Possible Vanos problem, need some opinion
 

Hi,

my 1998 M3 with 110,000 miles finally has some problem I can sink my teeth into. History: well maintained but driven aggressively. Very regular oil changes.

Last week, I have noticeable engine vibration at anything above 3000 RPM so I parked the car and checked it out. Symptoms are:

1. Car starts fine, idles even reasonably well
2. Rev the engine in neutral you will see engine vibration, possibly from bad timing causing misfiring, coming down to idle is worse than going up but it is still there.
3. There is a noise near the front of the engine, sounds like a chain dragging, slight noise, noticeable, but not obnoxious.

I have checked all coils and they pass with good resistance, all spark plugs also pass.

I have changed the main tensioner today and it did not help, same problem.

No engine code (i have a code reader).

I popped open the valve cover and it looks like the Vanos is not stuck open because the plunger is all the way seated (but that does not mean it works). I looked at the secondary tensioner and it looks like it tensions ok, but there is no way to tell.

So, before i start swapping out more expensive items, can someone tell me if they have had the same sounds before and how they solved it.

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