and intake cam is pretty flush. Exhaust is off by a bit. I'm told to wiggle the CAM with a 24 mm wrench so it sits flush but I'm afraid of other things moving. I plan to have a friend hold a wrench on the crank to insure that doesn't move, but am I ok to wiggle that CAM around? I didn't want to take the Vanos out without knowing that first. 

Thanks for any advice for those that have done this. 

Andrew

[B C]

The crankshaft is at TDC. the camshafts are locked. once you remove the timing chains you must rotate the crankshaft off of TDC. Start the wrench at approximately the lifting hook (green line) and turn it counter clockwise to the opposite edge of the head (red line). Yes, it is horrifying to rotate the crank out of sync with the cams/with the timing chains off, but it is safe. Once the crankshaft is in this position you can rotate the cams all you want. You will probably have to rotate the intake cam independently to force the VAMOS unit off of the cam anyhow since you will notice that rotating the intake cam with the VAMOS unbolted results in the whole VAMOS unit moving axially in and out on the cam.

[jc43089]

Definitely not timed right in the photo.  The squares should be parallel You should be safe to turn it that amount without messing with the crankshaft but it doesn't hurt to be safe.  Be careful not to drop the chain down the front of the engine.  I usually tie a wire to it just in case.

The bolts on the exhaust cam should be loose while the vanos is installed so the sprocket that drives the intake cam can rotate as the vanos is pushed in so the cams don't move.

When you are all done assembling and turn the engine by hand 2 revolutions you should be able to put the cam lock tool back on.  Then you know it is right.  You don't need the lock tool, I use a straight metal ruler but if you have the blocks it's easier.

[cpandrewschmidt]

Well, got things buttoned back up last night.  Here are some steps I took.  Loosened exhaust CAM bolts with crank at TDC.  Pushed in upper timing chain tensioner with pin.  I was able to rotate exhaust CAM with wrench to put in CAM block locks.  Intake side CAM lock slid on with no adjustment needed.  I did not remove any chains.  Rotated CAM sprocket to right while removing vanos.  Re-set vanos very carefully to insure tooth caught while rotating CAM sprocket back to left.  Spline tooth caught right away.  Removed tensioner pin and locks.  Checked timing on TDC with several rotations.  All looked good.  Buttoned rest back up.  Cleared codes and DME adapations. 

Took car for a spin now have a new gremlin.  Car idles normally while cold and during warm up.  Once the car is warm when coming out of gear into neutral the rpms start to flutter.  Will typically dip to around 300 rmp then spike to 900 and keeps going back and forth.  Doesn't do it all the time but is pretty consistent.  My normal idle was around 650 rpm or so.  On first trip out dipped low enough to kill the engine.  Basically getting the same codes, now with the idle issue which is new.  Perhaps I still have something wrong with my install.  Not sure where to go from here.  

[jc43089]

So when it was all put together with the vanos installed and after turning the engine a few times and back to TDC the squares on the cams are straight with each other and the cam locks can be put back on?

[cpandrewschmidt]

jc43089 said:

So when it was all put together with the vanos installed and after turning the engine a few times and back to TDC the squares on the cams are straight with each other and the cam locks can be put back on?  

yes

[B C]

Just out of curiosity:

Move injectors 1-2-3 to cylinders 4-5-6 and see if the Bank 1 deviation becomes Bank 2 deviation. If so you know its injector related (even though the injectors are assumed good)

If its still a Bank 1 deviation after that, move bank 1 o2 sensor to bank 2. If the deviation moves to bank 2 you know the sensor is bad even though it is assumed to be good. If it stays on bank 1 then there is excessive electrical resistance in the injector wiring, o2 wiring, or an air leak on the intake or exhaust side of cylinders 1,2, or 3

[jc43089]

^ Good steps, check those things out.

[cpandrewschmidt]

I had some time to noodle around with this over the weekend.  Here are a few observations.  Before moving injectors in addition to the codes above I would get a misfire on cylinder 5.  Wouldn't happen all the time, but somewhat consistent.  I've replaced all spark plugs and new coil packs but code persists.  

So, I removed plugs and rotated them around.  1 to 4, 2 to 5, 3 to 6 and then 6 to 3, 5 to 2, 4 to 1. 

New codes come up as:  Misfire cylinder 2 and 6.  (2 makes some sense since I moved 5 to that spot.  6 makes no sense)  I have mixture deviation on Bank 2 now vs bank 1.  Also, both Cat Efficiency Bank 1,2 still.  After moving them and starting the car I could feel the misfires right away.  However, after car warms up it appears to run perfectly fine.  

Anyway to test injectors besides sending them in to get cleaned and tested?  Seems weird for 6 to go bad.  That would have been in slot 1 before and I've never had a code there.  I wonder if there's something up with my electrical signal to them?  I probably stretching here.

Appreciate any thoughts.

[jc43089]

Did you move the injectors or just the plugs?  Did the plugs all look a similar color?

[cpandrewschmidt]

Just moved injectors.  Plugs are also new.  Looked fine when i pulled them for vanos job before.  I didn't put them back in the same spots so the misfire staying on 5 wouldn't have been plug related.  In the past i've moved those and coil packs.  Code stayed on 5.  So, plugs and packs should be good.

[B C]

Misfire makes sense as your bank 1 and bank 2 fuel trims dont "match" the injectors that they adapted to.

Reset the ecu/adaptations and check the codes again just to be sure.

[jc43089]

Ok, I misunderstood.  I think you have identified an injector problem if your misfire code moved with the injector.  Did you happen to look for an injector dripping while you had them out of the manifold?  

I think if you had a wiring harness problem the issue would have stayed at cylinder 5.

[cpandrewschmidt]

thanks guys.  Will do tonight and report back.  I found it strange that cylinder 6 now had a misfire as well.  I didn't check for a dripping injector unfortunately.

[B C]

There are a lot of variables in play so dont think too much of it until you clear adaptations and try again. Cyl 6 may have a good plug, good injector, but may be misfiring because of the extra lean/extra rich fuel trim on bank 2.

It would be best to send the injectors out for rebuild for peace of mind. I had a good experience and turnaround with Injector Rehab.

[Jdesign]

Not sure what style injectors you have, but you can always check them quickly yourself with a battery and some carb/injector cleaner.

[cpandrewschmidt]

Cleared codes and reset DME this AM.  Took to work today.  Start up was rough again, smoothed out after normal driving.  Although I feel even after warm up the sound of the exhaust is a little sputtery.  Pulled the same misfire codes on 2 and 6 and cat efficiency codes.  No mixture deviation yet, but that might come on with more driving I suspect.  

[B C]

Going to send the injectors off for rebuild then?