DIY: S65 Throttle Actuator

If you are reading this thread and plan to do this work yourself in the near future, can you take a close up photo of the screw head for the screw that holds the throttle actuators in place? Looking for the "grade" markings. With that info, the torque value can be looked up and added to this thread. It most likely reads 8.8, 10.9 or 12.2 on the screw somewhere, just not sure which one. Thanks.

So over the past few months I've started to get the dreaded limp mode that was triggered by a faulty bank 1 throttle actuator. Codes were pulled via my OBDII scanner so they were generic codes. Everything pointed to bank 1 being the culprit.

Bank 1 was replaced with a brand new TVA this weekend and the limp mode issue will now only occur with the car hot. It used to trigger limp mode all the time. Frustrated I had a local indy shop use their scanner to pull codes and I'm getting the following:

CDC0 - Throttle-valve actuator CAN message, bank 2.
2B15 - Throttle-valve actuator, governor monitoring, bnak 1.

Seems bank 2 is bad as well? I can wrap my head around that possiblity, the car has 180k miles on it now as my DD. BUT why is it still throwing codes for bank 1 which is brand spankin new?

Tips or suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

Strick wrote

Tips or suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

Dirty throttle bodies that are difficult to open and close could be contributing factor to throttle body actuator failure, especially with 180k miles. Give this DIY a try and see if it helps any.

EDIT: This suggestion is just to remove carbon buildup on the butterfly vslves/throttle body intakes only so they return to near new cleanliness. I can't find any recommendation from BMW to add lubricant to the throttle body linkages. Some users swear by it, but be warned some have reported additional problems after doing that.

Strick wrote

Bank 1 was replaced with a brand new TVA this weekend and the limp mode issue will now only occur with the car hot. It used to trigger limp mode all the time. Frustrated I had a local indy shop use their scanner to pull codes and I'm getting the following:

CDC0 - Throttle-valve actuator CAN message, bank 2.
2B15 - Throttle-valve actuator, governor monitoring, bnak 1.

Seems bank 2 is bad as well? I can wrap my head around that possiblity, the car has 180k miles on it now as my DD. BUT why is it still throwing codes for bank 1 which is brand spankin new?

Tips or suggestions welcome.

Thanks!

Generally said, always change both at the same time. They really fail at the same time.

The comment on dirty / rough running linkage is a good one. I lubed mine and clearly noticed afterwards that they were running much smoother (also without the squeaking noise).

Recommendations:
(1) try manually if they run smoothly, lube them properly
(2) swap actuators from left to right bank, see if the failure follows the actuator
(3) i think you will generally a new actuator for bank 2 as well, so go buy a new one and do step (1) also

tlinortn wrote

Generally said, always change both at the same time. They really fail at the same time.

The comment on dirty / rough running linkage is a good one. I lubed mine and clearly noticed afterwards that they were running much smoother (also without the squeaking noise).

Recommendations:
(1) try manually if they run smoothly, lube them properly
(2) swap actuators from left to right bank, see if the failure follows the actuator
(3) i think you will generally a new actuator for bank 2 as well, so go buy a new one and do step (1) also

I don't recommend changing both at the same time for no reason personally. Mine failed 30k miles/48k km apart. There's absolutely no reason to waste $600 if it's not needed in my opinion.

Once you've done this DIY once, it should be much quicker the next time around. For what it's worth, my second TVA failed at 88k miles (I saw no signs that it was replaced before warranty ran out on the car), so sometimes you can get lucky.

well it seems even after replacing the gears preventatively, my electronics have appeared to have gone bad. I haven't taken it apart yet but man i really thought I had the mechanical side of the actuator pretty well refreshed from my previous rebuilds.

Being the curious type and since now I am overly committed to fixing these actuators myself after replacing gears, bearings and rebuilding them about 3 times each.....I just ordered like 6 different ICs to replace on my circuit board in my code throwing actuator.

I am going to inspect my linkages too... even though I have lubed them twice with 3M spray in the last year. I had a odometer gear crack after the last time I lubed them so I got a little shy on lubing them and it's probably been 6 months since now. I really haven't put that many miles on since.

