vanos unit

[top_driver]

hi, im just curious to know, what the pipe from the vanos unit on an e46 323i is, does it flow oil or does it flow air or what?

[ChuckFickens]

Oil, the flow of which is controlled by the solenoid on the unit which in turn changes the valve gear timing on the engine slightly.

[top_driver]

alright ok, where is the oil supplied from, is it the same flow from the engine oil, and i have what appears to be a leak

[ChuckFickens]

Yes, it uses the engine oil pressure to operate, and yes they do tend to fail! the seals for the piston inside it are notorious for leaking (as is the pipe leading to the unit).

[top_driver]

oh, ok so it wont dry out once i have engine oil, do you know what the name of the pipe is, so i know what to order

[ChuckFickens]

it's called a vanos oil line (Unsurprisingly)... you'll also need to replace the sealing washers so make sure you get those too.

[AlBags]

They all tend to get damp. They can also get noisy.
I s'pose yours is single VANOS.

[top_driver]

myne is the double vanos unit, i looked on google and the oil pipe line looks different from the one im looking at on my car, does the vanos have a breather, at the top of it, similar to the crankcase breather on a non vanos engine

[AlBags]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VANOS
various VANOS pics here ..
http://www.google.co....74l2200l0.4.3.0.2l9l0

[ChuckFickens]

Seems to be 3 or 4 different part numbers for the 323i pipe.
http://pelicanparts.c...R_BE36_ENGoil_pg2.htm

(can't find a UK site that lists them at all!)

[top_driver]

@ chuckfickens, ye, thats not the pipe im looking at on my car from the link, myne would be at the top facing outward
albags, myne is the m52tu engine so ye the double vanos

[ChuckFickens]

Should be part number 15.

http://static.bmwfans.../epc/MTU4MzUwX3A=.png

[top_driver]

it closer looking to part 18