BMW E9X 328i N52 VANOS Sprocket Bolt Recall DIY
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- **UPDATE** these cars along with some newer model years have been officially added to the recall. See the post here for all of the info.
g87.bimmerpost...
Here is a video about replacing the VANOS sprocket bolts that are known to fail and sheer off in vehicles with N52 motors produced between September of 2009 and November of 2011. Most cars will have an active recall (14V-176) and BMW will replace these bolts free of charge. Call your local dealership and have this done as soon as possible. Hopefully, your car is covered.
Unfortunately, E91 cars, while listed under the recall, do not ever seem to have the recall applied to them. Again, verify with your local dealership as to whether or not your vehicle is covered but it is unlikely. If you are replacing you valve cover gasket, eccentric shaft sensor, etc. then it is a good idea to go ahead and replace these bolts because if they do fail, you will be looking at a very expensive fix that most likely will not be covered by BMW if you have an E91.
Here is the part number for "updated" bolts which can be purchased anywhere. You will need a total of eight bolts (four bolts for each VANOS assembly) but I suggest purchasing a few extra since they are cheap and even these updated bolts are stupid soft.
11368602263
Bimmerworld
www.bimmerworl...
FCP Euro
www.fcpeuro.co...
Here is the service bulletin (SI B11 07 14) about the recall with some more information as well as the fix/remedy procedure. I tried to follow this as best as I could with the tools that I have.
static.nhtsa.g...
Keep in mind. The bulletin mentions that if none of your bolts are found loosened or broken, then the bolts can be replaced one at a time; which is what I did. However, if any bolts are found broken or loose, the bulletin mentions replacing the Vanos unit. Keep this in mind. You may or may not have to reset the timing if any of your bolts were loose or broken but you probably should if you aren't going to replace the Vanos unit(s).
You will need the following along with other standard tools such as ratchets/extensions:
T45 security torx drivers/sockets of various lengths (make sure you get the security style with a hole in the center; here is an Amazon affiliate link: amzn.to/3TrTWSP (You will need to use these a long with a 1/4 socket)
You can also grab these (amzn.to/3Trq2hH) which is what I used in the video, however, take note that these are non-security torx...so they can only be used to install the new bolts which do not have the dot in the middle.
High-temp/Oil-safe Loctite or other brand thread locker (here is an amazon affiliate link: amzn.to/3v3SKvB)
Small torque wrench that measures in inch pounds
Breaker bar or long ratchet
22mm socket (for crankshaft bolt)
Here is a link to part 1 of my Valve cover gasket/eccentric shaft sensor DIY
• BMW E9x 328i N52 Valve...
Good Luck!
Nice video bro. Good pics, gives good feel of project. Hopefully my bolts with sheared heads actually come out!
Hopefully you don’t have any sheared off bolts. Good luck brother!
Just dealt with the same issue this week, on my 2011 E91. Local stealer-ship wanted $9500 to replace bolts and Vanos units along with solenoids. Cost me less than $200. Thinking of lodging a complaint with NHTSA as all bolts on the exhaust sprocket were loose and car was constantly throwing codes.
Oof, were there any broken bolts or were they just loose? It's really crazy how BMW has been avoiding fixing these on E91's knowing full well that the N52 motors are the same as the e90/e92 cars. Glad you were able to save a ton of money.
For God's sake there is f......n recall. I would call BMW NA and inform them of what was requested of you ... Which dealer was it ,as a retired BMW tech I am upset that is not how do things
@@johnboutsikos6049 Instead of crying about it you should probably just shed some light on this and provide the proper procedure. The procedure provided by BMW (linked in the description) was followed aside from the torque spec procedure. The Sequence was attempted and the supplied bolts would not accept the amount of torque stated; the soft bolts were replaced with slight stronger but still extremely soft bolts. So I torqued the the bolts to within minimum spec and added loctite. Not sure what the real issue is but I would love to know so I can fix this.
@@jontansgarage I need your help I’m replacing mine now and don’t know where to get them
@@sawyerrescue530 are you in the U.S.? I have links in the description from bimmerworld and fcpeuro. You can get them l online or even at your dealership. If you do go with the dealership, you will probably have to wait for them to order the part and also pay twice as much.