I let you guys now how it goes.... I was really hoping fresh gears would extend the actuator life 10-20k miles at least. I think it's only been 7k miles max since I changed the gears and I had to crack them open twice in that time. Once from that gear cracking after lubing linkages and once to change the bearings. I had sprayed the silicone on the actuator shaft during reassembly and it gummed up the bearings. I suppose it's possible the bearing is gummed up again. Apparently it's impossible to completely remove silicone from metal from what I read. I had cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol as best I could.

drummer20 wrote

well it seems even after replacing the gears preventatively, my electronics have appeared to have gone bad. I haven't taken it apart yet but man i really thought I had the mechanical side of the actuator pretty well refreshed from my previous rebuilds.

Being the curious type and since now I am overly committed to fixing these actuators myself after replacing gears, bearings and rebuilding them about 3 times each.....I just ordered like 6 different ICs to replace on my circuit board in my code throwing actuator.

I am going to inspect my linkages too... even though I have lubed them twice with 3M spray in the last year. I had a odometer gear crack after the last time I lubed them so I got a little shy on lubing them and it's probably been 6 months since now. I really haven't put that many miles on since.

I let you guys now how it goes.... I was really hoping fresh gears would extend the actuator life 10-20k miles at least. I think it's only been 7k miles max since I changed the gears and I had to crack them open twice in that time. Once from that gear cracking after lubing linkages and once to change the bearings. I had sprayed the silicone on the actuator shaft during reassembly and it gummed up the bearings. I suppose it's possible the bearing is gummed up again. Apparently it's impossible to completely remove silicone from metal from what I read. I had cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol as best I could.

Silicone lube tends to gum up. I last time I was cleaning and lubing the linkages I used a Teflon dry lube which I know doesn't gum up and dust won't stick. I plan to go back in again to check. I think I also put a few drops of gun oil on some places too. Improved the feel of the linkages but there was still a squeaky somewhere but I was tired after replacing the TVAsand wanted to be done.

Anyone know how I can get the DIY with the photos? Seems like its missing when trying to perform this DIY on page 1

nleeumd wrote

Anyone know how I can get the DIY with the photos? Seems like its missing when trying to perform this DIY on page 1

Yes that would be great fellas.

great DIY, just replaced bank 2 actuator due to failure which put the car into limp mode. was thinking to replace both but since this only took me 2 hrs to do i didnt see the point. i picked up an actuator from BMW for 722$ with tax. would have been cheaper online (~600$) but i would have to wait on shipping. since this is my DD i was ok with picking up the part which they had in stock and replacing it same day. i might just order the second one online to have on hand, since i plan to keep this car forever.

nleeumd wrote

Anyone know how I can get the DIY with the photos? Seems like its missing when trying to perform this DIY on page 1

Garage5 wrote

Yes that would be great fellas.

Hmm, not sure what happened with Photobucket. I'll try to migrate them to Flickr.

If you guys have any questions in the meantime, feel free to PM and I'll answer them if I can

car_craft wrote

great DIY, just replaced bank 2 actuator due to failure which put the car into limp mode. was thinking to replace both but since this only took me 2 hrs to do i didnt see the point. i picked up an actuator from BMW for 722$ with tax. would have been cheaper online (~600$) but i would have to wait on shipping. since this is my DD i was ok with picking up the part which they had in stock and replacing it same day. i might just order the second one online to have on hand, since i plan to keep this car forever.

If you're wanting to get a spare, get it through FCP Euro. Lifetime warranty on part as long as you are the owner. I'm also planning on keeping my car forever, so I can always send it out when it fails, rather than try to troubleshoot

W/// wrote

Hmm, not sure what happened with Photobucket. I'll try to migrate them to Flickr.

If you guys have any questions in the meantime, feel free to PM and I'll answer them if I can



If you're wanting to get a spare, get it through FCP Euro. Lifetime warranty on part as long as you are the owner. I'm also planning on keeping my car forever, so I can always send it out when it fails, rather than try to troubleshoot

Photobucket decided to say fuck you around a week ago and make people pay to third party host pictures at 40$ a month lol. I suggest Imgur. Don't understand why people have been using Photobucket

W/// wrote

Hmm, not sure what happened with Photobucket. I'll try to migrate them to Flickr.

