Just done today. I had an experienced hand help me, "shipkiller" who did his already. (see http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/499089)

Biggest catch of the day: The vanos unit could NOT be removed from the engine bay. It was held in place due to lack of clearance between the south-west most stud, and the frame brace. shipkiller found this to be the same on his, but after some twisting his could be released. Mine simply could not, we tried for over 30 minutes of twisting and turning. We had to re-install it, cover the engine, and hacksaw off ~3 threads worth of the mount stud. After this, it could be squeezed out between the frame and the studs.

I don't think this is a fluke. There is VERY LITTLE clearance on the Z4 to work with. Be prepared to take action to get the vanos out. A mirror tool and several sizes of small socket extensions were also necessary to get the lower nuts off.

My car: 2005 Z4 3.0i SMG, US model. 32k miles. I had just begun to notice lower RPM bogging when I found out about this site and read of the issue. My immediate post install reaction is that the engine is quieter, and some hesitation seems to have been removed. I hope to drive another 500 - 1000 miles and then report on better findings.

Immediately following the procedure, I did a 200+ mile highway trip, and received excellent fuel economy (32mpg) actual calculated at fill up, not just what the OBC says. I will be tracking mileage and report on any economy difference post gasket install.

• Another Z4 M54B30 done - reach 2008-05-04 09:48:47 (178 views)
  • Thanks for the feedback! (nt) - Rajaie 2008-05-05 21:26:02 (80 views)
    • Re: Thanks for the feedback! (pic) - reach 2008-05-06 10:28:44 (172 views)
      • Amazing how nice and clean your's is... I bought mine with 68K - bosoxfan 2008-05-16 20:08:31 (83 views)
        • Re: 800km and all is well - kobus 2008-05-17 12:39:31 (97 views)
        • Mine at 104K, with BMW Synthetic (pic) - bosoxfan 2008-05-16 21:11:48 (103 views)
      • Thank you! (nt) - Rajaie 2008-05-06 13:46:16 (67 views)