No. Not all E38s are VANOS. 95-98 are not VANOS, they are the M62. Production year 09/98 aka 1999-01 had VANOS, the M62TU44B. The rattling on start up could be the piston chain tensioner that is going weak, these were updated. If that doesn't fix it, its the VANOS units anyways. The seals do not hold pressure anymore.

I've rebuilt the VANOS on 1 01' E38 and changed the timing guides on another. The 2nd one still rattled, even though I had new tensioners. With the miles and if the valley pan isn't leaking, I wouldn't change it. I used to do a bunch of preventative maintenance but I soon saw it was a waste of money. Parts still held another year or so. If it aint broke, don't fix it. I've done the job without taking off the intake manifold. Left it all in place.

I owned three 2001s, and after them, I decided to get a 98, pre-vanos. Smooth motors, no diesel idle and a tad less to go wrong. I miss the things off of a 2001 but, they can always be put in later. Don't get me wrong, 98s also need timing chain guides done. If you do not take off the VANOS units, the job is straight forward. Lock everything in place, take the parts off.. put the parts on and put it back together.

Parts will be well under $1,000.. search around.. you'll find great deals on timing kits from various sources. AutoHausAZ is a great site as well as many others. If you are wholesale.. thats even better.

For example, from my wholesale supplier, here are my costs:

11 31 1 741 236 Timing Chain Rail - Lower Timing Chain Crankshaft to Camshaft Chain
11 31 1 741 777 Timing Chain Rail "Guide Rail" (U-Shaped Rail)
11 31 1 745 406 Timing Chain Rail
11 31 7 531 813 Timing Chain Tensioner for Crankshaft to Camshaft Chain
11 14 1 436 978 Gasket Set - Chain Case Cover
11 14 1 741 127 Gasket - Chain Case Cover - Cylinders 1-4
11 14 1 741 128 Gasket - Chain Case Cover - Cylinders 5-8
11 14 1 435 023 Gasket / Flange for Vanos Solenoid
11 31 1 435 026 Timing Chain Tensioner for Camshaft to Camshaft Chain (Cylinders 1-4)
11 31 1 435 027 Timing Chain Tensioner for Camshaft to Camshaft Chain (Cylinders 5-8)
____________________________
Total $ 396.68 (this is a mixture of OEM and FEBI parts)

- Basically, this is the guides, all tensioners, and timing cover gaskets. You'll need a few more things here and there.

 

I want the sport model and it would bother me really bad if i had to drive around with that diesel noise
I just dont want to do Vanos every 20-30k

 

Well, if you want, you can take the VANOS units off and pay about $90 to get them rebuilt with new seals. It'll sound quiet again, among other benefits. There are eBay services that rebuild them. The seals will last well past what you say, most likely past 50k miles. The seals are updated seals.

 

How much does a shop charge for vanos removal replacement
I dont have the tools to do it at home

 

Depends. There some who charge a flat-fee, others go by the book which is like 20-hours or more. There are some Bimmer guys will charge a few hundred.