My 2011 328i xDrive N51 a few weeks ago started throwing a 2A7A and sounded like a diesel at idle. Called a couple weeks ago and dealer said no recall for Vanos bolts but now after watching this I’m calling them again tomorrow! THANK YOU!
Yeah it should have been included in the first recall and if not, definitely in the new one. Is the car an E91? You can check the recall(s) on your vehicle yourself here: www.bmwusa.com/safety-and-emission-recalls.html Mine shows the recall for my car, however the fix is not currently available at the moment. That could be what the dealership was referring to. Hopefully your car is now included.
Keep in mind, that code could be caused by a faulty vanos solenoid and may just need to be replaced. Obviously get the car in for the recall if you can but you can test the solenoid by swapping the exhaust camshaft and intake camshaft solenoids. If the code goes away/changes then you know you have a faulty solenoid.
Update: Called local dealer and they haven’t yet been provided the fix ‘parts’ for this? I was told it could take weeks before BMW USA provides guidance. Hopefully the car won’t get worse. 🤞
@@wormtownhero Well that's good to hear at least. In the mean time you could still try switching your Vanos solenoids around.
@@wormtownhero the dealerships are avoiding the fix. Obviously the upgraded bolts are available as you can see in this video. My dealership also said there’s no fix, yet I bought 8 upgraded bolts from ECS Tuning at .70 cents each. So, the bolts are available, hence the fix is available. My concern is, even if the dealerships do the fix, according the the Technical service bulletin, if a bolt is not snapped or spun out, it states not to touch those bolts. 😳 only replace the bolts that have snapped or loosened. All my bolts were intact. All of the bolts on the intake side loosened way too easily. The exhaust side were snugged. If I let the dealership do the fix, they would’ve left the exhaust side untouched. That’s no bueno because at some point they will loosen, which is why I replaced them myself,
using this video as my guide. I am most appreciative for this video. It was scary to perform the job, but it wasn’t hard. If we had to remove the vanos actuators, then timing is involved and would possibly have to replace the actuator bolts also because those big bolts are prone to snap, thus the job just got worse. So this method in this video is the shortcut, but it’s safe and much quicker. If you can do it yourself, do it. This video gave me the confidence to do it. The car starts right up, but since I was stupid to use carb cleaner in the CCV channels of the valve cover to get rid of the creamy oil and water crap that builds up over time, which did come out, I can hear the CCV system making a different noise than before the job was done. Those channels were blocked with that substance (the stuff you see in an oil catch can), which is what the CCV system supposed to remove from the engine. Maybe I need to drive it hard to clear up the channels or maybe I killed the diaphragm. I sprayed carb cleaner in the hole where the CCV tube connects to the back of the valve cover and tilted and shook the cover until no more creamy crap come out. Hopefully I didn’t cause more bad than good.
@@wormtownheroSame here with my 2011 X3. Got the recall notice in early Dec23 now mid-Feb and STILL no notice that replacement bolts are available. Dealer is at BMW's mercy. How can these bolts be so difficult to find when Jonathan seems to have no problem locating??
E91 is now on the recall list!
Yup! Just added a link to a discussion thread to the description last night!
I found the "extended warranty " bulletin back in October 2019 when I 1st purchased my 2010 x3... found my bolts broken and loose, making ticking noise while running.. BMW honored the warranty with 2 months left on it. Got lucky. They replaced the vanos units and all the gaskets including the oil pan as they fished out the old broken heads... $5k in parts and labour... got lucky.
Very lucky indeed. Great to hear!
Great work I’ll learn new things every day. I got a car not runner end up being that match problem thank you for your vid. I really I really appreciate it.
No problem, good luck with the car!
Thank you for your video, just recently purchased a 2010 as well and ordered the bolts within less than 48 hours of owning the car after seeing this
Good call. Might as well replace the valve cover, gasket and eccentric shaft sensor while you're in there!
Hey man. Our cars were finally added. g87.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2061784&fbclid=IwAR2O7BnUucI2dypCPpOjXCg45A0zhIOeyV8mAE91kmFoL1mOopyH9cNJb3I_aem_Abcj62Fy2xuG6zdSyz0c4Uvlp9vuRGZQpC10r1vPlwnrD_lUWEs0ZXBCGu2cC8ZMEd8
Just got my letter to be replaced, bolts should be in by Friday Aug 9th, just concerned shop's are being careful with sheared off pins or missing bolts that they go in to pan and flush to make sure no metal is left behind, basically hope the are just not ripping bolts out and replacing calling it done and have a potential issue down the line.
