07 BMW 335I valve cover gasket- NOT a Jan project!

[antonmnster]

Did my valve cover gasket on my 2007 BMW 335i with 175,000 miles. The old one came out in about 130 pieces that had to be scraped and pried out. Not fun doing this in my very rickty garage at 5F with just an extension cord providing power for my propane heater and lights. Glad to be done!

 

[AntsinmyEyes]

nice work man

 

[Tomioka]

Hopefully it was easy like the time I had to do a 04 BMW 325i M54.

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
Hopefully it was easy like the time I had to do a 04 BMW 325i M54.

Nope! Lol the N52 N54/55 is a whole different ballgame.

 

[B320i]

Doesn't look too bad under there, shame the cams are covered by those stupid plastic (or are they metal now?) bits.

Did mine more or less a year ago now. Came off in one piece, but that rubber had turned into plastic over about 23 years! E36 Valve Train

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted By: antonmnster

Did my valve cover gasket on my 2007 BMW 335i with 175,000 miles. The old one came out in about 130 pieces that had to be scraped and pried out. Not fun doing this in my very rickty garage at 5F with just an extension cord providing power for my propane heater and lights. Glad to be done!


I never tackle any repairs during winter if I can avoid it. Tried to remove a PCV valve once and it cracked in two.

 

[demarpaint]

It looks great! In my younger days I might have attempted that job at 5F. Now no thanks.

 

[Audios]

Recheck the bolts after a few hundred miles. These bolts are one time use and are meant to be replaced when removed. Ive had some come back for leaks and the bolts weren't getting snug, so had to replace them all.

 

[antonmnster]

It leaked a 3" puddle on the shop floor when I had it in for an alignment. That was a lot of oil for only standing for 30 minutes, so I couldn't see waiting any longer.

The m54 in my last car was pretty decent. The n54, as mentioned above, it TOTALLY different, and much harder. The wiring harness is a huge pain to deal with.

Anyway, glad it's done.

Of course ANOTHER ignition coil is on its way out. My new set of those arrives tomorrow, which will give me a chance to see if the VCG is holding up ok.

 

[jeepman3071]

The problem with the plastic valve covers on these is they can crack around the bolts (usually if too tight) or warp, which makes them leak again. The covers aren't cheap to replace either. The job isn't terribly difficult, but for whatever reason leaning over in that position working like that made my back ache for a few days after. And I don't really have back problems.

 

[Audios]

Originally Posted By: antonmnster
It leaked a 3" puddle on the shop floor when I had it in for an alignment. That was a lot of oil for only standing for 30 minutes, so I couldn't see waiting any longer.

The m54 in my last car was pretty decent. The n54, as mentioned above, it TOTALLY different, and much harder. The wiring harness is a huge pain to deal with.

Anyway, glad it's done.

Of course ANOTHER ignition coil is on its way out. My new set of those arrives tomorrow, which will give me a chance to see if the VCG is holding up ok.


Might as well do the plugs if you haven't been in there recently. In another BMW stroke of engineering genius, the PCV is built into the valve cover. Valve cover $505, bolts $55, and about 5.5 hours labor IIRC.

 

[antonmnster]

I did the plugs last summer.

I had a miss start up this week. One of the coils broke off. Took me 3 hours to get the bits out of the spark plug holes. Popped the plugs out, 4 and 5 are wet. Dried them off, got the new coils in. Still have a miss.

Really hoping it's not injectors - again.

This car is a total pain.