I used permatex gasket maker for the applicable areas under the VCG. Make sure you do the front AND rear semi-circle portions.

As for the Vanos there's 2 parts to the repair, the seals and the sleeves. The seals are a cakewalk, but the sleeves involve taking the pistons apart and dealing with the components inside. It can be a bit hairy if you haven't done a repair such as this before...I'd highly recommend readin both proceedures thoroughly before diving in.

Lastly you only need the soft grip vise jaws for the sleeve replacement, not for the seal replacement.

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