Yup! I have not received my letter but I did notice that the remedy is now available. The shop SHOULD be dropping the pan and collecting any sheered pieces should they find that any bolts have been sheered. They should be covering that expense as well. Hopefully that will be the case.
Excellent , very important an extra bolt and t45 long socket
Just dropped my F10 for this recall today
I just completed my vanos bolts replacement with the upgraded bolts. I was tempted to go to the hardware store and buy the M7x1.0 10.9 grade bolts because I don’t feel comfortable with the upgraded 8.8 grade bolts. The exhaust side is a pain. I stripped one new bolt but I was lucky like you to get it mostly tightened with red loctite. They’re not going anywhere. I had to buy a T45 bit like you did with an 8 mm deep socket with a 1/4 inch extension with a crescent wrench. A 3/8th socket wrench will not fit. All my original bolts were intact but with no force, they broke free. Especially the intake side. I also replaced the pcv heater with the upgraded heater and a 7.5amp inline fuse for the pcv heater. Next…, oil pan gasket. And I have the 2011 328xi. Fun…
Glad to hear it went as well as it could. Was your car not elligible for the pcv valve heater recall? I just had mine done last month. My oil pan gasket has a slight leak;. Not enough for me to be worried about it anytime soon but I'm sure that is going to be a headache of a job.
@@jontansgarage my car is eligible for both recalls, however the dealership said there’s no remedy for the vanos bolts, yet FCP, ECS and Pelican have the bolts. That tells me the dealership is avoiding the vanos bolt job. So I decided to do it myself. I just have to put back the valve cover on but
the darn gaskets are a pain. They don’t like to stay on.
@@iamurnamann8662 Yeah, I think you made the right choice not waiting for them to get their stuff together. The valve cover is such a pain with the limited space, seems like once you are able to slip the valve cover into the right spot, the gasket gets knocked off. Good luck brother!
@@jontansgarage I finally got the cover back on and most of the part back in. Not everything is back on because I need to start it in a few to make sure there are no leaks. I made the mistake of cleaning out the CCV channels in the VC to get rid of that creamy crap, which I believe is what causes the CCV to fail. The gases can’t go anywhere because of the creamy buildup,thus causing leaks at the filler cap and eccentric shaft gasket. However, as I was spraying carb cleaner in the breather tube, I can see that creamy crap seep out at the oil filler cap and those long breather tubes at the middle of the valve cover. Consequently one of the breather caps came off. I had to RTV it and let it cute over night so it doesn’t pop off. Today is the moment of truth. Thanks to you, I was able to build the confidence to replace the bolts and replace the VC gasket for the first time. I hope I tightened down the valve cover correctly so it doesn’t leak. I triple checked all the bolts. If the gasket leaks, I decided I will buy the aluminum upgraded cover since I’d have to remove the VC to fix the leak. The spark plug gasket were a pain! Looking down the SP holes I don’t see any kinks or misalignment so I’m hoping those gaskets seated correctly. I’m getting too old for this stress. Lol!!
@@iamurnamann8662 Glad you got it figured out. I hope it works out. Speaking from my own experience, it's worth replacing the entire valve cover when the gasket goes. When I first bought my car, the dealership that I got it from replaced the valve cover gasket (which is great) except they did not replace the eccentric shaft sensor... So I had problems with the car as soon as I bought it. I initially replaced the sensor and all of the gaskets, put the car together but realized they had replaced the valve cover with a crappy Dorman brand cover (from autozone) that did not properly mate with the new oem gaskets as they were slightly different. Ended up with leaks at the valvetronic motor so I ended up doing the entire valve cover job a second time but this time I purchased a brand new genuine BMW cover and all is well. What I learned through my research is that the plastic valve covers either end up with the pcv/ccv leaking or they get warped enough from countless heat cycles and leak at the gasket, or eccentric shaft. So by the time the gaskets need replacing, it's probably worth replacing the entire cover at the same time (unless you have an older car with the magnesium covers). Even if the cover isn't warped, it may be fine for a little bit but then the PCV/CCV diaphragm ends up leaking and that cannot be replaced separately anyways.
