DISA Valve repair kit

Great to see this thread back. I can not wait to see what else you have for us, after disa and ccv. It is really good to see, that there are some brilliant minds out there, who still care about our old and beloved e39's.

Just put a new OEM DISA to replace old after 192k miles. If it had made 193k You could sell me your replacement in January. . Great idea and execution.

Why was he banned ??
This is the most interesting thread on the entire forum.

Originally Posted by EconoBox

Why was he banned ??
This is the most interesting thread on the entire forum.

I believe the conflict lies in that he was not a forum sponsor yet he was using the forum to market a product to forum members. Not sure if an existing sponsor complained or if the admins took it upon themselves to pull the thread. As you can see, he is now a forum sponsor, so all is fine. Although I don't see his products competing directly with existing products (his are redesigned), it is totally understandable since this forum cannot exist without sponsors.

Originally Posted by Fudman

I believe the conflict lies in that he was not a forum sponsor yet he was using the forum to market a product to forum members. Not sure if an existing sponsor complained or if the admins took it upon themselves to pull the thread. As you can see, he is now a forum sponsor, so all is fine. Although I don't see his products competing directly with existing products (his are redesigned), it is totally understandable since this forum cannot exist without sponsors.

Yes, but, the beauty of what this guy is doing is that he is designing and manufacturing unique products that MANY enthusiasts/ BMW owners have been wishing/ wanting for a long time with his expertise and great knowledge.

Basically, he is fixing the poorly designed stuff on these cars, and selling them...
Not a bad idea IMO...
In fact, I am very shocked no other vendors had the guts to do the same...

I really wished this happened sooner...!
LOL!

Thanks!
Jason

Originally Posted by Fudman

I believe the conflict lies in that he was not a forum sponsor yet he was using the forum to market a product to forum members. Not sure if an existing sponsor complained or if the admins took it upon themselves to pull the thread. As you can see, he is now a forum sponsor, so all is fine. Although I don't see his products competing directly with existing products (his are redesigned), it is totally understandable since this forum cannot exist without sponsors.

If you read Gary's earlier post, it looks like he's the one who brought up the question of forum sponsorship, and things apparently went off the rails briefly before they got straightened out.

Just to set the record straight, I had approached Tim about sponsorship several weeks earlier to make sure I was not going to be in conflict with the forum rules. We had worked out a deal and he had emailed me an invoice on Friday afternoon, on Saturday morning I found the thread was gone and my account was banned. I don't dispute the application of the rules, I just think there should have been either communication between the administrator and moderator, or the moderator should have PM'ed me with a warning before blocking me. Either of those options would have prevented this. I'm sure this was just a misfortunate rare occurrence, at this point I want to put it behind me and I'm glad to be a sponsor. I'm sure my relationship with the forum administration going forward will be a positive one.

Thanks everone for all the kind words and support of this project.

Gary

So Gary dear sponsor, please,please get the CCV & DISA fix in production ASAP.....
I am sure these fixes (and prolly future ones to come) will be posted on other forums as well.

I'm glad to find out there is a better replacement for the Oem DISA. I will ordering a new one.

This is what I did this weekend. It has a long way to go but it's a good start.

http://germanautosolutions.com

I'll try to update tomorrow on the status of everything else.

Feedback on the website is always welcome.

Thanks,

Gary

Great start Gary! Looking forward to the development of new products.

Originally Posted by gary@germanautosolutions

This is what I did this weekend. It has a long way to go but it's a good start.

http://germanautosolutions.com

I'll try to update tomorrow on the status of everything else.

Feedback on the website is always welcome.

Thanks,

Gary

Sent you a pm earlier regarding purchase of the DISA. I'm not sure if you got it. Let me know.

Purchased the DISA repair kit.
While mine is not broken I am just doing away with the possible issues later on and when I am boosted.

Gary, how about fixing the notorious E46 window regulator?

Originally Posted by gary@germanautosolutions

This is what I did this weekend. It has a long way to go but it's a good start.

http://germanautosolutions.com

I'll try to update tomorrow on the status of everything else.

Feedback on the website is always welcome.

Thanks,

Gary

Gary, change the name from Porche to Porsche.

Another nit: "CCV Oil Seperator" should be "...Separator."

Your site looks promising, and we're all looking forward to seeing it grow.

Gary,
Any thoughts about making some affordable headlight adjusters...?

Thanks!
Jason

Originally Posted by gary@germanautosolutions

Thanks, I appreciate all feedback, positive or negative.

