e46 M3 Cams

Parts & Tools

Camshafts

camshafts used in this project (280/272)

floor jack

jack-stands

jack-stands

cam lock timing tool

top dead center pin

fan removal tool

pliers (needle nose)

Torx 25, 30

5mm allen socket

3/8 driver short/long extension

8, 10, 13, 17mm sockets

7, 10, 24, and 32mm open end wrench

torque wrench

plenty of shop towels

Gaskets & Hardware

Real Oem

valve cover gasket #13 in above link

12 cap nuts (if needed) #8

12 cap nut washers #9

12 rubber seals #10

2 cap nuts #11

2 rubber seals #12

6 profile gaskets #14

VANOS gasket #1 Real Oem

2 crush washers (VANOS oil line) #10 Real Oem

2 crush washers (banjo bolt) #8 Real Oem

1 crush washer (chain tension bolt) #6 Real Oem

This is a good time to also do

Valve Adjustment

Spark Plug & Coil

Belts

Additional VANOS maintenance items

Dr VANOS

rebuilt VANOS with all upgraded internals

exhaust hub -cryogenically treated

cam timing tool

upgraded cam bolts

modified splined gear

sprocket

timing chain

Beisan Systems

oil pump disk

rebuilt VANOS solenoid coil pack

sealing plate repair kit

seals repair kit

rattle repair kit

rattle install tools

Getting Started

Remove air ducting, fan shrouds, fan & belly pan

jack the front of your car onto jack-stands (jack-stand DIY link)

remove the belly pan under the front of the car

remove kidney intake ducting starting with the corner that connects to the airbox

using your pliers, remove the 4 clips holding down the intake ducting

pull out the top pin and remove

using our fan removal tool and 32mm wrench its time to remove the fan

place the fan removal tool onto the water pump bolts to hold it steady

use the 32mm wrench on the crank bolt and free up the fan by turning the wrench clockwise

once loose you can use the fan blades to spin the crank bolt off the thread

carefully lift the fan out from the top of the car between the block and the shroud and set it aside

remove rivet clip holding the two side air-guides

pull the top pin and remove

remove 3 wire clips from the top of the fan shroud. 2 on the pass. side/1 on the driver side

driver side wire clip is only removed to allow room to access the torx25

remove the 2 top torx25 bolts from the fan shroud

from under the car, remove remaining 2 torx25 bolts from the fan shroud

take out the side air guide and center fan shroud

shroud should lift strait up out of the top

driver side air guide will not be removed as it has a coolant hose running through it.

To remove the engine cover

remove strut brace

remove cabin filter

remove torx 30 bolts from inside cabin filter housing (pic below)

remove wire cover from cabin housing

remove 6 engine cover bolts

remove oil cap

remove vent hose

remove banjo bolt on the side of the valve cover. (watch for the two crush washers on either side of the bolt)

remove ground wire bolt on side of valve cover

unclip the O2 sensor holder with squeeze clips

gently move rubber grommet out of the way

remove coils by disconnecting clip and pulling strait up (pic below)

remove 15 valve cover bolts

you can unbolt the positive battery wire if you choose to

carefully lift. (if its stuck in any way you can put your fingers in the oil fill to help pull up)

re-install the fan to manually crank the motor

crank your motor until the top dead center mark on the flywheel is in position

the first cylinder cam lobes will be facing each other when set correctly (pic below)

install the top dead center pin

the vanos solenoid is hiding three 5mm allen bolts which hold the vanos on. these bolts cannot be accessed until the solenoid is removed

first, unclip the wire harness on the bottom left of the vanos solenoid (pic below)

make sure to cover the lower area under the solenoid, when removed a small amount of oil will drip

remove the five, 5mm bolts on top of the vanos. be careful not to let the solenoid fall when removing the final bolt

remove the two 10mm bolts on the sides of the vanos and replace them with 2 long 5mm allen bolts from the top of the vanos

only screw the long 5mm bolts in the sides partailly as they will be used to support the vanos when removing the spline shafts from the unit

remove the banjo bolt and the two, 10mm chain guard bolts located up top on the inside of the valve cover gasket

remember to keep all areas covered with towels at all times

anything dropped into the timing chain area means you will have to remove your oil pan to get it out. . not fun and very time consuming

here is the solenoid removed

below are the Besian System sealing plate gaskets

old gaskets must be carefully scraped away without damaging the plate to install new gaskets

