Hi All,


So after the full engine build we experienced the 287E and 287D vanos inlet actuator movement codes. Please read and any comments received and welcomed! :-)


1. We checked the cam timing (the cheap tools from e-bay allow some play even when they claim to have locked the cams.. that is a learn, but the better tools. We used the tool and a rule to get them more accurate the second time.
2. We replaced the cam chain tensioner just to make sure it was perfect. It was but it has a new one anyway.
3. We replaced the vanos solenoid for the new style. Made no difference, the codes continue.
4. I have heard that the inlet cam sprocket (which is the actual vanos bit..) can fail. Ours has a small amount of play when we turn the cam wheel and hold the cam in place. Supposedly this is the issue. How on earth mine left the car and went into a box and one year later just doesn't work I have no idea.
5. I was wondering if my uprated Supertech valve springs might have been causing an issue, or more load on the system.


QUESTION: I think I now need to order a new inlet cam vanos sprocket. In the Uk it is about £370 so I guess about $500 or so for the sprocket. Does anyone know of another route to get one, other than straight to BMW? I was wondering if they may be cheaper from Peugeot.


Any input welcomed :-)


Cheers


Steven RW

 

On the N14 some of the parts are shared on Puegeot. I dont know if its exactly the same.

Most of the time its actual cheaper on the BMW side in the USA. Had some Puegeot people by some MINI engine parts from us in the past. Part number on MINI side: 11367545862

https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/11367545862/

 

My questions is, did you use new bolts to assemble the timing cassette? The cam bolts as well as the crank bolt are single use torque to yield bolts, and will not hold torque properly if reused, which can lead to timing jumping.

There is no keyways on the cams, so the only thing keeping you from jumping time is friction and torque.

If you have the car timed properly, used new hardware, and replaced the VANOS solenoid then you may be looking at one of two other options: the cam gear is in fact faulty (which I've only replaced two ever), or the bearing cap for the intake cam nearest the cam gear is worn and not able to build proper oil pressure causing a deviance of requested vs actual readings.

 

Hi,

Firstly - input appreciated :-). Thanks for commenting.

We have timed up the engine "correctly" using the tool kits. We have used two tool kits as the cheap one allowed some play in the cams even when "locked down". We have even checked that the Helix flywheel has the locking pin hole at the correct 90 degrees.

We have replaced the vanos solenoid and still the code persists.

We have replaced the cam chain tensioner with a new one, code persists.

We have now replaced the inlet vanos cam sprocket and ... the code persists.

My next thought was that the oil pressure was maybe being strangely variable after our full engine rebuild (done meticulously over a full year with a new bmw oil pump etc..) and the oil pressure gauge we attached to the outlet on the head (as per Bentley..) gave readings that were spot on (quite a bit higher than the 10psi minimum it asks for even when roasting hot).

We inspected the vanos cam cap and it "looked" okay. No extra scores and looked quite like we would expect it to look. It is the area I am going to concentrate on next and I do appreciate the input.

We turned the engine over with that vanos cam cap off to make sure oil went everywhere... and it did. SO.. like you say, i am starting to consider if for some reason consistent high enough oil pressure isn't getting to the wheel.

Strange on the basis the engine came to pieces with ZERO issues in this dept and now it went back together and with all parts replaced the issues continues.

One thought is we are now running Supertech uprated Beehive springs and their titanium retainers. I am wondering if they are asking the Vanos a harder question than before, on standard springs. I wrote to supertech who said after selling hundreds of these kits over several years they have never hard that feedback and felt that 22-25% uprated springs would not be enough to cause the issue.

So maybe between the uprated springs and a maybe worn cam vanos cap, the two have caused this issue.

The only positive, is I now have a spare cam chain tensioner, inlet vanos solenoid and inlet vanos cam sprocket spare on the basis that all the items I replaced did NOT make a fix :-).

Oh the joys... :-)

Cheers

Steven RW

 

Steve did you have any progress on your case? Looks like I have maybe similar issue?

 

Hi. Yes I solved it. Thoroughly embarrassing.

Keep in mind my issue was after the full rebuild not an issue that occurred during regular running.

It was taken to pieces and it worked fine and when we rebuilt it we had this issue. Replaced all parts and still had the issue. Was very confusing.

We maybe a complete stupid mistake and under the inlet manifold we accidentally plugged the vanos solenoid plug into the fuel tank venting solenoid and vice versa. It's a stretch but it is possible to get them round the wrong way. We swapped the plugs round and everything worked perfectly. Most plugs in that area only go into one socket as they are all different shapes. This happened due to not having worked on this exact engine and car before.

What is your issue and what we're the circumstances that lead to it showing up?