1) With regard to bearing pivot point, the stock unit has a steel pin pressed into the flapper valve and the body has a pressed in PTFE or moly coated bearing supporting the pin. The pin rotates within the body, not the flapper valve, and my design does not change that.

2) I agree that the new ass'y will be heavier. That is the reason for going with a much more expensive custom 'titanium' pivot screw (The CAD pictures you referenced here are the Rev 1 not Rev 2 pictures that were posted later). Another point to note is that the stock steel pin is 4mm (.157") in diameter, and the bearing I.D. is 4.37mm (.172"), leaving a pin to bearing clearance of .015". My design reduces that clearance to .002"-.003", which drastically reduces room for vibration between the pivot and bearing. I have checked 2 used (8 years old) and 1 brand new unit and the bearing I.D. is consistent, so I feel comfortable closing up this clearance.

3) The valve spends 90% of it's life in the closed state (low to mid RPM part throttle driving) where the flapper is fully seated against the silicone seal molded into the DISA frame work. In it's closed position all vibrations of the flapper will be damped.

4) The DISA ass'y has a molded in silicone seal around the perimeter of the frame work which dampens vibrations transmitted into it by the valve to the larger mass of the intake manifold.

5) I have a bunch of electronic test equipment here and we plan on testing the ass'y to see if it has any strong resonances that fall within frequencies generated by the motor (2000-6000rpm = 100-300 Hz).

I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to anticipate all failure modes and have had the design reviewed by another engineer. That being said, if anyone sees any other potential problems, please post them for consideration before this goes into production.

Thanks again to everyone who is supporting this project.

In the interest of throwing things out there that could be a problem with this solution, I will ask - what is the weight of the replacement piece, v/s the original piece? This leads directly to my second question - have you performed any testing to see how much force is required to open the flapper? If the weight is greater, then the force required to open it may need to be greater. The same goes for closing the tolerances for the pins. Does this increase the force needed to actuate the valve? I ask, because there are no upgrades to the diaphragm that controls the closing of it, or the actuator that opens it. If it requires more force, it could either not open correctly, and/or cause premature failure to the mechanism needed to open it. It could also cause the valve to snap shut abruptly, if it overpowers the diaphragm, which I am assuming is there to prevent it from snapping closed. I am not sure what would happen if the valve snaps shut abruptly, but I would think it would be noticeable. Are you also looking at the diaphragm, and any possible repair kits or replacements to it as well? Because not all DISA failures are not due to the flapper failing. The diaphragm on the actuator will also fail, mostly with age. It may be another area that needs to be addressed. If the diaphragm or actuator fails, most people will not notice it, and simply write it off as an aging engine. Most of the time, it throws a code for a lean running condition, but not always.
Please don't take this as pi$$ing on the extensive work you have done. I think you are doing a great thing, that many of us admire and appreciate, and also wish we had the resources available to do such things. You could open a skunkworks, taking ideas that people have and making them into workable prototypes (after some review, of course). There are lots of people with good ideas, but absolutely none of the tools needed to actually make those ideas a reality. I just wanted to throw my concerns into the mix, and see if you had considered them (although I am fairly sure these things must have occurred to you). Thanks!

It's 3:00AM so I have to make this a quick reply and get home to get some sleep. I'd like to take the time to answer your concerns without sending you back into the thread but they have already been asked and addressed earlier in the thread, and like I said it's 3:00AM and I haven't even had supper yet. The only question you asked that has not been addressed is the possibility of rebuilding the vacuum pot. I haven't seen any posts of that portion of the DISA commonly failing so I haven't been overly concerned about it. If someone knows if the vacuum pot has a high failure rate, please jump in. I don't see any easy way to repair or rebuild it, so I think that would require a new unit which I would suggest upgrading with new valve internals even while it's new.

Thanks for your input.

Gary

Originally Posted by gary@germanautosolutions

It's 3:00AM so I have to make this a quick reply and get home to get some sleep. I'd like to take the time to answer your concerns without sending you back into the thread but they have already been asked and addressed earlier in the thread, and like I said it's 3:00AM and I haven't even had supper yet. The only question you asked that has not been addressed is the possibility of rebuilding the vacuum pot. I haven't seen any posts of that portion of the DISA commonly failing so I haven't been overly concerned about it. If someone knows if the vacuum pot has a high failure rate, please jump in. I don't see any easy way to repair or rebuild it, so I think that would require a new unit which I would suggest upgrading with new valve internals even while it's new.

Thanks for your input.

Gary

I thought I had read every page of the tread, but it is possible I had missed one, so, sorry if I had asked something that you had already answered. I will go back and look for the posts I obviously missed.

