Missing DISA Flap (Pin still present)
 

Whilst replacing some split piping today I removed the DISA and upon taking out the DISA, the flap was missing, although the pin was still there. I put my hand in the manifold to see if I could feel the flap, but nothing. I have done lots of search on the interweb and there are 2 possibilites, 1 that it snapped and is in the manifold or 2 that a previous onver removed it? either option, i have no real way of knowing unless i take a manifold apart. That said, what damage could the flap cause? and where could it work its way into? I have the car in the garage tomorrow and debating if the pay the garage to strip the manifold? would prefer not to.

Time to find a garage that has a fibre-optic camera. Like this:

https://store.snapon.com/Video-Scope...s-P742121.aspx

You can also get fiber optic cameras on ebay for less than $100 (I think I paid $20 for a usb one with led lighting), or harbor freight.

The only place it would go would be down the runners. I highly doubt it would enter the combustion chamber. If its in the manifold still and wasn't removed by the PO, it is probably blocking a decent amount of air to one or two of the cylinders. You can also just remove the manifold. It isn't that huge of a job. Since the car is already at the shop, just have them scope it. I would assume that they have one.

Wishful thinking, if a PO removed the flap, why did he leave the pin in there?

You are going to have to remove the intake manifold to locate the flap so might as well bite the bullet and get it done now instead of later. It might have travel as far as the head it self and is now stuck at one of the valve area.

Well using a borescope would negate the need to pull the mani.

There's a reason why the DISA valve is there. Drive ability will be the big issue.

And when the borescope do locate the flap will you just leave the flap in or will you use a borescope like in a colonoscopy to remove it? :bustingup

M50 intake if you want to get rid of the DISA Valve and probably the CCV.

The bit that secures the flap in the main body of the unit can be pushed in, therefore making it look like the flap may have worked its way loose. My garage guy is going to take the manifold apart and check for the flap and any damage. To be honest removimg the manifold will make it easier for him to replace the split pipe as it sits under the manifold.

Agree, the DISA problem only came to light upon trying to remove the boot, as i was unable to access the jubiliee clips holding the boot, therefore removed the DISA for better access and noticed the flap missing.

That depends on what you find. There are 2' long flexible grabber tools that most mechanics have to retreive dropped bolts. If it's in a really bad place, perhaps you do need to remove the manifold. But bottom line, a full investigation needs to be made.

I do think that the OP needs to ask himself if he's got the right mechanic if that mechanic does not have a Boroscope/fibre optic camera of some sort. It's really an essential tool to diagnose internal problems. Even for external issues, such as BMW V8 oil leaks, they are invaluable. I just had my Indy shop fix an oil leak on my E70. Without the camera, they would have had to remove the bottom plastic cover and aluminum reinforcement plate to see where the leak was. There's just so little room in the engine compartment. The camera showed that my leak was from the housing where the oil cooler lines enter the block, (oil thermostat). Repair was done through the driver's side fender well. EVERY decent shop should own one of these. Personally, I have a non-digital version at home, and those are pretty cheap, but still somewhat effective. Remember, it's on YOUR dime when your mechanic does not have the proper tools and has to do extra work to work around his deficiencies.

Woah. So I can swap my current intake on my m54 to an m50 intake and I get to remove the DISA and maybe the ccv? Has anyone done this? What are the pros and cons of this this? Seems like a good plan.

I know that people with M52 engines were swapping M50 intakes to get a little bit more power.

upallnight, you know the worst part of a colonoscopy for a Gold Coast housewife?

Finding shoes to match the bag. [Old joke, couldn't resist ....]

This was discussed on this forum.

m50 intake on m54 head?

On my E34 the throttle had a mechanical linkage and not a drive by wire setup. You will need to make an adapter plate for the throttle body.

Worse part is downing a gallon of water to flush out your colon.

Got car back and garage report they didnt find the flap or parts of flap, plus no damage internally. So it looks like someone decided to remove the flap at some point!!!! I will now look at either replacing the whole unit or buy the repair kit which flap.

^^If the vaccuum pot is good (you can test it easily) just get the GAS kit and rebuild it for $80

How can you test the pot?

BMW M54 DISA Repair Kit DIY

You probably will have to test using step #11 since you don't have a flapper valve.

However, I'm fairly certain your pot will be good since it rarely goes bad.

Cheers, will take a read. That said, was just searching and flap upgrade kit is around £70 ($100), but can get a brand new DISA unit for an extra £90. So may just go for the new unit.

Somebody bought disa repair kits on this site Repair kit Disa BMW ???
Included is a new vacuum membrane.

http://vanos-bmw.com/images/Disam54-30_small.jpg

^I would rather buy from the original (G.A.S.) and get support if needed. That website looks like a third grader made it.

hmmm ... I see they have a large range of products, including Kit to have m52tu and n52,53,54, which have no G.A.S.

Looks like a eastern european site, might be more convenient to some of our Euro posters than G.A.S. for delivery, support, etc. That may also explain some of the 'English as second language' website grammar.

Just inspected my DISA, everything is fine: flap, pin still in place.

However, as trader4 said, the DISA flap is like a human appendix.
So I am thinking "appendectomy" to prevent future engine damage.

Has anyone here removed the DISA flap + pin? What is the consequence?

While I gather it's possible to suck the parts into the engine, I would think this to be HIGHLY unlikely. The point where these fail is generally when the plastic pivot strips within the plastic flap. The actuator will then move the pivot around, (if it is working properly), but the flap will just swing in the breeze.

I just did one of these in my 325xi. VERY easy repair. The car was definitely off tune with the flap stripped, but I did several repairs all at once, (plugs, air filter, vanos seals, etc.,) and it certainly drives much better now. Having no flap would definitely be detrimental to performance. If your car has north of 100k miles, I would spring for the $85 and do the DISA. The repair kit uses a central shaft that would tremendously reduce the possibility of a future failure.

An X5 with a normally aspirated 6 cyl needs every ounce of available power.

Thanks @Skyline,

I was contemplating getting rid of the DISA flap, but I have changed my mind.

Just bought the German Auto Solution Kit online and will report back later.

I was lead to believe the same, but the below is a post I made on another thread about the same issue...

Previously I would have agreed with the above statement, but recently had an issue with rough running, running lean and the engine management light on. I found a split pipe and therefore replaced, expecting the problem to be fixed, but the engine still run rough and the light was still on. Therefore checked the disa value and the flap was missing, checked in manifold and no flap, therefore brought new flap and fitted. No car running fine, no longer running lean and light gone off, and all because I installed the missing flap.


As you can see by adding a new Disa flap, solved a few running problems for me.

I bought mine over a year ago, great kit.

The kit I brought was made how BMW should have made the flap in the first place. Made of metal and the pin running thorough the whole length of the flap and not just the ends.

Update,

Just installed the German Auto Solution kit (the $80 kit) on my 2006 X5 3.0i M54 engine.
No issue with DISA yet, but being paranoid LOL, I did the preemptive strike...


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Could use some help here. How to remove the DISA？？？ It may sound silly, but my dipstick tube is right in the way. No matter how I rotated the DISA, ther's still about 1" left in the hole, unable to fully extract. :dunno:

Any advice? Thanks a lot in advance.