Bmw e46 compact N42 automatic transmission - Valvetronic deactivation - what sid

The car is an e46 compact, N42 engine, 1.8 116KM, automatic gearbox.
A standard problem with a worn Valvetronic eccentric shaft, the engine burns heavily and practically does not run the 4th cylinder at idle speed, when you try to start it usually goes out. However, after disconnecting the shaft position sensor or the motor plug that moves the shaft, it sets to the maximum valve lift and the valvetronic system stops working. It seems that the car drives quite well then, but I have no comparison, because it is "fresh" imported from abroad.

- Are there large differences in engine dynamics with and without a working valvetronic system?
- Are there differences in combustion?
- How will it work with an automatic transmission?
- What are the other side effects of driving with Valvetronic not working?

Questions why I do not fix it - it is difficult to get a shaft and levers, besides the price does not encourage and it is difficult to assess the condition by eye, so there is a high risk

The differences in dynamics will certainly be felt. The truth is that an engine with a damaged Valvetronic will never work properly, as confirmed by numerous reviews from the forum. Burning will be greater. I do not understand, however, what is the point of buying a car that someone cannot repair and maintain? In fact, the E46 is already quite an old car and the costs of maintaining it at a reasonable level (decent replacements or original parts) will not be low.

I have such an engine for 204 thousand parts, the valvetronik ran without a problem.

SQ9MEM wrote:

The truth is that an engine with a damaged Valvetronic will never run properly

Maybe it's true, but after a test drive of about 15 km, I can say that it is not bad at all, the gearbox works well and the ECU reports only one error (unplugged engine controlling the shaft). I don't care that much about power, just what is.

SQ9MEM wrote:

Burning will be greater

From what I found on the forums, it grows by about 0.5-1 l / 100km, so there is no tragedy.

SQ9MEM wrote:

I do not understand, however, what is the point of buying a car that someone cannot repair and maintain?

How do you know if I can afford it or not? I am not one of those who will charge money at any cost and waste time fixing things that give practically little profit. It would be different if you could buy a new repair kit in reasonable money, and since the factory defect means few spare parts, they are expensive, and what is worse, it is very difficult to judge the wear and tear on the Internet, and after replacement it may turn out to improve there is little or no.
Of course, if I can get the shaft and levers in reasonable money, I will risk a replacement, but it must be a reasonable amount. Used engines are not very expensive so you can risk killing what is.

If it had not been for the fact that the car is in perfect technical condition, I would not have bought it, and on the other hand, if it had not been for this engine defect, the German would not have sold it - so the balance in nature is preserved :)

SQ9MEM wrote:

In fact, the E46 is already quite an old car and the costs of maintaining it at a reasonable level (decent replacements or original parts) will not be low.

When any bigger problems start, I will sell it to some youngster, let him drive his sticks to discos and worry about repairs. It looks nice, and most people buy the look, not the condition.

wowka wrote:

However, I have no comparison, because it is "fresh" imported from abroad.

- Are there large differences in engine dynamics with and without a working valvetronic system?
- Are there differences in combustion?
- How will it work with an automatic transmission?
- What are the other side effects of driving with Valvetronic not working?

Take it up .... cut it before you come up with the idea of registering in Poland.
Repair of valvetronika is non-profit, a few thousand PLN have to be spent if the head is operational.
A side effect of blocking valvetronics is vanos failure.

Overall, the engine is worth it, as I already transplant to the R6.

Well, that's why I know that if you could afford it, you would buy a car with a working engine, and you wouldn't think about a sculpture with a current one. This is not a radio CD issue, and you know it. Unfortunately, this is a typical problem in Poland with premium segment cars - you buy a brand (for example, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, although there are others) and then the combinations start to save on everything. And the difference is by no means small. A slight, imperceptible difference is 5%. 20% will give you a noticeable difference. I have a comparison because I had the opportunity to drive with a damaged Valvetronic and repaired.

SQ9MEM wrote:

Well, that's how I know that if you could afford it, you would buy a car with a working engine

Yes, only if you buy this scab in DE, you pay 300E plus transport. These are the realities.

