non vanos to vanos conversion - BMW Forum

cabrit · 04-01-2006, 06:38 PM

is it possible to put a vanos on a non vanos engine if so would it work whithout any complications

325isBaby · 04-01-2006, 08:08 PM

I don't believe this is possible, I may be incorrect and if anyone knows please correct me, but I do not believe it is possible to take a non-vanos engine and make it a vanos engine.

drz · 04-01-2006, 08:42 PM

I seriously doubt it. Why do you want to do this? You can squeeze more power out of a non-vanos anyway.

WarNox · 04-02-2006, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drz

I seriously doubt it. Why do you want to do this? You can squeeze more power out of a non-vanos anyway.

why/how?

cabrit · 04-02-2006, 01:11 PM

this is the scoop i am doing a 94 525i project and my friend who happened to have a non vanos engine decided that he`ll give it to me. i already installed the engine and did all the modifiaction like changing the oil pan and a couple of extras the only thing is that the vanos is not connnected the engine has good compression the engine turns but wont start so any of you guys think if i add the vanos system sine the ecu on that car uses the vanos do you think it will start

the project started already i do have both engines the vanos and the non vanos, the reason for this swap is because the person the 525i belong to blew the engine would have love to use the non vanos engine which i got for free, but the car i`m using it for is a 94 525i which has vanos and the ecu is 413 this is why i wanted to know if its possible so far i changed the cams the head the oil pan the only thing istaht the vanos is not connected because something broke in there(another one on the way) the engine turns but does not start if the vanos is connectedc is it possible that this frankenstein might work

Teh Prof · 04-02-2006, 01:37 PM

Can you use the ECU from the non-vanos car for the formerly vanos car?

cabrit · 04-02-2006, 02:09 PM

i could try using the non vanos ecu hoping my friend still has it
dont think it would work but then again it might
thanks

///M Power · 04-02-2006, 03:33 PM

I dont have any training in this but I would guess that if you swap on the vanos head with all the valvetrain it should work.

That' just my guess.

triggrhaapi · 04-02-2006, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 325isBaby

I don't believe this is possible, I may be incorrect and if anyone knows please correct me, but I do not believe it is possible to take a non-vanos engine and make it a vanos engine.

It is very very possible, all you need is Vanos unit, valve cover, cam carrier, camshafts, upper camshaft bearings. The non VANOS M50 head is the same casting as the VANOS head and in fact, it will also mate the Double VANOS system from the M52Tu, provided you have the right camshafts, cam carriers, etc.

vwk · 04-03-2006, 02:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggrhaapi

It is very very possible, all you need is Vanos unit, valve cover, cam carrier, camshafts, upper camshaft bearings. The non VANOS M50 head is the same casting as the VANOS head and in fact, it will also mate the Double VANOS system from the M52Tu, provided you have the right camshafts, cam carriers, etc.

Not quite correct, the early M50's 325i are supplied with different heads then the later 325i and the 328i.

You can use any head to build a non-vanos engine, but you can't use the m50 320i head because the bore is different.
Same goes for non-vanos to vanos

triggrhaapi · 04-03-2006, 03:46 AM

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. The US Non-Vanos motor has the same bore/stroke as the US Vanos motor. the difference is only in the connecting rods, which for some reason are 35mm instead of 40mm. The bore is still 86mm. The cylinder head also looks identical. Check my frankenmotor thread and you'll see what I'm talking about. The non-vanos motor has a plate to cover up the cutout where the VANOS unit installs on the M50Tu.

vwk · 04-03-2006, 04:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by triggrhaapi

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. The US Non-Vanos motor has the same bore/stroke as the US Vanos motor. the difference is only in the connecting rods, which for some reason are 35mm instead of 40mm. The bore is still 86mm. The cylinder head also looks identical. Check my frankenmotor thread and you'll see what I'm talking about. The non-vanos motor has a plate to cover up the cutout where the VANOS unit installs on the M50Tu.

I know what you mean, and that's correct, but you can not use the head of an 320i M50 engine.

E.G. not any M50 head is usable. For the rest I know what you mean, I've seen several rebuilds of the engine and I've bought 2 headers for a non-vanos rebuild

triggrhaapi · 04-03-2006, 04:16 AM

Yeah, the US didn't even get the 320i. That version of the M50 is a mystery to me.

vwk · 04-03-2006, 04:26 AM

A, didn't knew that.. Sorry then

That head has a shorter stroke and a smaller bore