Smoke in engine bay after replacing valve cover

[codys21]

I replaced the valve cover in my 2015 F83 because it was leaking a small amount of oil (I also replaced spark plugs with OEM and engine air filters with OEM) and when letting the car idle for a few minutes afterwards I noticed a little bit of smoke coming from around where the valve cover is. Everything seemed to be working properly and there were no error codes or lights on the dashboard. Today I took my car for about a 5-minute drive and when I got home it smelled like smoke again so I popped the hood and could see a little bit again. The picture below doesn't actually show smoke because there is not that much but it kind of shows from where the smoke is rising. Is this normal after a valve cover replacement? Or is there anything I should be worried about? I don't see any oil leaking or anything like that. And I cannot pinpoint the exact origin of the smoke.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by codys21

I replaced the valve cover in my 2015 F83 because it was leaking a small amount of oil (I also replaced spark plugs with OEM and engine air filters with OEM) and when letting the car idle for a few minutes afterwards I noticed a little bit of smoke coming from around where the valve cover is. Everything seemed to be working properly and there were no error codes or lights on the dashboard. Today I took my car for about a 5-minute drive and when I got home it smelled like smoke again so I popped the hood and could see a little bit again. The picture below doesn't actually show smoke because there is not that much but it kind of shows from where the smoke is rising. Is this normal after a valve cover replacement? Or is there anything I should be worried about? I don't see any oil leaking or anything like that. And I cannot pinpoint the exact origin of the smoke.

It could just be old oil burning off somewhere from the leak.

[codys21]

Originally Posted by N1rve

It could just be old oil burning off somewhere from the leak.

True. I did try to clean everything as well as I could. Even took the heat shield off and cleaned that in the sink.

[Jakester]

Originally Posted by codys21

True. I did try to clean everything as well as I could. Even took the heat shield off and cleaned that in the sink.

Damn, that's some thorough cleaning!
I wouldn't sweat the smoke, yet. Give it time to see if any residual burns off before getting too excited.

[codys21]

Originally Posted by Jakester

Damn, that's some thorough cleaning!
I wouldn't sweat the smoke, yet. Give it time to see if any residual burns off before getting too excited.

Here's the before and after; I think it was worth it haha. Also, figured this would help with residual burn off but yea I can wait a bit longer before worrying too much.

[spidy512]

Yo!

Mine took anout a week to burn off all the excess oil after my VG replacement. Keep an eye on it, but unless you see oil coming from the VG, I wouldn't worry too much.

Best,
josh