I changed my seals this weekend, and all went according to plan. Rajae's instructions are great, and they guy even answered his phone at 1 a.m. local time to answer some of my questions! I was floored!

What I want to point out is that I don't feel I have as much mechanical experience and/or tools as some others who I've seen writing about the repairs. While this Vanos repair was certainly the biggest job I've ever done on any car, it was not difficult or exotic. Poolman puts it well when he says the job "is really just plain wrenching." I rent a single bedroom in a house, and I was able to accomplish the repair AND change my thermostat in the carport with hand tools. I don't have my own garage and a wide array of different sockets, hammers, etc. Rajae's instructions make it explicitly clear that the only tools you'll need are the ones listed, and that's just what I encountered.

Upon starting the car, the cold idle issue was immediately gone and it's continued to run well since. I drive through city streets to get to work, and I used to have to put her in neutral 1/2 mile from my house at the first traffic light and keep the revs up to keep the engine from dying. Not anymore. The revs are constant and strong and there is more power throughout the RPM range. I've only had the car for 1.5 years and it's running better than when I bought it. It's the best repair I've done to date and am very appreciative of Rajae's research and development; stepping up to cure our car of a latent and persisting issue.

I've since put on about 100 city miles, and I'm driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco this weekend so I should hit the ~500 mile mark during the trip. I'll report back on the additional benefits which I expect to receive.

• Another Vanos fixed - pjb 2008-02-14 22:27:50 (607 views)
  • Re: Another Vanos fixed - 500 miles later - pjb 2008-02-20 00:32:41 (416 views)
    • Re: Another Vanos fixed - 500 miles later - Rajaie 2008-02-20 22:46:51 (300 views)
      • Re: Another Vanos fixed - 500 miles later - pjb 2008-02-24 19:00:58 (260 views)
        • Re: Another Vanos fixed - 500 miles later - pjb 2008-03-29 12:08:18 (316 views)
          • Thanks very much for the great feedback (nt) - Rajaie 2008-03-30 23:39:58 (152 views)
  • Thanks for the feedback and kind comments (nt) - Rajaie 2008-02-15 19:16:41 (232 views)
  • Re: Another Vanos fixed - pjb 2008-02-14 22:29:57 (304 views)