2 long bolts are now installed in the sides to support the vanos

remove the six 5mm allen end cap bolts

pull vanos caps off or hit them lightly with a rubber mallet to remove

have shop towels ready for small amounts of oil when removing caps

with the end caps removed this will allow to push the shafts in to reach the splines when re-installing the vanos

remove the remaining three, 5mm allen bolts that were hidden behind the solenoid

with all bolts removed, slide the vanos back on the long side bolts

the splined shafts are still attached to the vanos

using the 7 and 10mm open end wrenches, carefully remove each shaft from the vanos (see pic below) do NOT drop the wrench into your oil pan!

once the shafts are removed you can unscrew the side bolts and remove the vanos

the splined shafts can now be removed from hubs, pull them out with your hands

use the 10mm socket to remove the 6 intake/exhaust hub bolts and remove the hubs one at a time

when removing the hubs be careful of the large washers behind them as seen in the pic below

make sure you have towels under the hubs to prevent anything from falling into the oil pan

notice the tab indents inside the hub for the large washer

the splined shafts look the same but differ in the length of the threads on them

the exhaust spline has a longer thread shaft than the intake hub

using the 32mm socket, remove the chain tensioner to create slack in the timing chain when removing the cam sprockets

do not yet remove the sprocket

the chain tension is located to the left of the head, just below the valve cover. pictures below

remove the the slide rail. pictured below

using a sharpie marker, draw a strait line starting on the thrust bearing flange following all the way across each part up to the sprocket (the chain will lift out of your way to mark the sprocket)

this will help make re installation very simple and eliminate any confusion

draw another strait line from the centering sleeve to the sprocket

below are inlet & outlet VANOS cam gearboxes. the VANOS gearboxes which drive the camshafts, each consist of three parts as seen above, the thrust washer/outer ring, sprocket, and centering sleeve/inner ring.

first remove the exhaust sprocket, be sure to hold the chain under tension once removed

still holding the chain under tension not allowing it to slip off of the sprocket down below, remove the intake sprocket

with the chain still under tension.. use your lock C-clamp for weight to hold the chain under constant tension and lay it to the left as pictured below

here is a picture of the lower chain sprocket to better understand what it looks like down below

remove the 6 center sleeve bolts then remove the centering sleeve and thrust washer on both cams

remove the toothed sleeves from each camshaft to be re installed into the new camshafts

toothed sleeve pictured below

remove the bearing thrust flange pictured below

intake cam: at top dead center notice that only cylinder #3 cam lobes are fully compressing the valve springs, take note as they will be placed in this position when re installing the new cam.

remove the spring clips located on either side of the head walls by pulling them strait up

carefully remove all 11mm bearing cap nuts, DO NOT YET LOOSEN CYLINDER #3 BOLTS-these will be removed last and be done with *extreme care

remove all bearing caps. caps are marked E2-E7 as not to be confused when re installing

have a friend you trust hold the camshaft completely still with a 24mm wrench on the camshaft. Friend: when holding the wrench be sure not to hold pressure on the cam, just keep it from turning back and forth while letting the process of decompressing take its natural course. in other words, don't lean on the wrench while holding it steady...you don't want to be responsible for putting pressure on the camshaft and snapping it because it didn't lift evenly out ;)

friend is actually holding the cam lobes still so that the lobes hold position centered on the rocker arm. the lobes will try and move slightly when the nuts are being slowly loosened

once all bearing caps and nuts are removed, remove the bearing cap nuts on cylinder #3 by making quarter turn increments on each nut starting with the nut closest to the retaining clip(longer stud), allowing the valve spring to slowly decompress as you rotate between top and bottom cap nut

remove the bearing cap, and remove the cam

intake cam removed

remove the impulse sending wheel with the help of a friend

have your friend hold the cam steady using the 24mm wrench while you remove the wheel with your allen socket

install the wheel on the new camshaft

notice the slot for the tab when installing the impulse wheel on the new cam

install the toothed sleeve removed earlier by lining up the bolt holes

because this part was marked with a sharpie you can install it exactly as it was when removed top to bottom, although it fits correct

