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      04-13-2016, 03:28 PM   #1
F80_edd57
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F80 /82 M3 & M4 Valve Cover Gasket DIY

I have had a valve cover gasket leak on my M3 for sometime now , took me a while to find out why I was going thru a Quart of oil every 2-3 weeks . Figured it was normal for BMW considering the miles I was driving . As we know how the BMW Pcv system is set up by the engine breathing thru the into the crank case by 6 small ports right on the edge of the valve cover. If the valve cover has a slight leak this will and did affect the cars venting system and will cause excess crankcase pressure .I was constantly getting oil in my intake tract , and smoke out of my exhaust when taking off from a stop . After I did repair no more of these symptoms occurred.

I am not a mechanic nor do I take any responsibility if you decide to go this route I take no respobsibility if anything goes wrong on your behalf . I decided to do this DIY due to the s55 being new and not having much info out there with these cars yet . This is my first DIY write up so bare with me .

Tools needed:
-Hex Drive Socket Set Metric
-Torque Ft Lbs Ratchet
-New Valve Cover Gaskets
-Valve cover bolts (Optional In my right mind I think you can at least get 2-3 uses out of a set before due for a change)
-Optional (RV Grey Gasket Maker)
-Variety oft Open end wrenches and sockets

Step 1 :
-Remove Neg (-)Battery Terminal

Step 2:
-Remove the 2 Charge pipes using a 6mm Socket for 1 clamp Up-Top and 8mm socket for the lower bolt on the Turbo Inlet
-Remove intakes (procedure varies on if you have aftermarket or Oem
-Step 3:
Remove coil Harness and grounds,fuel injector Pigtails. I taped these up and labeled them for each bank Just in case .

Step 4:
-Loosen and remove with a 14mm open end wrench fuel injector rails Leads

-Remove fuel Rail Lines two bolts in pic down below and also the 4 above the intake manifold inlets (I removed rubber gourmet by oil filter houses to be able to move around the Heat exchanger to making these more accessible).Assuring you let the car cool down(please don't do this after you have just driven the car, there will be pressure in the line! Wait 2 hours or so before doing so.

Step 5:
Remove Aluminium Brace and plastic Drainage Guard
(Don't forget the 2 Hex bolts in center of lower windshield under plastic caps)

Step 6

-Now you can finally start loosening up the Valve cover .
-the rear 3 bolts are tricky as I had to have my gf with smaller hands access them for me . I kept dropping my sockets and wrenches back there and lost over 5 8mm sockets lol.

Step 7:
-now that you have the valve cover off I removed any oil or debri along the head brim and cleaned it up nicely.
-I also cleaned out my valve covers vent system with compresser and some intake cleaner as this gets quite dirty and your engine will thank you for it

Step 8:
- (optional) use grey Rv deal around corners (or where you think best suits)

-Place 3 square gaskets and main valve cover gasket inside of cover , make sure it's pressed in there good will make it easier when setting cover on head.Put all hardware in bolt holes

-Once cover is on head I finger fed each bolt under hand tight, then I went around with torque ft/lbs wrench and brought them all to 7lbs . The manner I torqued them down in was a star fashion from outside In bringing them down so I did a total of 3 cycles and (1) last final snug to make sure everything was dialed in.

-All of these were torqued down to 7lbs. I did not have factory torque specs for this as I simply went about a torque procedure of torquing down valve cover to half of spark plugs.

Step 9:
- Do disassembly procedure in reverse fashion then enjoy
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      04-13-2016, 03:31 PM   #2
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And..... Why are you doing this? Did I miss why you didn't go in for warranty work?
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      05-06-2016, 09:49 PM   #3
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the valve cover gasket is covered under warranty....
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      05-08-2016, 10:36 AM   #4
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A for effort, but why?
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      05-29-2016, 02:42 AM   #5
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Did you take it to the dealer at any point?

I also have the same problem of oil consumption every 2 weeks and took it to the dealer and they said they saw no leaks, I will try and take it again and point out what your problem was..
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      03-21-2017, 12:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F80_edd57 View Post
I have had a valve cover gasket leak on my M3 for sometime now , took me a while to find out why I was going thru a Quart of oil every 2-3 weeks . Figured it was normal for BMW considering the miles I was driving . As we know how the BMW Pcv system is set up by the engine breathing thru the into the crank case by 6 small ports right on the edge of the valve cover. If the valve cover has a slight leak this will and did affect the cars venting system and will cause excess crankcase pressure .I was constantly getting oil in my intake tract , and smoke out of my exhaust when taking off from a stop . After I did repair no more of these symptoms occurred.

I am not a mechanic nor do I take any responsibility if you decide to go this route I take no respobsibility if anything goes wrong on your behalf . I decided to do this DIY due to the s55 being new and not having much info out there with these cars yet . This is my first DIY write up so bare with me .