I have seen the Amazon aluminum ones and I haven't read any thing bad about them so it's definitely a good option, especially since it is half the price of the Genuine BMW plastic covers. Hopefully your current one works fine, doing this job multiple times in a row is no fun. Good luck man!
Thank you for a very informative video plus the link to the actual service bulletin. One question though, does the loctite act as a lubricant and affect the torque reading versus just metal to metal contact?
It probably does act as a slight lubricant which is why I opted to stay towards the lower-end/middle of the specified torque range along with the fact that the bolt heads are stupid soft.
excellent vid, thanks very much for posting!
Had my 2011 X3 N52 do a kind of a rough idle. Went to BMW and they asked me to perform the recall before further investigating on the rough idle i was mentionning. They ended up replacing the intake regulator and bolts because one of the bolts was found missing. They found the lost bolt with a camera in the engine. Seems like my rough idling was due to the loose intake regulator. Was lucky, paid nothing.
Nice! Hopefully they replaced the eccentric shaft sensor while in there; when I first bought my wagon, I was having rough idle issues resulting in the car dying and requiring having to limp it under 3000 rpm. It would be a real shame if BMW does all of these recall services, but knowingly disregard replacing the sensor just so the customers have to bring it in to perform a similar job (valve cover removal) and this time be charged for it.
Will the dealership replace the valve cover gasket since the seal will be broke during the process of changing these bolts?
I am pretty positive that anything that has to be done in order to perform the “remedy” would be covered. I’ve never seen anyone mention paying for anything when they took their car in for recall services.
This is a really cool video !
Can you believe that I just called united bmw in Alpharetta ga and the girl said that this recall is vin specific even though the car I’m calling about is listed in the bulletin… and It just happens to be having this same issue.
I believe it. Run your vin here. my.bmwusa.com/safety-and-emission-recalls
If it wasn’t included on the first one (very possible) it should be in this new one. The dealership might not tell you your vehicle is included until they actually have the parts for fixing it ready to go.
Yes, there is indeed an open recall for this vehicle but I don't understand why you didn't take it to the dealer there they can repair it for you without any charge
It’s all in the description brother. A lot (maybe all) E91’s just weren’t included in the recall. They are mentioned in the service bulletin but when you call the dealer up they would tell you there is no active recall or the car wasn’t eligible even though it met all the requirements. That is why I took this on myself. Now, the cars are eligible for the new recall however as far as I know the remedy (which seems to be the same as the previous recall) is not currently available.
Any tips for removing the rest of the bolt in the thread after the head broke off ?
It'll be tough. I imagine you could try and drill a hole in there to fit a bolt extractor. It should be easy to come out as the torque is super low. The problem is, it will be very difficult to fit a drill in that space (especially the exhaust side) and also difficult to drill in there at a straight angle. Not to mention, it's risky to be drilling and potentially getting metal chips into the rest of the motor. I'd say cover everything up and try the bolt extractor route. Maybe hold a vacuum up to where you are drilling. Otherwise you might have to just remove the whole sprocket assembly.
Just got the recall from BMW 2011 328I N52.
I received a notice earlier this week. Unfortunately the notice also stated "remedy unavailable" so still going to be a wait.
does this problem include f10 n52n 2011r. ?
According to the bulletin (I have it linked in the description) the F10 up to November 2011 is indeed included in the recall. Give your dealership a call and see if your specific vehicle is included!
@@jontansgarage Thanks!
Great job buddy do you need to put car in neutral to move the engine I am going to do it on mine X5 .
As far as I know, you technically don't HAVE to, but it will be a lot easier to turn the motor over in neutral.
Great I really appreciate it thanks ..
I might have missed this part of the vid, but If you are replacing them, I'm guessing you are replacing them with better quality bolts right? This T45 security torx are better than the OEMs right?
The old bolts are the security Torx while the new ones are non-security (ie they do not have the dot in the center). The new bolts are linked in the description and are supposedly stronger, however they are still very soft and can easily damaged if the torx bit is not perfectly aligned in the head of the bolt; this is the reason I opted for torqueing these at the lower end of the specification and adding lock tite
Did you have to drop the engine or remove the control arm to perform the remedy?
