Beisan Systems -- Double Vanos Upgrade/Repair

[m_guimont323]

Hey guys,

Been lurking around the forums for a while now, and was wondering if I could get a few questions answered.

I currently own a 2000 323i -- 242000k (purchased at 192000).
I have put lots of work into the car and still love driving it, however through a bit of research on e46fanatics, I have noticed a common wear item on these engines (M52TU) is the seals in the double vanos system.

http://www.beisansystems.com/


Currently the car runs great, despite what i feel to be slight hesitation when first jumping on the gas hard. If i roll into the throttle it doesn't appear to happen.

There have never been any codes or cold start issues, and the engine will rev happily to 6500 all day.

Realizing the seals are in fact certainly worn out, is it really worth the effort of replacing the seals with those from Beisan Systems if there is no real issues affecting driveability. As much as I would like to see more power out of the engine, I am rather skeptical that changing these seals will net any noticeable gains.

Any input is appreciated !

[ScotcH]

I doubt you'll get really noticable gains ... it's more a noise and smoothness issue. I just changed the ones in my race engine because it sounded like a can full of nuts and bolts ... haven't ran it yet though, so don't know if it fixed it.

[Renboy]

Less power = lower fuel efficiency
For $60 and a bit of time, why not?

[Sandeep]

Don't know about this particular issue but +1 for Beisan systems....they helped me out a lot

[scott_88]

Hey,

I replaced my vamps seals at about 130000km. I did not have any rattling or stuff like that, but I wanted to do it prophylactically. I did not notice any difference whatsoever. The work was not technically demanding, but was time consuming and messy! I was not prepared for how much oil comes out of the Vanos. Anyways, it is worth doing given that 60 bucks could save you a lot of hassle down the line, but don't expect any noticeable gains unless your Vanos is already screwed.

[m_guimont323]

Hey guys,

this has long since been done, but i'll put up a quick review for those who are interested down the line:

Car in question: 2000 BMW 323i Sedan (M52TU25)

Mileage: 212000 (at the time)


Before I bought the seals the car idled perfectly, no running issues whatsoever. I only noticed a slight hesitation just before 3000 rpm and assumed this was just the nature of these cars seeing as I had never driven any others.

The job itself as scott_88 outlined, is about a day if you take your time and do all the appropriate seals and preventative maintenance when you're in there.

Now with that being said.. I had a slight issue getting the seals to seat properly in the cylinders, the seals were almost a bit too "tight" and thus got stuck when the car was first started.

After about 10,000 km of aggressive driving (track) and everyday street use. The seals I believe have finally seated themselves properly, and the difference in low end response is quite staggering compared to the way the engine felt before. I'm sure from a numbers point of view the difference is negligible, but from a driving feel standpoint it was a noticeable improvement.

Best way to spend 60 bucks on a 12 year old bmw IMO.

+1 for beisan systems as well.