[kaiv]

Originally Posted by Matutino

Im located in irvine and I would like to meet up with you to do mine
Let me know if possible
Thanks
Matt

Sure thing, Matt. PM sent

Originally Posted by brichter

Did ya find the piece?

Yes!

It was a little tricky since -with the engine at TDC- the broken tab was all the way down. But I took all the precautions possible in case it dropped but it stayed in the vanos as I pulled it out.

Originally Posted by scbeast

it was still wedged in there - would have been a disaster if it actually flew off and into the engine.

many thanks to kaiv for coming up to Santa Monica and taking care of this for me...and supplying the much-needed part. He even brought a vanos unit in case the tab had excessively damaged it. To a previous poster - yeah, this car is originally from San Diego. WTF? i also want to thank playskool1 for being the one to point it out during a valve adjustment 2 weeks ago.

i'm probably among a few if not the only person who's had the pleasure of getting work done by both these guys. i cannot recommend them enough. people who take pleasure in their labor are far and few between.

Originally Posted by niacin

Kaiv did the valve adjustment on my car this weekend and I can't recommend him highly enough.

Very nice guy, he's fast but also took his time to triple check the clearances. 5 valves were out of spec and one of them was in spec but at one end of the spectrum and he made sure it was in middle of the range.

Thankfully my vanos hub tabs are still intact and the cam gear bolts are tight. I consider myself lucky after seeing other fellow members' cars. I'll check the tabs and bolts every other oil change.

My car's running smoother and quieter. He even brought extra hardware beforehand in case something went wrong.

Thanks again Kaiv.

Thanks fellas!! It was a pleasure!

[hoonpv]

Kaiv,

are you getting paid to do this or are you doing this out of goodwill?

[M.Williams]

curious, what year were the cars with issues you fixed?

[maveric23]

Originally Posted by quiksilver m3

WTF this is like very bad considering that so far we are only talking about a large number just in the general S.D. area. Imagine what it will be like when others start chiming in all over the US.

I imagine that the reason this issue isn't more widely reported is that mechanics are simply not inspecting exhaust hubs for damage. On the other hand, the OP is doing this inspection anytime the valve cover is removed.

It's scary to speculate how many broken exhaust hubs there must be out there!

[new//m3fan]

My 05 with build date 10/04 and 80k miles had safe and sounds exhaust vanos hub and cam bolts.

[quiksilver m3]

Originally Posted by maveric23

I imagine that the reason this issue isn't more widely reported is that mechanics are simply not inspecting exhaust hubs for damage. On the other hand, the OP is doing this inspection anytime the valve cover is removed.

It's scary to speculate how many broken exhaust hubs there must be out there!

yep exactly my point.
and after this people might start checking, and then the report will slowly come. i mean if say 12 people in the S.D. area had issues, times that by the whole nation.

to me i would think another recall is in order.

that and the rear subframe mounts.
i mean all of this is stupid. i dont care if it is a high performance car, it shouldnt be high performance that is made like junk.

[Jaaf]

So i just bought the car (06 w/73k), drove it only once to bring it home...did a valve adjustment and found this

[MisterEm]

Great work Kevin! Thanks for providing relevant info to the community.

Since nobody comes on here to report a fully functional s54 and vanos unit; I will give it a go.

-2nd owner (03/02 build date)
-Purchased Jan 2008 with 38,XXX miles
-Car was dealer maintained prior (e.g. 15k oil changes)
-The s54 hit redline every day it's driven (after warming up)
-Replaced cam gear bolts based on hysteria posted on this forum.
-4 cracks in subframe discovered 08/10 (later reimbursed)
-8-10 HPDE's on the car that I'm aware of (approximately 700-1000 track miles)
-Half a dozen auto-x events
-Various bolt-on performance parts
-Various tunes (Turner, D/A, ESS, and now Evolve)
-10w60 every 6-7000 miles.

I just completed a valve adjustment at 91,000 miles. 21 of 24 valves were adjusted. Upgraded cam-gear bolts didn't budge. Tabs were fine.

I wring the neck of this car every time my oil temp reaches 175*F (Cliff notes: I beat the hell out of it). I don't make a living wrenching on cars so I would classify myself as a piss-poor mechanic....but this is an easy fix guys. Put down the VISA/MC for all your mods, wheels, grilles etc.. and save for a rainy day. The hub, solenoid, and VANOS pump unit (brand new OEM) is much less than the set of LM's you're drooling over, or the SS v2 headers.

And for the folks that fork out $5,000+ for a "VANOS fix" at the dealer, just know that you can purchase yourself a warrantied and used s54 longblock (including VANOS and installed) for much less than that. Soon enough, you may be able to purchase TWO s54's for the price of one dealer VANOS swap.

Just stirring the pot,
Mike

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by hoonpv

Kaiv,

are you getting paid to do this or are you doing this out of goodwill?

He's charging. It's a big job and does take some experience/know how. His price is fair and as you can see from the previous posts, he is a stand up guy who is quick, and thorough. I would highly recommend his services.

Originally Posted by M.Williams

curious, what year were the cars with issues you fixed?

They are across the board. There is really no particular year. We did an 02 and an 04 in two days. I did mine as well when I had it. It was a late 04 model. I've seen/heard of pretty much every year E46 M3 with this problem.

Originally Posted by new//m3fan

My 05 with build date 10/04 and 80k miles had safe and sounds exhaust vanos hub and cam bolts.

CONGRATS! Most will find this. While the statics are not good for a failure rate, most of the M3's will probably not have this problem.

Originally Posted by Jaaf

did a valve adjustment and found this

Suck man! Sorry to hear! My heart sank when I found mine. It was a long couple days as I did the repair, but beating on the car again after made it well worth the work! Good luck in getting it fixed! Just remember, it is well worth the money!!

[brichter]

Originally Posted by MisterEm

-Replaced cam gear bolts based on hysteria posted on this forum.

Just stirring the pot,
Mike

Yup, it's all hysteria, no basis in fact.






However, my VANOS pump and hub were fine, no cracks yet!