Not at all. Everything is accessed from the top. Remove the cabin air filters, cowl and valve cover.
So you didn’t have to re-time the motor at all doing this since you did them one at a time?
A shop did my oil pan gasket and found two sheered off VANOS adjuster bolt heads in the pan. I have an 06 330i so not included in this recall at all. When we did the Valve Cover Gasket, we saw the two missing bolts on the intake adjuster. The car runs great and doesn’t have any codes, but definitely something I want to do since that’s a huge weak point right now.
The guy who does work on my car privately thinks we will have to re-time the engine to do this, but this video suggests otherwise since you are doing them one at a time.
Let me know your thoughts!
Bummer that it isn't apart of the recall. As far as re-timing, it shouldn't be necessary if you do one bolt at a time. I will say that the only reason that I am even remotely confident at all in this, is the fact that the official BMW information bulletin with the service instructions say it isn't necessary or at the very least, they don't mention it. The only thing that is mentioned is at the bottom of page 14: "IMPORTANT: Never loosen more than one VANOS assembly bolt (1-4) at a time to avoid losing the sealing and alignment of gear assembly." Obviously, retiming wouldn't hurt but it would certainly add a good bit of time, labor and money to the job. In my eyes, if BMW themselves don't mention it and doesn't require their technicians/mechanics to do it, then it probably doesn't need to be done.
HOWEVER, the above only applies if NONE of your bolts are found loosened or broken. In the middle of page 2, they mention that if ANY bolts are found loosened or broken, that the Vanos unit/assembly must be replaced. Which would require re-timing since a lot more has to be removed in order to replace the Vanos unit(s). So in your particular case, your mechanic should be re-timing, however, he should also be replacing the Vanos units and not just replacing the bolts. I think your mechanic should definitely re-time just to be safe, especially if he isn't planning to replace the Vanos unit(s).
Thanks for bringing this up because I didn't catch this second part until now. Fortunately, all of my bolts were still tight thus re-timing wasn't necessary.
@@jontansgarage thank you so much for that reply. Yes, we are going to end up replacing both adjusters themselves.
@@stephanduplooy1634 Good stuff. Hope it all goes smoothly, good luck!
do you know anything about this problem with the N51 engine? I have some VANOS exhaust codes... I think (hope) they are either battery related or just solenoid related but worry about these bolts. My 328 came off the line in September 2011
Hey there, according to the recall bulletin (link in description) it states "This Recall involves certain E70, E71, E82, E88, E89, E90, E92, E93, F10 and F25 vehicles with the N51, N52K and N52T engines produced from September 2009 to November 2011. " So your vehicle fits the bill. I would definitely call up your dealership to see if they include your vehicle but I would definitely get these replaced as soon as you can for peace of mind. Chances are, your vanos solenoids are the cause of your codes though. Try swapping them around and see if the codes change, its an easy enough task. Make sure you plug the correct wires into the correct solenoids.
How did you find out about the torque spec?
It's in the service bulletin here static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2014/RCRIT-14V176-2716.pdf (also in the description); pages 16 and 17.
@@jontansgarage thank you much appreciated
good video except it prob would be easier to just remove the whole camshaft vvt gear on both sides and that way you could use a better quality torque socket
Definitely would have made things easier but I believe that would require the Vanos alignment tool among some other things. I was originally going to go this route but I figured I would try to follow the service bulletin instructions as best as I could. Not to mention, I did not want to risk digging myself into a deeper hole doing this work on a vehicle that I literally just purchased :D
@@jontansgarage i think i will forget about the torque of the bolts and just use a ratchet and red locktite and just tighten them till they are good and tight on my 328i unfortunately i think my bolts broke off because i hear alot of rattling in my car so i parked it for now
@@izakwasserman2887 i am a fan of “good and tight” for non-crucial components but for something like this, I would definitely try to get at least the minimum recommended torque. I don’t know what all is inside of the assembly but it could potentially causes issues if the components aren’t pressing up against each other properly.
@@izakwasserman2887 "Good and tight" is literally how bolts like this end up failing. They are overstressed during install and then some gentle stresses end up breaking them.
This correct mine wasn't on the recall either, which is BS. I hope I can order those bolts from FCP from your video. I'm so pissed they wouldn't honor their cheap ripoff part they put in mine.
Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous as there's a good amount of E91's out there, especially outside of the U.S. I wonder if there is a different recall overseas.
@Jonathan Cardenas The recall should have been connected to the engine, NOT the vehicle VIN. I don't trust BMW anymore, seeing how they have weasel out of their responsibility of QUALITY.
@@autojock4472 Definitely. The silly thing is, is that the recall is based on the N52 engine so it's ridiculous that every single vehicle with an N52 isn't covered.
Any update on the remedy?
I have yet to receive a new notice regarding a "remedy".
@@jontansgarage Same. How can they say the remedy is not available when this issue pertains to the new N52s. 2004-2010 N52s are not in the list. They obviously downgraded the bolt material and will prolong this as much as possible.
@@CaliRepublic77 It's pretty ridiculous. Especially considering that the remedy in the service bulletin is literally the same as their earlier recall. Just doesn't make sense.
so, safe to assume that engine is toast if all four sheared off? No warning signs, except the service engine soon light came on right before, then car wouldn't start. Shop then used a mirror to see no bolts are present(not sure if it is intake or exhaust side), shop said timing jumped. Can't hear any slapping noise though.
Ouch. Definitely not a good thing. Probably salvageable if you can find all of the bolts/shards but it's probably not going to be cheap. Sorry to hear that.
@@jontansgarage That would be covered by BMW though wouldnt it ?
@@murph5150I believe so. Any damage that occurs due to an issue they are aware of and have failed to fix should be covered by BMW. Whether or not they do is another story but from what I have read from other users, it seems that BMW is handling this sort of thing properly on their end.
Do you know if this is an issue with n51’s as well?
Per the bulletin in the description, it does appear that some n51 cars were also affected.
Where did you get that 7 piece extended security torx socket kit?!
Here is an amazon affiliate link. Also added to the description. amzn.to/3wKXPcP
@@jontansgarage ahh not security torx, thanks though!
@@godbelow Oh man, good catch. I forgot that those were non-security. Those will work for installing the new bolts but definitely wouldn't help with removing the old ones. I was able to find these (not too many kits go up to T45). amzn.to/3TrTWSP Those should work in conjunction with a 1/4 inch socket and some extensions.
Hey brother i SLIGHTLY spinned my crankshaft pulley the oposite way to free a sheered bolt. Is that okay?
I hope to hear back from you brother
@@rauldeleon6728 Shouldn't be an issue at all. I try to keep it going in the proper direction (if facing the crank bolt, clockwise to the right) any time I am rotating things; even if I need to rotate it counter-clockwise just a hair, I'll usually just go all the way around going clockwise. Again, probably not going to cause any issues/damage if you do it, but worth avoiding when you can. I wouldn't worry about it man.
@@jontansgarage damn man thanks alot. I went insane trying to find an answer. I just went backwards very little like 20-30 degrees. Thanks alot seriously man. Have a good night
I have a 2011 F25 X3 with the N52 and it also was never recalled. They appear to have the same vanos bolts that you are replacing.
Interesting. What year is your vehicle? If you enter your vin at mdecoder.com it will give you your build year. The bulletin says that the cars affected include up to November of 2011, and also includes the F25 cars. It’s possible that your car has the updated bolts already however it’s also very possible that BMW decided to not include you like they did for the e91 cars. I think the only difference is the head of the bolts. The old ones use the “security” version that has the “dot” in the middle. The new bolts don’t have that center dot. Hopefully it’s the newer version.
@jontansgarage I pulled the valve cover yesterday and both of my vanos gears do indeed have the OLDER bolts. However, the recall specifically calls out two vanos gear model numbers (507 & 508) that are stated to be the updated part numbers and replacement isn't necessary.
I checked my gear part numbers and they are the updated numbers even though they have the older bolts.
All of my bolts were intact and super tight so I chose not to replace them with the newer bolts.
I wonder if the gears with rhe security bolts simply weren't assembled properly and they chose to change the bolt at the same time.
Anyway, I have 155k miles on mine. So I'll check them every time I have the cover off (because we know that the gaskets and PCV like to fail on these suckers).
Great engine if we stay up on the maintenance. Pretty easy to work on too for us DIYers.
Thanks again for the video and the time you take replying. Much apprecied.