Cheers
Steven rw

 

tks for sharing your experience. I had a valve job and the engine ran great for 15 minutes at idle but after a 5 minutes ride I started to get really rough idle and code 0B64 unmetered air. I have a second Mini so could swap some parts to check. This is what I did:
check for leakages on intake - all good
swap all air temp and pressure sensors - all good
swap throttle body - good
put new solenoid

After engine ran for few minutes (rough ) I noticed could rotate the vanos counter clockwise and oil would come out of vanos in between cam and the vanos. is that normal or a bad vanos? Is the vanos supposed to be back to its original position when engine stops?

 

What do u mean by a valve job? Did someone take your cylinder head off? If so I think your potentially suffering from the same issue as I did.

A little Oil coming out where you mention is fine. If you have re used the same cam caps on the same head then the seal is good enough.

Can you put a Code reader on it and watch live readings? What happens is the vanos set point is vastly different to the vanos actual point.

In terms of it running right then badly.. when the code finally throws up,the engine goes into a limp running mode which is really rough and stalls and so on.

Other option is they haven't timed your cams up right. Share more info and we can diagnose further

Thx

 

One other simple test... disconnect the plug currently going into the vanos solenoid. Start the engine. IF it throws up a code for "fuel tank ventilation" then u know u have the plugs round the wrong way exactly as I did. Simple test that only takes a minute and narrows down the potential issues. Cheers

 

I had the cylinder head off due a burnt valve. head was cleaned and fix, compression and leakage good.
how can I live check cam angles by using BMW tool ISTAD(ISID)?
Just wonder why engine ran fine for 10-15 minutes but later run really rough.

 

Mine ran fine and then after it warmed up I revved it to about 2500rpm. At that point the code appears and then the car recognises something is wrong and goes into a weird mode where it runs really lumpy and rough.

If you reset the code it usually runs okay till you rev it up again and the code appears and round you go.

Either way as my previous post stated. To check if you have the same issue as me is simple. Lean over the left hand back side of the cam cover and remove the plug from the vanos solenoid. If the plugs are the wrong way round a code will immediately appear that relates to the fuel tank ventilation. At that point you need to swap them round.

You don't need to measure live angles at that point. If the above does not highlight the issue then you need to go from there.

Probably remove the solenoid and make sure the mesh filter on the solenoid isn't blocked.

Then check your cam timing was done properly.

Etc

Thx
Steven

 

If the only code you are reading is an unmetered air code, then you have unmetered air, not a misplaced connection.

Vanos solenoids that are electrically or mechanically faulty will give you position codes, actuation codes, cam over retarded/ advanced.

Most common area we see people with unmetered air leaks that aren't in the charge piping is from the PCV tube to the valve cover, or the PCV housing of the valve cover is faulty.

If you're saying you're turning the cam counterclockwise (which is a huge no no) does that mean you have the valve cover off while the car is running? If so that is where you're getting your unmetered air fault.

 

tks for feedback. Maybe I didn't explain in details on my last post.
After timing the engine and double checking I ran it for couple minutes but noticed the same issue 2B64. I decided to check timing again. Stop the engine, remove the cover and noticed for coincidence the exhaust was in perfect timing, I then locked the exhaust cam. Then I noticed intake was off ( advanced ~ 20 degrees ) - remember at this point I have not touched the cams or crank it was just the positions after engine stopped. Then I decided to check if intake cam could be moved back to timing position ( engraving pointing up ) and it could. With a wrench I was able to move the intake can back so engraving was point up and hit a hard stop by doing that noticed oil coming out of area between cam cap and vanos unit. Keep in mind the vanos sprocket didn't move by moving can back.
Is the vanos supposed to be move back to "relaxed" position when engine is off? Could be a tired vanos unit?
ps: If I rev up the engine runs better meaning less misfiring but still misfire. I believe this tell us the issue is rpm related.
I had the chance to put a other valve cover and issue was still there.

 

Vacuum leaks show themselves most prominently at idle and higher levels of vacuum, but once you either rev the car decreasing vacuum or introducing positive pressure the problem ceases until you fall back into vacuum.

If the cam timing was off then the timing process wasn't followed to a "T" or the torque values weren't reached to keep the cam gear from moving.

 

the function of the vanos is to change cam timing in relation to the crank in a controlled way. The cam is not off but when engine is stopped looks like vanos doesn't go to the zero position what could indicate it is bad.

 

I believe found the issue - vanos unit. After replacing it the engine is running fine. So the conclusion so far is that cam CANNOT move independent of vanos sprocket what is a sign of defect on vanos unit.
Does anybody has any information in how to fix the vanos unit?

 

thanks mate for the infor , well i did the same thing i switch the cables was keep giving me the same error many thanks was very help full ....

 

Hi folks.
I'm having vanos issues too. I bought a used exhaust vanos unit for my non-turbo N12, just to see how it works and how much movement there was in these things.
How much movement should there actually be in these units? I put my used one in a vice and I can only rotate it about 1 tooth's worth. Is this normal or should there be much more movement than this? I suspect that one of the vanos units in my car a seized and not returning to its 'rest' position.

