VANOS!! Help me please.

[Nick Hayden]

Hello everyone I need some help. So the problem is that I have rebuilding my vanos system in my e30 s52 swap. It is an 1999 s52. I torn everything apart with no problem and it was going great until I got to this. Picture below. I guess the guy before me tried to replace the vanos unit and completely destroyed the vanos piston nut. I have no clue on how to get it off. I have tried vise grips, heating it. I am limited on tools because I am at college right now. So could you guys please help me figure this out and how to get it off.
also there is a problem with finding a new nut/cap, I have called bmw, been on the internet for hours. I must not be looking in the right places. Does anyone know the part number or where i can get one fast.
Thank you!!!!

[JohnyEndo]

Might want to try giving dr vanos a call or scouting some junkyards

[atldohc]

Maybe you could try welding a smaller nut to it. There are used vanos units on eBay. Just type e36 vanos. If you need it faster I'd think a local pull a part that has some e36s would be your best bet

[Nick Hayden]

So i bought one on off ebay and just going to rebuild it.
But thanks everyone

[atldohc]

im sure you probably know this already, but just in case most sockets have a beveled edge right at the opening which doesnt do much good in gripping a shallow nut like on that vanos unit. remember to grind down your socket until it gets to the flat edges that will give a good grip on that nut. im guessing the guy before you used a regular socket and tried to gun it off.

[AndrewBird]

Mine stripped easily when I did mine as well. I ended up using one of these to get it out:

[Nick Hayden]

How did you get the nut back on after it was stripped??

[AndrewBird]

In my case, I was able to hammer the hex shape back to enough of a hex for a socket to work.

[Nutzy]

Make sure you use a six sided socket that has been shaved down to remove its chamfer.

Mine was in there pretty solid, it needed a fair bit of heat which suggests it had loctite on it.

[Bimmian89]

Is that the one that's inversely threaded? So you "tighten" it to actually loosen it?

[Nick Hayden]

I bought the socket from beisan systems that is already flatten down. But I will use heat when I get my replacement one this week.
And no this is not the one that is the left handed thread. That is the bolt that is under this nut/cap.

[JohnyEndo]

I had to take a hole saw to one of mine that seemed to be super glued in. Didnt want to do it but it had the vanos limiting shim inside that i needed for my sunbelts. I also had a freshly rebuilt dr vanos unit i wanted to put it in.