My x3 f25 is a 2011 built in September. But yeah, the part numbers in the 10/14 recall notice matched the "unaffected and do nothing" parts even though they had the older style security bolts. All bolts were intact and tight like a tiger...
@@danmulkiewicz5515 Fascinating. I'm going to be honest, I didn't even catch that part of the bulletin lol. I am curious if perhaps the E91's somehow managed to get those newer assemblies and that is why they aren't included in the recall. Then again, it does say it's for cars AFTER September 1, 2012 but I wish I would have checked the part numbers when I had the cover off. Anyways, Glad to hear yours is using the newer assemblies. Thanks for sharing the info.
@@jontansgarage You know.... I'm re-reading the recall and it looks like I may have mis-interpreted the wording a bit.
It seems that IF those vanos gear part numbers were replaced AFTER 2012 then nothing needed to be done. All my bolts were tight and intact but I think the bolts or the assemblies should have been recalled and replaced with the newer bolts/assemblies with the newer bolts.
I did check my F25 at the dealer and sure enough: NO open campaigns. So I think mine was probably treated the same way as the E91's where they weren't actually recalled / owners weren't notified properly and BMW played the numbers game and did nothing while the clock ran out.....
I'll probably replace the bolts next time I have the valve cover off..... /sigh
Do you know where i can get n52 engine torque specs.. specifically cam shaft bolts?
Here are some specs, not sure if it is what you need though. A quick google search for n52 camshaft bolt torque gave me several forum threads, hopefully you can find them there. f01.justanswer.com/MatthewT730/98fafcda-25e1-4c97-9cbd-8b01cde57483_General_torque_specifications_N52.pdf
@@jontansgarage thank you!
I have a 330i manual and my vanos gear has a plastic cover blocking those bolts
Interesting. Haven't seen any examples of that, mind sharing a pic as well as the year of the car?
Any issues with this come back up? About to do the same at 70 in/lbs. and locktite. I was also told to replace the sprocket to cam bolts while doing this (2x bolts for each sprocket on front side), but they appear fine.
No issues so far and driven over 10000 miles. Are you referring to the main bolts that hold the vanos assemblies? I haven't heard anyone having issues with those.
@@jontansgarage yes I went to the dealer to get the new bolts since I noticed mine backed out while doing valve cover. Wasn’t impressed they’re still aluminum. Luckily my heads didn’t break off but they were loose. They told me to do these bolts too but idk. Mine seem fine. So was just gonna do exactly what you did at 70in.lbs with loctite and call it a day.
Ah gotcha. Yeah the new bolts are still super soft and are very easy to strip the head if you don’t have the torx bit seated properly. That’s part of the reason why I was afraid to torque the bolts more because I was afraid I would slip and strip the bolt heads.
@@jontansgarage same. Literally just finished putting all 8 in at 70in.lbs and def don’t want to do more. Hopefully it’ll be ok. About to put VC back on. Thank you for the video sir!
@@bronsonwhite6487 Awesome. Should be good to go then!
In general after how many miles do these original bolts usually break and or get lose? In other words when does this issue start happening in these cars? Is it a time or mileage issue?
I don't believe there is a magic number where the bolts will just start backing out or breaking. If you have a higher mileage car, I would say your risk of this happening (if it hasn't already) increases tremendously though. My car had 104,000 miles on it when I bought it and tore into it. The bolts didn't seem loose or broken but every car is different. I am sure there are plenty of cases with bolts backing out or breaking with less than 50,000 miles.
The bolts are weak from the factory; regardless of age and mileage these bolts can and will eventually break. I am fairly certain that all cars, if not previously covered, now fall under the new recall so I would highly suggest bringing your vehicle to the dealership as soon as you can and as soon as the remedy is available. Hopefully your valve cover is also in need of replacing so you can kill two birds with one stone.
Thank you for taking the time to reply@@jontansgarage
Could you use stainless steel bolts? Need to do mine.
@@swright2514 Theoretically, you could use any bolt as long as the head was shallow enough to clear everything. That being said, I don't think it's worth it. The updated bolts, while still soft, should hopefully be strong enough to no longer be an issue. I personally wouldn't risk using a different bolt and potentially causing clearance issues.
