Watch this space....will be putting new seals through my twin Vanos 2.0 litre 'baby six' next week so will create a repair guide.

The little pain in the butt did it again.

So, I took the solenoids out and cleaned them, again.

It worked for two days, again, and then started dying again. 

So what on earth would cause the solenoids to get dirty so quickly?

Well...I dug all over Google looking for other causes of the 2A87 code I'm getting.  There are the scary ones (Bad camshaft lobe, broken camshaft gear bolts, bad VANOS solenoid) and then I saw someone say they replaced their oil filter cap insert and it solved a 2A87 issue.  So, I checked mine.  I don't HAVE an oil filter cap insert, although it's obviously supposed to have one. 

The part labeled as "2" in the drawing is completely missing.  Some idiot must have changed the oil and tossed it with the filter. 

 

Now I just have to find one of the things... every store in the city is out of stock.  I may have to order it. 

 

Google Pelican Parts they are US based and do mail order and may be more competitive that BMW or some of the factors

You are learning a lot about Beemers

Dave

Ordered off Amazon, should be here tomorrow.  $42, I'll check Pelican parts next time.

reduced oil pressure and poor quality oil can definitely lead to the Vanos system not functioning correctly.....noticeable on my engine, even when changing the oil filter.
 

I think I'll have to replace the filter after 500 miles once this filter cap arrives...that oil has got to have some absolutely nasty crud in it.  It was just changed, but not at a BMW dealer (The closest dealer is 150 miles south of here, so dealer oil changes aren't really practical).  

No, the quick-lube place didn't lose the insert, and they forced me to use the 5W30 full synthetic oil that BMW requires.  I looked under the oil filter cap when I first got the car because the O-ring wasn't sealing properly and oil was running out all over everything, and it wasn't there then either.  

The new oil filter housing cap just arrived, so I've had a chance to look at that missing center bit.  

Is that missing center piece the an oil pressure regulator and anti-drainback valve?

no wonder it ran like crap once it warmed up...  amazed it ran at all.  

Once all these silly issues are out of the way you will find a BMW under there somewhere. By the stuff you have found a previous owner employed a primate with thick fingers to service it.

As I understand it is a pressure bypass if the filter is clogged it allows a flow of oil, but if you haven't had one in there I guess oil has circulated but not been filtered properly. That could explain crud getting to the Vanos solenoids, engine flush and oil change time?

Dave

That's what I've read elsewhere too, but just looking at the design of the part (A piston on a spring) and location and symptoms of the part missing being the same as low oil pressure, I think it's actually a pressure regulator, which just has the side effect of causing oil to not get filtered when it's missing. 
My plan is to just swap the filter frequently, since I just put brand new oil in it. 

It's very noticeably got more power now.  It actually gets up and GOES with considerable enthusiasm.

I think it needs new plugs too because it's somewhat hard starting and is missing occasionally, but that's to be expected on an engine with 140K miles on it that's been maintained by a gorilla 🙂

Seriously I think you're on to something, there were hammer marks all over the transmission's bell housing when we changed the starter out. 

Someone also cleaned the interior with battery acid as far as I can tell...the door handles are actually coming apart. 

Maybe the title of the thread should be changed to "Getting a BMW maintained by a gorilla to run right" lol

1st law of Gorilla mechanics "if at first it doesn't fit your not using a big enough hammer" Where us sophisticated home mechanics always do it right and only use a rubber hammer.as it doesn't leave marks.

Seriously though, great job Eric 

Dave

Just got the car back from the recall repairs, and I took the opportunity to ask what that part under the oil cap actually does.

It's the oil pressure regulator.

I also got a brand new BMW brand oil filter after they insisted I replace it immediately due to an oil leak that was observed while the car was in the shop.

 

They gave a free diagnostic while it was there,

Recommendations:

New valve cover gasket, observed leak 

New tensioner pulley due to observed belt wobble

New oil filter & gasket and possibly new housing and cap

The remote oil filter housings are a source of leaks if the o ring seal is used more than once so not uncommon. Same with the Valve cover gaskets, the tensioner if it's quiet and smooth running I would change at my leisure not theirs. 

FYI BMW oil filters are supplied by Mann in Europe (probably the same in the US) Suspension bushes are Lemforder or Meyle the list is endless as BMW make the body, and all components are brought in. The problems with magneti starter motors, BMW knew they were an issue yet following their logic they would happily (and did in my case) replace a known issue with a known issue as it was a "genuine" BMW part, the second time it failed I replaced it with a Bosch unit and BMW have never noticed or commented, yet they did notice that I had replaced the subframe mounting bushes with Polybushes (probably because they are yellow) the service manager tried to tell me that they should change them as "non BMW "parts they could cause damage to the suspension??? 

Seriously Eric if thats all they found you have a well sorted car thanks to all the stuff you have done yourself Yahoo Enjoy

Dave