 

Hi folks.
I'm having Vanos issues too. I was wondering, how much movement should there actually be in these? I bought a use unit just to see how it worked and, when I put it in a vice, it only rotates about 1 tooth's worth. Is that normal or should it rotate more than that?

 

Do you have the ambient air temp sensor (located in the front bumper) plugged in? I got the same error and similar engine performance when I forgot to plug it in.

 

I've just figured my own vanos issue after lots of research on this site so thought to share my experience.
I have a 2007 r56 S with 77k. I replaced the timing chain and guides, oil cooler seals, filters, ect.. last summer at about 75k and it's been runnijng strong since then up until about a month ago when I got a rough idle on start up.

I started with coils and plugs and did not fix the issue. I got a scanner and found it was throwing 287D and 287E codes. I pulled the vanos solenoid and it was all caked with crud. I bought a new Beck and Arnley solenoid and fitted that back into the engine and it did not resolve the code.

I then pulled the intake manifold and cleaned the intake ports, replaced the intake seals. No luck. I found a crack in the intake hose between the air filter and the turbo and replaced this, but it did not make a difference. Since I was still throwing 287d and 287e codes, I pulled the valve cover. The pvc hose was solid, no cracks. Tank vent system working fine. I pulled the vanos sprocket, that looked good. I replaced the vanos cams seals and retimed the engine. Everything was spot on. I buttoned it all back up and still ran into an idle surging issue.

The engine would idle ok, but once put into gear the idle would surge and stall, surge and stall. The vanos adaptations were still running all over and it was not clear if it was vacuum or still a vanos issues.

I then pulled that brand new solenoid back out and switched back to the original vanos solenoid, which I cleaned up good. That fixed the problem. So I was chasing the problem thinking the solenoid was ruled out, but it still came back to a bad solenoid. Mini back in action and running awesome with all of the work. My lesson is to be careful with the aftermarket solenoid. I'll run a genuine if I replaced again. Some folks reported issues with the after market and I was running what I thought a good brand.

 

Chasing an "unmetered air" problem on my '09 JCW and I haven't been able to find the culprit yet. But in the process found that many people with similar issues tracked it to the VANOS solenoid. Not thinking that was my problem, but wanting to check it off of the list, I bought the cheapest solenoid I found with the thought that I would install it, prove that nothing changed, then reinstall the original unit. Well, since I swapped it the car hasn't run right. Using a scan tool the "requested" and "actual" cam position vary from spot on to wildly different. When cold the car will hardly run and gets to acceptable when fully warmed. So, I agree with CobaltX60, you get what you paid for with these solenoids. Buy good quality, name brand when you're replacing them.

As a side note, my lambda readings and mixture adaptation values have come into line with the new solenoid installed. Not sure what this experiment proved for sure. Cheap solenoids = bad? Yes. Solenoids effect mixture? Appears to be true. Purchase a top quality solenoid and try again ???? Who knows.

 

Yip.
I recently had a nightmare chasing a vanos problem on my 2007 Mini Cooper non-turbo. I was getting a crazy, fluctuating idle when cold and the car was constantly down on power. The engine management light came on sporadically, with a few different fault codes, all relating to vanos and camshaft issues.
I bought 2 aftermarket, generic vanos solenoids to rule them out as causing the problem. They didn't.
I even went out and bought a used exhaust vanos unit to strip down and see how it worked. These things are pretty robust and there's not much can go wrong with them. I wouldn't be replacing the vanos units unless you're absolutely certain that they're broken because they're expensive and, probably, aren't the cause of your issue.
My 'prescribed' and actual 'vanos positions were all over the place and the adaptation reset was never successful. I checked my timing with my 'Laser' tool several times and it was bang on the money.
Anyway, after about 3 months of hair pulling, I bought and fitted 2 genuine BMW/Mini vanos solenoids (£55 each). This instantly cured my problem and the car is running like a dream again.
What I have learned, is that these vanos solenoids are not simply on/off solenoids. They are well engineered units that have to respond to a variety of different signals from the ECU. The aftermarket ones sometimes just aren't good enough. Hope this helps.

 

Yep. Just put my original solenoid back in and the car is running okay again. Definitely did not like the cheap off brand solenoid. Lesson learned.

 

Hi steven, my name is Shandrick, I got the same code, need some help. Just replaced the vanos solenoid both, changed pcv breather, new valve cover and gasket, this week the mecanic is going to rebuilt the cylinder head with full headgasket kit, new valve stem seals and head gasket etc and clean the engine. The car runs fine but sometimes i cannot anything, loss of power limp mode etc code: 287D

my car has 57000 miles on it, do you think the sludge is the problem? A mecanic from bmw told that the sludge sometimes can cause that problem 80%