Where did you order your bolts
I have links (for the bolts) to FCP euro as well as Bimmerworld in the description. I purchased mine from FCP since I was already ordering other parts but you could also get these from your local BMW dealer. I will say, my dealer did not have these in stock so no matter what I would have had to wait for shipping. Not to mention they were double if not more in price.
What’s crazy is I have a E92 and they said there wasn’t a recall
What year is your car?
@@jontansgarage 2011
@@blakejoseph2780 run your vin here to check the full build date. www.mdecoder.com iirc the cutoff date for these cars is November 2011. If the dealership won’t cover it that’s super annoying.
What is the part number for those bolts? I have the same engine. Please
The part number is 11368602263. I have bimmerworld as well as FCP Euro links in the description.
@@jontansgarage Thank you very much
@@autojock4472 good luck brother!
There is NO need for thread lock on the vanos repair bolts ...I have performed this procedure many times and BMW doesn't add thread lock . I don't disagree with his precaution but it has to be clarified ..because this not for the do it yourself there is a recall that is paid for by BMW so please do not undertake this on your own ... 38 yrs with BMW
Correct. If your car has been affected and is included in the recall then I would certainly have them repair it. As stated in the description, E91's are not included. They are mentioned, and should be included however, plenty of E91 owners and myself are for some odd reason not included. I have verified with my own BMW dealership and even BMW themselves; when the vehicle is looked up it will not have any sort of recall notice regarding this issue. You can try speaking to BMW but they won't hear you and plenty of others have tried. Which is why I took it upon myself to take care of it while I already had my valve cover off. Why would I bother waiting for BMW to respond and hopefully provide a remedy. Just as we all patiently wait for the PCV recall to ever be properly remedied. Also, I provided the link to the actual BMW service bulletin in the description. I did the best I could to follow the procedure and the car has been running great.
I think my car has broken bolts and the 10 year recall is expired. Do you think they would still fix it or at least do it for cheaper ?
@@FabianRomano1 I didn't notice that the recall had an expiration date. Cant hurt if you have an e90/e92. Even if you have an E91 it's definitely worth calling up your dealer to check. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they told you no unfortunately.
Just got a letter in the mail for bmw, there’s a recall for the Vanos attachment bolts. 1/3/2024
Yup, I updated the description about a month ago. I am assuming your letter still says that they are waiting for the "fix" at the moment?
@@jontansgarage it does, says remedy not ready or something along the lines of that
I figured. Hopefully they will come up with it soon. The pcv heater recall was “created” and I think it took quite some time before a remedy was available. For example, my 2010 JUST became eligible for the pcv heater fix a few months ago; had it done last month.
@@jontansgarage I had the camshaft sprockets replaced back in May I took it to the BMW dealership and they were able to inspect it and verify that those camshaft are in fact the newly updated camshaft to resolve this problem so they gave me a reimbursement
@@TheFrozo619 They reimbursed you for the camshaft sprocket job? That's awesome!
So you're saying my 2007 328i is okay
According to the recall bulletin you are fine since the models affected are from September of 2009 and November of 2011. That being said, It wouldn't hurt to call your local dealership to see if you have any recalls.
I have a 2011 bmw 328i with 131k miles. My local bmw steelership is playing games with me. I called multiple times if parts were available before I drive out there. Two service people told me bring the car in and we will take a look at it. They also told me the shop approves the repair after they diagnose it of course. Well today they told me “Remedy Not Available”. Man I was pissed. I don’t him I don’t want to wait because what if the bolts are backing out it will just be matter of time and then my engine is toast. I will definitely never buy a bmw ever again.
Yeah it's pretty ridiculous. What I don't understand is that it's been two months now and the remedy seems to still be unavailable. The craziest part is that the remedy is no different than with the previous recall...so I would think all dealerships would have already have their remedy "kits" ready to go. It really is unfortunate, but if by chance these bolts do fail on you, all of the associated damage ends up on BMW as far as I know.
@@jontansgarage that’s good to know. Are the bolt heads in the right side cam (Vanos) visible from the oil filter housing?
@@Joseph5394 Both assemblies won't be visible without removing the entire valve cover.
@@jontansgarage I was hoping it was somewhat visible but thanks for your help sir. I appreciate your video.
@@Joseph5394 No problem. Good luck sir!