install the cam the same as it was removed

cylinder #3 cam lobes pointed down toward the rocker arm

with a friend holding the cam steady from turning right to left, begin to tighten the bearing cap nuts in quarter turn increments, carefully tightening until the desired 10.5ft lbs of torque. Be sure to watch that the bearing cap is evenly pulling the camshaft down toward the head. with one longer stud you might want to screw the nut down evenly before beginning the quarter turn increments

install remaining bearing caps and tighten cap nuts accordingly, do not install the thrust bearing flange as we need if off to remove and install the exhaust camshaft

follow the same instruction for the exhaust camshaft removal and install. at top dead center exhaust cylinder #2's valve springs are fully compressed with cam lobes facing down. #2 cylinder will be done last in quarter turn increments releasing the camshaft tension

with camshafts installed its time to re install the VANOS gearbox

on the intake side - install the thrust washer with beveled edge facing the camshaft. top should be marked with a sharpie. top and bottom are identical

install the centering sleeve and torque the bolts to 10ft lbs. part will be marked with a sharpie, again top and bottom are identical

install the sprocket and the marked line will match with the line on the centering sleeve leaving you in the same position you disassembled

on the exhaust side- install the thrust washer with beveled edge facing the camshaft

install the centering sleeve and torque the bolts to 10 ft lbs

before installing the exhaust sprocket remove your locked C-clamp from your chain and hold the chain under tension

feed your chain around the intake cam sprocket

while installing the exhaust sprocket, feed the chain around the sprocket moving both into place together

re install your chain tension bolt

install the cam lock timing tool

Re-installing the spline shafts

your cam timing lock pin should be installed in line with the hub you are working with before completing next steps

the first step is to install the hubs. be sure to have both washers in the back of the hubs before installing (picture below)

when bolting on the hub one at a time, install 2 bolts 180 degrees from each other and do not tighten them completely (picture below)

in the picture below you can see that the hub has a small range of clockwise/counterclockwise movement where it bolts in, allowing movement for the correct installation of the spline shafts

once you have installed two bolts, turn the hub clockwise (right) as far as it will allow

with spline in hand and hub rotated to the far right, the rule of thumb is to fit the spline shaft into the hub and rotate the hub counterclockwise until the shafts teeth slides into the hub.

the splines have a "sweet spot" on them. instead of turning the hub counterclockwise until the spline fits, rotate the spline around in your hand and keep trying to install it until it's teeth fit perfectly into the hub barley even moving the hub counterclockwise as it goes in. . that is what i call the "sweet spot".

It is important to ensure full range of motion of your splines in and out of the hubs. when done this way, you will have full range of motion eliminating any doubt moving forward that you have set your timing properly. when set properly tighten the two 10mm bolts, locking down the hub position.

when installing the shafts I prefer to set them flush with the hubs as seen in the picture below. this is how they were positioned when I disassembled in the top dead center position. more important is that the pistons are pushed completely back when the VANOS is installed, then install the end caps. upon starting the car it will put itself into full retard position, timing will be set perfectly

important: after you have re-installed your VANOS but before you install the valve cover, I strongly suggest cranking the motor by hand with the 32mm crank bolt. if you have any problems with the timing, your valves will hit and you wont be able to crank the motor by hand. this is a mandatory step to ensure not damaging your motor if something throughout this procedure was done incorrectly

Re-install the VANOS

add new VANOS gasket before bolting the unit on

support the VANOS with the 5mm long allen bolts again

line up your oil pump disc and slide the disc with VANOS into the exhaust hub tabs

connect the shafts using your 7 and 10mm open end wrenches

you can push the connecting rods toward the spline shafts where the end caps are off on the VANOS

when both spline shafts are connected you can position the VANOS in place and install the lower three, 5mm allen bolts

remove the long side bolts and install the correct 10mm side bolts

install the solenoid using the five, 5mm allen bolts, be sure to line up your sealing plate properly before bolting down

reconnect your solenoid wire clip

install the VANOS end caps by pressing them on. if you mixed them up it is okay, they are both identical (six, 5mm allen bolts)

with your VANOS now installed, crank your motor by hand to ensure your timing is correct. again, if your timing is not correct you will feel a valve hit before you complete a full rotation and stop you from cranking further. It is better to find out this way rather than crossing your fingers and turning the key later

follow picture directions above if you run into any trouble when buttoning up the rest of the motor

*when re-installing your valve cover gasket be sure to clean the surface area completely without dropping any debris into the motor. I do not use any gasket sealer and have never had an oil leak.