MJLavelle - Here is a copy/paste of the original question and answer. It's easy to miss in seven pages of posts.

Question: Is the diaphragm robust enough to handle the extra mass of the new flapper and pivot? I wonder if this fix will move the failure point of the DISA valve from the flapper to the diaphragm.

1) There is really no mass related load put on the vacuum actuator. The system moves slowly enough that the small rotational inertia difference if insignificant.

2) The vacuum actuator is fully loaded the entire time that the valve is in the closed position, which is most of the time. That aspect doesn't change with the aluminum parts compared to the plastic ones. Since the OEM design has the diaphragm under full vacuum load to keep the valve seated against the molded in silicone rubber gasket, and since that load is many, many times greater than the force required to rotate the valve, it's a non-issue. Just for reference, the new parts only weigh 13.5 grams more than the stock plastic valve with steel pin.

Thanks,

Gary

Hey everyone - here is the update I promised. Sorry it's a little late, I have a lot on my plate right now.

DISA Valve Kit:

• The titanium hardware is due in by the 20th but will still need secondary machining operations performed. Basically they are titanium screw blanks and we will be adding the threads and and turning down the pin end.
  
• I am currently out of flapper valves and bell cranks since I only made a few pieces in the first run. Please don't try to buy the kit unless you are OK with it being a "pre-order". I am currently setting up for a run of 50 sets each of the 3.0L and 2.5L kits. They should be ready around the same time that the hardware comes in. I hope to have plenty of complete kits ready to ship by the end of the month.

CCV Valve:

• I received a couple samples of silicone material for the vacuum diaphragm and have made a contact with a supplier that has every version of the stuff know to man in stock. I will be requesting some more samples from them and picking their brains a little on suggestions of material for the application. For now this project is on hold until the DISA kits are on the self and the website has all the necessary information updated.

VANOS seals:

• I contacted Beisan Systems about carrying their seal kits. I respect want he has done with that common problem, and the only way I could do my own seal kit would be to copy what he is doing. I hate it when someone does that to me so as long as they are willing to supply me with seals I will offer their product on my site. I want to work toward the site becoming a "one stop" place to address most of the common BMW problems, which means we need to offer VANOS seal kits.

Other Products:

• Several other things are in the works, but only in the concept stages at this point. The website will be kept up to date on new stuff, as will this forum where my homies hang out.

Website:

• I'm trying to add content daily. I had a "Buy it Now" button up for about 12 hours to check the link out and 2 people bought kits even though the page said "under construction". I took that as encouraging news but I still had to email them and tell them that the kits weren't ready yet. I'm going to try to finish the DISA Valve page on the site tonight and I will put the "Buy it Now" button back up, but with really big and bold text stating that any purchase will be a preorder and will not ship until the end of the month.
  
• Those of you that have visited the site will have noticed the "Porsche" button on the navigation header; that part of the product development will be headed by Andy, my partner in this new venture. He's a Porsche guy and will be covering the inferior side of the business. He also works normal hours, has a wife, and a full time job, so I would expect to see 10 BMW products for every one Porsche product introduced.

Keep the questions and comments coming.

Your humble workaholic,

Gary

Gary, your communication with this forum impresses me and inspires confidence in what you're doing. I wondered about the VANOS link, and I'm looking forward to your future offerings.

Just wanted to post saying that I'm very impressed with your work. I don't personally own an M54 engine car (anymore), but I would definitely buy one of your DISA units if I did. I think one product that would sell really well (better than the DISA or CCV fixes) would be some kind of permanent solution to the expansion tank problems.

If you ever decide to start making products for other BMW engines, do consider taking a look at the cam-bolt issue that S54s go through. Sometimes it's referred to as the "VANOS bolt" issue. It caused catastrophic failures in several M3s (and probably other S54 equipped cars), and the rest of us check our bolts every 15-30k miles just in case. I'd gladly pay for a permanent solution, even if it cost as much as $500

If you ever decide to start making products for other BMW engines, do consider taking a look at the cam-bolt issue that S54s go through. Sometimes it's referred to as the "VANOS bolt" issue. It caused catastrophic failures in several M3s (and probably other S54 equipped cars), and the rest of us check our bolts every 15-30k miles just in case. I'd gladly pay for a permanent solution, even if it cost as much as $500

Thanks,

I love this kind of input. I think of this business as a joint venture with the BMW community.

BTW- I am in the market for a used and abused, or blown, M62tuB44 engine for cheap. I want one for product developement and fitment. You 540i guys please let me know if this is the most common engine platform.