As above i could be buying one of these soon guys (e36 coupe ) Other than the " vanos " whatsit is there anything else to watch out for on these models ?

If the vanos is on its way out or shot what will the signs be lads ? the evo has double vanos i believe ? why double ? over the normal m3 ?

Thanks in advance

 

Use www.e36coupe.com, they're quite helpful.

Some nice tidy motors on there.

 

vanos rattles if its humped

 

might sound dumb but whats vanos?

 

A tell tale sign of the vanos going fooked is the oil light on the pod comes on and off when the hell it feels like it! Lots of tears and wallet emptying if Mr vanos dies on you!

 

yo Rab, u changing again?
Ur RST is undergoin some changes at the mo, all steel bottom end, big valve head, hybrid turbo, bespoke management. will post some pics when i take em, gonna be a very quick car

 

vanos is the name of the bmw variable valve timing system on their cars.twin vanos indicates that both the inlet and exhaust valve opening times can be altered.the main reason that the vanos will rattle is because the chainrings wear.its not as frequent that the hydraulic adjusting units fail.other things to look out for are trailing arm bushes and on convertibles the rear axle carrier bushes sometimes go.(this`ll hurt your wallet!)any other info wanted??

 

Niall changing again im afraid Im never happy lol Some pics would b e great matey i loved that car , probably my favourite yet to be honest

Right now this vanos thing does scare me , its just ive never heard a m3 engine running in general , so its hard to compare , but i take it when theres something up its pretty noticable

Do they always go at some point ? if u know what i mean or is it just sometimes like with any car etc ?

How fast are these evo`s compared to the likes of my stage 3 cossie

 

if the vanos gears are worn the front of the engine will be rattly.if you listen 2 a cold engine start then they will all rattle until the oil pressure has built up in the vanos hydraulic unit.not a clue how the m3 would compare to a stage 3 cossie.the standard m3evo had 321bhp but if not properly maintained that will be a lot lower.i would reccomend taking it to a dealership to get the injector opening times adjusted.this should bring the performance figures back up.on the evos there is a small port in each part of the exhaust manifold.this allows the emmisions for each individual cylinder to be monitored.then using the diagnotic system the injector opening times are adjusted.

 

Mmmm would that be a dear thing to do then matt ? injector port thingy .

If we were to name some things with cossies or fords that "could" go wrong i suppose i would never have bought one

But its very good to know

 

it doesnt require any new parts to be fitted which is always a good thing, although it does take a while to do.not entirely sure about the allowed time for the job mate.only done it once before!!i would imagine the labour would be no more than an hour and labour rates on older cars are slightly less.its probably something i would link into a major service to get the most out of the adjustments made.

 

My vanos (gears) have been replaced. You need to listen with the bonnet up and when the revs fall through the 2 to 2.5k range, sounds a little like a diesel.

Mine made no noise on tickover or startup ?

Check the other thread for the links I promised.

Cheers,

WD

 

I think the Vanos unit are only about Ł1500 to buy so not really the end of the world if it did let go (although handy if it didnt!!!). I bet you spent that much on the cossie in a couple of months!!!

Chris

 

Should have mentioned that mine has also gone through :

Tyres (rear) - Done about 3k ...
Heated mirrors.
Trailing arm bushes (needs alignment after).
Rear top mounts.
Oil leak - Engine (fixed with vanos gears).
Oil leak - Power steering (Fixed when they did the top end rebuild).
Battery.

The M3 engine is a little noisery (sp ?) than a standard BM six as it has solid followers - these get adjusted at the service.

The noise from the engine under load when reved is I cant compare it to any other car as it sounds very different to other cars, I havnt been in many other 100bhp/L NA cars though ...

WD