If you guys have any questions in the meantime, feel free to PM and I'll answer them if I can



If you're wanting to get a spare, get it through FCP Euro. Lifetime warranty on part as long as you are the owner. I'm also planning on keeping my car forever, so I can always send it out when it fails, rather than try to troubleshoot

I ended up buying from FCP Euro, and replaced the pair of actuators, pretty easy over all, and like you, I plan on keeping the car for very long and like the lifetime warranty. Hopefully FCP is still around

I had replaced my gears about 5k miles ago and decided to open them up again:




They still look good. I see little to no wear at all.

ohhgourami wrote

I had replaced my gears about 5k miles ago and decided to open them up again:



They still look good. I see little to no wear at all.

Can't really see the half moon gear where the wear usually happens but I am happy to hear yours are going strong....

I am still getting TA codes occasionally and going into limp mode but
I noticed that I don't seem get the limp mode as much if I make sure to go WOT at least once every drive (assuming i didn't get limp mode that particular drive)....another excuse to haul ass haha

I was wondering if maybe the WOT helps dirt and grime from building up somewhat in the linkages...who knows

drummer20 wrote

Can't really see the half moon gear where the wear usually happens but I am happy to hear yours are going strong....

I am still getting TA codes occasionally and going into limp mode but
I noticed that I don't seem get the limp mode as much if I make sure to go WOT at least once every drive (assuming i didn't get limp mode that particular drive)....another excuse to haul ass haha

I was wondering if maybe the WOT helps dirt and grime from building up somewhat in the linkages...who knows

Luckily I took another pic when I had it open with only the half moon gear.



Yeah, I've heard others saying that dirty linkages as possibly the root cause of the gear issues. I haven't found a good way to clean them without taking everything apart.

I recorded the squeaky linkages: http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1400383

Yeah, I've heard others saying that dirty linkages as possibly the root cause of the gear issues. I haven't found a good way to clean them without taking everything apart.

Remove all the rods including the two connected to the actuators. Make sure shafts and butterflies move freely. Put a piece of paper towel inside the throttle bodies under the plates. Spray your preferred cleaning solution from inside the throttle bodies out (important). Wipe out and blow air the same way. Put a drop of your preferred lubricant on each interference contact point. Those Teflon dry stuff work good.

Forgot to mention: Do not take everything apart unless you are ready for some serious work. Sync those guys is not funny. Just my .02.

KawBoy wrote

Remove all the rods including the two connected to the actuators. Make sure shafts and butterflies move freely. Put a piece of paper towel inside the throttle bodies under the plates. Spray your preferred cleaning solution from inside the throttle bodies out (important). Wipe out and blow air the same way. Put a drop of your preferred lubricant on each interference contact point. Those Teflon dry stuff work good.

Would you mine highlighting these areas in a picture? That would be awesome and a lot of people would appreciate it.

Definitely not willing to take everything apart as it seems like a ton of work.

ohhgourami wrote

Would you mine highlighting these areas in a picture? That would be awesome and a lot of people would appreciate it.

Definitely not willing to take everything apart as it seems like a ton of work.

I wish I had a real picture (I might at another computer, will check tomorrow), but the one below will give you an idea.

There are two long rods and eight short ones (one and four on each bank); the long ones (#10 on the picture) connect the actuators to the shafts (#4) and the short ones (#9) each connects to an individual throttle body.
Disconnect the rods where they connect the shafts/throttle bodies with one of those trim removal tools (gently, but no worries) and then the clean/lube procedure. Let me know how it goes or if you need additional info.

Forgot to mention (again): no need to disconnect the long rods at the actuator end and the short ones at the shaft if you don't want to. Leave the long ones connected to the actuators and the short ones connected to the shaft (remove these at the plates).

I am taking this info from memory and memory not always serves me well, so please forgive me if the steps are not exactly like this, but the end result is the same.

I hope it helps.