This is the highlight of the program. The German is aware of how much the repair will cost; The Pole will be trying to make forks. I will write again - you have no money for an expensive repair kit - buy a car with an efficient, cheaper engine. I know that this is a strong off-topic, but I will mention such a situation - my friend generally deals with Car-Audio, about a year ago he received a call (I witnessed this situation) from the owner of the old Astra (born in 1994) asking about the installation of the radio. There was no power supply, speaker or antenna installation in the car. A colleague explained to the client how much work it would take and valued everything (cables + speakers) at PLN 250. The client's wife interrupted and said "but it must be cheaper because we are poor". The hands drop.

SQ9MEM wrote:

The Pole will be trying to make forks

But it's not about cash, because even if you put it out, it will still be a ticking surprise, about a piggy bank on wheels.
It's just that the engine cannot be repaired for long.

Strumien swiadomosci swia wrote:

Take it up .... cut it before you come up with the idea of registering in Poland.

Unfortunately, it is too late for such a decision :)

Strumien swiadomosci swia wrote:

Overall, the engine is worth it, as I already transplant to the R6.

This car is worth too little and too much trouble for me to want to sculpt with swaps.

SQ9MEM wrote:

Well, that's how I know that if you could afford it, you would buy a car with a working engine

I already have such a car, but I could use a second one and here was an opportunity.

Strumien swiadomosci swia wrote:

Yes, only if you buy this scab in DE, you pay 300E plus transport. These are the realities.

Strumien swiadomosci swia wrote:

But it's not about cash, because even if you put it out, it will still be a ticking surprise, about a piggy bank on wheels.
It's just that the engine cannot be repaired for long.

And here is the answer to the question why this post was even made , I'll tell you that you didn't make a mistake about the price :)

But the engine has the "advantage" that it works quite decently with a damaged valvetronic, so such a "piggy bank" can be easily sold, because hardly anyone knows about it (until recently I had no idea about it either).
It is worse when the engine has a defect such as the rotating bushings - the repair is totally unprofitable, the cheapest engine used is PLN 4,000, and when the engine is not working, no one wants to buy a car - then the problem begins. (famous Dci from Renault and BXE - Vag TDI)

wowka wrote:

because hardly anyone knows about it

So what you have to be brainless when buying a car with a stick, but well, most buyers of these scabs have a budget for a seicento and unfortunately they do not fuss when they want to have a BMW.

The neighbor has an E46 with this engine. He has already put on about 4,000 and the car does not run as it should. I'm also slowly starting to look for these three and I'm afraid to go and watch. But the engine is rather m43b19. I had two of them, each I made about 50,000. km. And I praise myself. Valvetronic is out.

I think my colleague was interested in whether it would fall apart completely when he would drive like this. I am curious myself (I have m43 so that I don't want to sculpt).

helmud7543 wrote:

I think my colleague was interested in whether it would fall apart completely when he would drive like this. I am curious myself (I have m43 so that I don't want to sculpt).

But there's nothing you do to ride until it crashes and insert the m43 at cost.
It is foolish to invest in an engine n ......

wowka wrote:

[But the engine has the "advantage" of running quite decently with a faulty valvetronic....

It's been over 4 years, but I couldn't find anyone else on the forums who was going to drive with the valvetronic off for long.

I've probably got the same thing: shaft and cams to be replaced - as today it wouldn't start, check engine blinking, 2,3,4 cylinder ignition loss. So much so, I've had the car for a month - bought impulsively. After buying it I discovered the chassis was rotting at the back, dual mass and clutch to be replaced, shaft support, brakes to be done, manual. And now a couple of grand for cams and a couple of grand for a shaft + work? It's getting to be a bottomless pit - not sure what decision I'm going to make yet.

That's why this topic is important to me - to have confirmation from someone who has driven without valvetronic for a long time whether anything bad happened afterwards.

Nothing happens.... But sell that scab.

For anyone wondering if it is possible to drive the N42 without Valvetronic - YES. Having an automatic transmission, you need to unplug 1 plug from the VANOS solenoid valve. The car will start hard and for half a minute (summer) to 3 minutes restarting (winter) it will run like a tractor and shake all over. Then the check engine flashes and magically starts working normally. The combustion is slightly higher. I have been driving like this for over a year .

I tried unplugging other plugs. It would start normally, but the transmission would go into emergency mode.

There is a professional in Pomerania who can supposedly blow the Valvetronic out of the engine and go to throttle, just looking at the value of the debris, not sure if it's worth it as such a service is about £2k.

2,000zł for this model is like splunąć...... bmw is costs always and not small.