Here’s a little back ground about me,,,I’ve been a German car technician now for 31 years now.I had a family owned German car repair shop for 17 years,,We worked on Mercedes,Porsche and BMW .back in the 1980’s it was kind of normal to work on 3 type of cars,,,,all the German cars we very closely built the same,,,,they all had Bosch fuel injection and ignition systems,,,,but over the years that all started to change,,,,, I then removed myself from the family business and moved on to the R/V business.,,,where I was promised the world by a friend if I came to work for him,,,,Big mistake in my life,,,but learned a lot about the diesel R/V motor homes.,,,,During the R/V years I never stopped working on German cars for old customers or old friends cars.,,,,I was always playing around with German cars,,,,,and I personally drove a old 1984 528e 5 speed trans that I put over 300k miles on before the odometer stopped working,,,,,it still had the original engine and transmission and rear differential in the car,,,,the engine finally was burning to much oil to fix,,,,,I loved that car,,,,good gas mileage and a solid car on the road,,,,After 4yrs working and being shop foreman at the R/V shop.,,,,,I got a call from a friend at my local BMW dealership,,,,they wanted me to work for them,,,,,so I moved back to the BMW dealership,,,, .Where my heart belonged with German cars.,,,,,Where I became a BMW master technician.,,,,I’ve decided to show you the life and the different types of jobs we do and see everyday working on BMW .
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2011 328i N51 – Whistling Noise, oil cap difficult to remove but also fault code 2A7C – Front of engine noisy. Replaced Valve Cover. I inspected Vanos Bolts when valve cover was removed and appeared to be OK. No more whistling noise. Runs much better however Fault 2A7C still present. Removed, cleaned, swapped Vanos Solenoids, Vanos Filters, oil filter and oil changed. Fault 2A7C still present. Any suggestions? Love this site and thanks in advance
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That code 2a7c what else did the fault say
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To remove the front crank seal without a tool you said you put two screws through the seal and pull using pliers? Are we talking wood screws and what do you use to get the seal back in. Is that all you need to do besides remove belt and pulley?
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Yes some wood screws not long one about 3/4 inch long and then use pliers to pull it out
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Would I also need a special tool for the installing of the seal or does a regular autozone tool suffice?
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Sorry I don’t know what the autozone tool looks like or if it will work,,,,I have put crank seal in with just a hammer and a small socket if your really careful ,,,,so I would think if the autozone tool is made to put seals in then it should work.
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I tried the screw method but the front crank seal wouldn’t come out, was anything left out?
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You put the screw into the seal,,,then you grab the screw with some pliers and try and pull out the seal,,,the seal is in very tight,,,,it’s not easy to pull out
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Not trying to be a bother but I put the screws between the seal and the crank and three people pulled and it wouldn’t come out. Not even budge, is there any other way?
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You said you put the screw between the seal and rank,,,,you need to put the screw into the seal,,,,,put a small hole though the seal and put a screw in the hole and then pull,,,,you could buy a seal puller tool
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So it’s been a couple hours and I got the seal out, I got the seal 80% in but I can’t hit it in anymore wih a hammer and oil filter the same size as the seal. Any ideas on the install?
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I have used a small deep socket,,,,maybe a 10mm not sure on the size,,,and then just go around the seal just tapping it in trying not to damage or dent the seal
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Great Blog ! Vielen Dank!
MfG
lukafoto
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Danke
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Hi,
I have a female friend with a 2102 Z4 (N20 engine) who is at the mercy of her local BMW dealer. Here is what they are quoting to replace the turbo waste gate. Does this seem reasonable?
REPLACE TURBO WASTE GATE ON TURBO AND CLEAR
ADAPTATIONS. COMPLETE DRIVE CYCLE (TURBO
WASTEGATE FAILURE)
Fail $3,953.91
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That’s seems to high,,,,the N20 came with either a electric wastegate or vacuum wastegate,,,,I don’t know the prices of the parts,,,,but I can tell you the labor for the electric wastegate is 3 hours and the vacuum wastegate is 2 hours,,,,are you sure they didn’t quote her to replace the whole turbo with the wastegate,,,,to replace the whole turbo with wastegate is 5 hours labor
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2012
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I think they quoted her to replace the whole turbo
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Yes, you are probably right. Thank you for your prompt reply!
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Hi Bmwtech, we are a shop in Ontario Canada and have a 535Gt (F07/N55 154800mls)with a puzzling shudder feel will driving in Grandma mode. Actually feels much like a misfire and more so in 3rd and 4th gears I believe. Zero fault codes. When driving in moderate or sport modes the trans works great. have you had any experience with this? Will a trans fluid and filter change remedy the issue? have you heard of a product (magic gu) call shudder fix in red tube?
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No I haven’t heard of the magic gu,,,,lol,,,,if you have a shudder in the trans I think it’s to late to change the trans fluid and filter,,,,the damage is already done inside the trans
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Pomdering what to do with my 2014 F30 328i xDrive (n20). Im at 145,000km (90,000m).. so far no timimg chain noise.. no smoke on startup.. but.. i know im due to do all the fluids. Diffs, tcase, tranny… trade aint worth much.. but the idea of the chance of the timing chain & turbo have me doubting my luck. Opinions? Dealer says fluids are “lifetime” but.. whats that even mean?
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That life time fluid I hate when the dealer says that,,,,life time is good until 100k miles.
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is it good to change the transmission oil on f01 i am very aggressive driver. Transmission was replaced at 30K now im at 85K?
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No you should be ok on trans fluid
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Hi Andreas,
Not sure if this is the right spot to ask a question regarding my 2012 Bmw X1 N20 (Canada).
At idle, when outside the vehicle, you can hear a…. hard to explain….kind of a ‘rotational thumping’ or ‘soft knocking’ noise that seems to be coming from underneath the car. The thumping happens maybe 2 times a second and isn’t perfectly consistent in intervals.
I had the BMW foreman listen to it and he wasn’t overly concerned but I feel it has gotten louder since seeing him and it’s just driving me nuts even if it’s not a serious problem.
Any ideas?
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I would have someone lift up the car and listen from under the car while it is idling and see exactly where the noise is coming from.
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