Tools needed:
-Hex Drive Socket Set Metric
-Torque Ft Lbs Ratchet
-New Valve Cover Gaskets
-Valve cover bolts (Optional In my right mind I think you can at least get 2-3 uses out of a set before due for a change)
-Optional (RV Grey Gasket Maker)
-Variety oft Open end wrenches and sockets

Step 1 :
-Remove Neg (-)Battery Terminal

Step 2:
-Remove the 2 Charge pipes using a 6mm Socket for 1 clamp Up-Top and 8mm socket for the lower bolt on the Turbo Inlet
-Remove intakes (procedure varies on if you have aftermarket or Oem
-Step 3:
Remove coil Harness and grounds,fuel injector Pigtails. I taped these up and labeled them for each bank Just in case .

Step 4:
-Loosen and remove with a 14mm open end wrench fuel injector rails Leads

-Remove fuel Rail Lines two bolts in pic down below and also the 4 above the intake manifold inlets (I removed rubber gourmet by oil filter houses to be able to move around the Heat exchanger to making these more accessible).Assuring you let the car cool down(please don't do this after you have just driven the car, there will be pressure in the line! Wait 2 hours or so before doing so.

Step 5:
Remove Aluminium Brace and plastic Drainage Guard
(Don't forget the 2 Hex bolts in center of lower windshield under plastic caps)

Step 6

-Now you can finally start loosening up the Valve cover .
-the rear 3 bolts are tricky as I had to have my gf with smaller hands access them for me . I kept dropping my sockets and wrenches back there and lost over 5 8mm sockets lol.

Step 7:
-now that you have the valve cover off I removed any oil or debri along the head brim and cleaned it up nicely.
-I also cleaned out my valve covers vent system with compresser and some intake cleaner as this gets quite dirty and your engine will thank you for it

Step 8:
- (optional) use grey Rv deal around corners (or where you think best suits)

-Place 3 square gaskets and main valve cover gasket inside of cover , make sure it's pressed in there good will make it easier when setting cover on head.Put all hardware in bolt holes

-Once cover is on head I finger fed each bolt under hand tight, then I went around with torque ft/lbs wrench and brought them all to 7lbs . The manner I torqued them down in was a star fashion from outside In bringing them down so I did a total of 3 cycles and (1) last final snug to make sure everything was dialed in.

-All of these were torqued down to 7lbs. I did not have factory torque specs for this as I simply went about a torque procedure of torquing down valve cover to half of spark plugs.

Step 9:
- Do disassembly procedure in reverse fashion then enjoy
Just to be clear, when you say valve cover, you mention about the cylinder head cover in real oem parts(11127846359) ? I really have the same problem and I'm trying to solve it. For how long a good mechanic needs to spend time fix it?
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      03-21-2017, 03:37 PM   #7
mrgicm
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How do you know you have a bad gasket? Can you see the leak?
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      03-21-2017, 04:18 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mrgicm View Post
How do you know you have a bad gasket? Can you see the leak?
No but PCV hose has liquid oil in it and I have the same problem low rpm and idle heavy white smoke when car comes to a stop like some smoke is being released. Either bad gasket or the valve(which I'm not sure at this point existing but a mechanic mentioned) inside the cylinder cover part I mentioned is not working.
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      12-04-2018, 11:02 PM   #9
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I just got a 2015 m4 with about 45k miles. Definitely has an oil leak, seems like the valve cover.

Is this a common issue?
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      08-14-2019, 10:05 PM   #10
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Is it bad to reuse the old bolts?
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      08-16-2019, 08:23 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yasavguy View Post
Is it bad to reuse the old bolts?
You should replace them all.
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      08-16-2019, 03:42 PM   #12
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Can someone give me valve cover bolts part #?
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      08-16-2019, 04:10 PM   #13
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Will it leak if I reuse the old bolts? The OP said that you can get 2-3 uses out of a set..so I am not sure..
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      08-16-2019, 04:40 PM   #14
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Thank you for posting this! Some of us are not in warranty so this DIY is helpful.
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      01-19-2020, 03:40 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yasavguy View Post
Will it leak if I reuse the old bolts? The OP said that you can get 2-3 uses out of a set..so I am not sure..
No it won’t. You don’t need to replace a bolt that’s being torqued to 7lbs
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      03-24-2021, 11:06 AM   #16
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My car is with the AD now and i was informed i need to have the VCG replaced.

It's a 2015 F83 with 91K km.

Total cost is 584 USD thereabout.
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      05-09-2021, 06:10 PM   #17
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Anyone have the photos of this DIY? I am replacing the valve cover gasket. Not sure how to disconnect the fuel rail.
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      05-10-2021, 07:01 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karussell View Post
Anyone have the photos of this DIY? I am replacing the valve cover gasket. Not sure how to disconnect the fuel rail.
This might help. I had to remove the intercooler to reach the bolts holding down the fuel rail.
Attached Images
   
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      12-25-2023, 10:36 PM   #19
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Do you have the part number for the gasket?
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