Super Easy BMW Double Vanos Rebuild DIY BMW M54 M52TU E46 E39 E53 X5 

This is the best video out there on E39 Vanos rebuild - Great detailed video's coming out of Nathans Workshop :D

Tackling this on monday! This e39 was neglected for years an just nickel an dimeing me but hey, for 500 bucks, why not!!

Pro tip: Put the rubber grease on the seal before installing the seal to the plunger... and no need to use an impact driver on such tiny bolts mounting to aluminum.

I did this on my ex E46 320i (M54B22) a few years back using the Beisan Systems replacement seals and guide, and have to say, there was an improvement. I know this, because it was my wife's car and when I had her drive it afterwards, she said there was a definite improvement in power lower down, and I had not told her anything about the work done, or what to look out for. A few notes: as far as I know, you can't mess up the timing at all when doing this on the M54 motors, but I think the M52 motors is a different story. I just used some fresh oil to lubricate the O-rings and seals since that is what goes into the Vanos chambers. To help get those new tight O-rings onto the Vanos pistons, let them lie in some hot water for a minute or so, that just makes them a bit easier to stretch and fit. And then lastly, those two bolts that connect the Vanos pistons onto the cam shafts are left hand thread and require very little torque to tighten up - not all torque wrenches measure in both directions, so I learnt, and went along and snapped the one bolt. Luckily, you can quite easily turn the broken piece out, well I was. If you study those bolts, you will see that they are designed to snap easily, and I think should probably just be replaced when doing this job anyway, which is what I ultimately did, and therefore then simply tightened by feel. Keep up the awesome work Nathan!

Can you tell me where is the best place to get this complete vanos rebuild kit?

Got a quote for $4100.00 today for shop to do this, I think that's a little high given what I see here, they claim change the stop, and the cam bolts also because the bolts are not very strong, and couple other things.

Im about to do vanos rebuild just finished time serts put all back together ran it and got to codes for timing advanced what could it be?

Hi can this resolve a cold starter misfire after a head gasket change?

Sooooo glad I've found you mate!!!!! 😁😁😁I'm on my 4th e39, I know I know, addiction is a horrible curse 😉😉 I've learned more in 5 of your excellent videos than I have in 6 years of learning the hard way. Thank you so much Nathan 🙏👍

Great informative video Nathan. Just like rebuilding a hydraulic cylinder or steering valves on equipment. If you need some extra work, no just kidding. 👍

Thanks for the video! Any reason why you wouldn't replace the needle bearings while u have it torn apart?

Nathan would you go with the Dorman kit or the Besian seals?

Nathan you always make nice and informative video! Thanks for keeping us informed!

Just use some Permatex gasket sealer in those 2 corners?

Thank you so much for this useful vanos video. SUBSCRIBED.

I'll be doing this forsure soon an like I've told you before bro your the best at showing us that it can be done all we gotta do is do it.

I just finished mine, took me around 8 hours to do with the engine installed

Thanks and love your vids and what you do. I've been searching for an answer that you might know. With a "2002 325i e46 m54" I do not have an auxiliary water/heater pump, just a valve. Should my car have a bleed stream present in the expansion tank (AT IDLE) ? 1200 RPM and up it has a great stream. All warm and open thermostat at high rpm it will make a great mess. Lol But at idle thru maybe 1100 rpm there's nothing. And pretty much new everthing pertaining to cooling system. Radi, valve, therm, pump, exp tank, Trans therm, sooo. I would appreciate any input sir. 🙏🙏🙏

Hi Nathan I'm one of your fan. I do the double vanos rebuild on my M52tu. But..whene put together again I was to hard on my wrench and broken one bolt on the vanos...I can't get it out ... Is it a big problem?? Thanks Danny

5 years later and i hope this message finds you well! Thanks for this ! You made it look so easy. Definitely must try it 😄

Every rebuild VANOS of a N52? What's that's like compared to this?

Bearings? Spacers? ......

Quick question on m54 doublevanos. Inside the vanos piston, is it necessary for the anti rattle ring to spin? Or it's OK the ring to be blocked and only what's inside the ring to move? I bought an anti rattle kit and the rings were entering easily only halfway to the end. To get the rings as down as possible, I didn't use sandpaper, instead put back the 24mm screw and force screwed them to the bottom (wasn't very hard to screw but had to put it in a vise though). After that I unscrewed the 24 mm screws and put in all the internals (needle bearing etc. ) but the ring were tighted to the bottom. Bad move or it doesn't matter?

Thanks for this video!

Should I replace the metal gasket anyways even if the OEM metal gasket looks fine? Not sure about if ain't broken don't fix it. Your videos have been extremely helpful and detailed man. Ty

Could bad VANOS seals cause a rough idle that goes away when the check engine light is cleared while running?

Thank you for doing this!

To get rid of the rattle knocking sound, do we need to replace the bearings and spacers inside the pistons? Or just replacing the piston seals shown in this VDO is good enough? Anyone?