M62 VANOS engine rebuilding and camshaft timing question

I recently rebuilt an engine for my 540i, and have it in. I only have one question. How do you set the camshaft trigger wheels? I have the camshafts all in position (I bought the special tools to set them), but I am not willing to spend another $400 to get the tools to set the camshaft trigger wheels. Can I use that goofy torx screw on the front of the head (near the camshaft sensor)? That hole lines up with a hole in the trigger wheel, but I don't know were to position the VANOS.

I tried lining it up with the VANOS fully retarded and the crank at TDC, but my car won't run for more than 10 seconds, and I get crank/cam errors on the computer, so I know something still isn't right.

Any tips?

Thanks,
Garrick

Originally Posted by glankford

I recently rebuilt an engine for my 540i, and have it in. I only have one question. How do you set the camshaft trigger wheels? I have the camshafts all in position (I bought the special tools to set them), but I am not willing to spend another $400 to get the tools to set the camshaft trigger wheels. Can I use that goofy torx screw on the front of the head (near the camshaft sensor)? That hole lines up with a hole in the trigger wheel, but I don't know were to position the VANOS.

I tried lining it up with the VANOS fully retarded and the crank at TDC, but my car won't run for more than 10 seconds, and I get crank/cam errors on the computer, so I know something still isn't right.

Any tips?

Thanks,
Garrick

You need tool set 1160450 to set the tone wheels. [ATTACH][/ATTACH]

That is the $400 I am not willing to spend. I am looking at the heads off my old engine, and the hole in the trigger wheel seems to line up with that torx screw hole next to the cam sensors. The problem is that one of the heads I had taken off the wheel earlier so I don't have a reference for the driver's side head, only the passenger's side.

This whole project has been a real mess from the get go. This is the second time I have put this enigne in. I purchased a "rebuilt" engine so I wouldn't have to go through all of this. I installed it and it promptly siezed up while I was cranking it. Two cylinders galled up under cranking power. I called the place and agreed to do the labor to take it apart and re-assemble, since I wasn't sure if I had done something wrong. When I took it apart to send back to the place I purchased it from, I carefully marked everything, so when I put it back together, I could put everything back exactly as I received it originally.

I sent back the short block for a total sleeve job, and received it back all apart. I put it together using the TIS for guidance. When i put the heads on, I aligned the timing chain exactly as I had removed it with #1 at TDC. I did this because it should have been right when I got it the first time, and I didn't have the alignment tools at that time. Before even attempting to give it any fuel/spark I checked compression on all the cylinders. The driver's side had 50psi agross the board, and the passenger side was 150psi across it.

Long story short, I knew something was wrong when I compared the square ends of the camshafts on my old heads to the new engine's installed heads. The little chain between exhaust and intake was off by about 30 degrees! (it was off even further if I fully retarded the vanos unit) They never set the heads right when they originally shipped the engine (I never touched the little chain). I am amazed I never crunched any valves. I purchased the camshaft alignment tools from ZDMAK, so I now have excellent compression (210+) on all cylinders.

The place I purchased this from has been very slow to respond and I don't expect any help from them. I purchased this engine in APRIL, and I am just now re-installing it for the second time, all due to their lack of urgency. I ended up getting charged extra for the machining, on top of having to purchase head bolts, gaskets, etc and my time.

I have $11000 and hundreds of hours invested in this car, and I still have nothing to show for it. If I have to spend ANOTHER $400 on this money pit, I will absolutely go postal. I work full time, and also go to law school full time on the weekends. I don't have the time to be screwing around on this any longer.

Ok, I am done ranting. I feel better now.

I may borrow my friend's 2000 540i and spend a few hours comparing positions of things.

Thanks,
Garrick

Hi Garrick,

It's been a while since you posted this, so I hope to contact you, but I, too, have tried to "read" the position of that whee, but my car, a 2001 740i runs for only 2 or 3 seconds. I can crack the valve cover open enough to adjust the position in small increments, but it's pretty fuzzy math.

Did you solve this mystery with craftiness or dollars? Please say craftiness

Justin