[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

So how difficult really is this infamous valve cover gasket swap? Can anyone tell me about all of that? I'm new to the scene here. Is the VCG swap a common maintenance item? Factory schedule maintenance? I've never had to swap a valve cover gasket for any reason other than because I removed a valve cover to do a mod (cams, etc.). My car has less than 30,000 miles on her, so I feel like a VCG swap is a long way off..... Is the job (VCG) really so bad? Why?

The valve cover gasket is not that hard of a job. I have the '06 N52 with the magnesium valve cover, which has a slightly different valve cover gasket set and needs new valve cover bolts because they are one-time use aluminum. The '07 and afterwards N52 has a plastic valve cover that uses steel bolts. Just make sure you get all the gaskets which includes the main profile gasket, gaskets for the spark plug wells, the ESS gasket, and the oval gasket for the Valvetronic motor.

The hardest issues are removing the PVC vent hose without cracking it in half (I did). One Poster came up with a good solution, which is use a hose clamp to squeeze the vent hose connector's tabs to remove it. holding the main profile gasket in place is problematic, some guys use fishing line or dental floss to tie it in place through the bolt holes in a few places. I used gasket maker on both sides to hold it in place. Finally, you really have to get the massive amount of harness cables held out of the way because it is a tight fit to get the cover back on the head. I pulled the ECU cover and popped all the harnesses out of their sealing grommets and tied them up and out of the way, or get a 2nd person to lend a third hand.