[Island Road]

Originally Posted by allan

After replacing the cracked valve cover (compl set) I have the following phenomenon - see below pictures -
After every drive I can see oil accumulating on the heat shield/tray on top of the turbos. I checked the Valve Cover / Gasket. All is dry.
Now I realized that the oil "bubbles" out of the fold of the heat shield/tray. The shield is bolted on only. Where the heck is the oil coming from ??? Any idea?

Originally Posted by buzz1560

Mines doing the same thing? Weird right?

Originally Posted by adevangel84

Same issues with my car. I changed the valve cover gasket and i still get oil accumulating in that same area. No visible crack on valve cover and can't seem to trace where the oil is coming from. Any one here have any idea?

Originally Posted by skatz1922

Having similar issue. Were you able to figure out the cause of that leak? I changed the VCG thinking this was causing the leak but I guess not.

Wondering if any of you ever figured this out? I am still having this issue and can't for the life of me trace this down.

Work that was done -

Replaced VC everything new.
Wiped surfaced to make sure everything was clean
Re-torqued all the bolts after the engine warmed up - was able to get a few quarter turns out of some.
At the same time replaced my oil cap with a new one

I am going to try and take that whole shelf off, clean it really good. I also bought an Oil leak detector kit so I can get to the bottom of this was well. If you guys figured it out let me know. I am thinking I should've used some sealant as well just to make sure everything is 100%.

[ralo]

Any answers on the mystery oil leak? Just like some of you have done ,I also did my vc gasket along with the ofh gasket that needed to be done and I still have oil on the dam heat shield tray.My vc is in excellent condition too so it isn't cracked or warped. This is driving me crazy

[BeastMode335i]

I forgot to install the spark plug guides until after the VC was already reinstalled.. Should I expect any issues because of this..??

[najin23]

You can still install the guides from the top to bottom. Push them in and tap it gently with a flat head.

[mayno]

i live in the So Cal area (San Gabriel - Arcadia/Pasadena area), anyone want to do this DIY and replace the oil filter gasket for $350? if so, please PM me. thanks.

[Turbo_power4ever]

Does everyone torque the fuel lines back on or just snug them with a wrech?

[Jklad]

Originally Posted by Turbo_power4ever

Does everyone torque the fuel lines back on or just snug them with a wrech?

Snug them good n tight

[Turbo_power4ever]

Jus started my valve cover replacement. Pulled my 3rd coil pack. Does anyone know what the little pieces are? Its got a shitload of oil but i never got any misfires.

[weq92f]

I just completed this on my 89k '07 E90 335 w/oil cooler. Somebody had been here before unfortunately as I found numerous items left untidy and or broken completely! One thing stood out though and it was the two marked bolts holding the wire "loom" down to the VC. Reached down to put my socket on there and found them both just sitting there not attached to anything. Oh, the "stud" sticking up where one had broken above the threshold was holding the "loom" just a bit, but the other was just riding along. Shocker neither of them vibrated out. This car's been in my care for 7 years and I have never done this job. It was either the CPO dealer or somebody before them. No worries, but, those bolts were broken. I suspect the tech was putting thing back together when they broke.

The studded one just screwed right out. I had a replacement solution on hand ( matching thread bolt and some washers ). After one half-@ssed attempt to extract the other ended in quick failure, I just left it.

Replacing those two fasteners is probably a good thing to do.

The PCV tube running across the back of the VC ended up being problematic for me even though I disconnected the tube from the master line and removed the VC with it still attached! I started trying to remove it from the VC while I had things on the bench. Bad move, ended up breaking the thing anyway. Would have been far more difficult to install VC with it still attached though.

Thanks, excellent writeup!

-weq

[Ihave1]

Originally Posted by ralo

Any answers on the mystery oil leak? Just like some of you have done ,I also did my vc gasket along with the ofh gasket that needed to be done and I still have oil on the dam heat shield tray.My vc is in excellent condition too so it isn't cracked or warped. This is driving me crazy

Were you able to figure out the mystery leak? I just did mine this weekend and have oil bubbling out of the seam on the heat shield. I am hoping it is just residual oil that had accumulated up in the folded over seam that is now coming out. My oil filter housing gasket it also a bit leaky so it could be that, but the oil is not continuous along the shield so it would have to be magically jumping from place to place. I replaced the whole valve cover so it can't be a crack. At least I hope not...

[Donutz]

Try replacing the oil filler cap. I would suggest pulling the engine sound cover and with a paper towel or rag, squeeze the foam liner to absorb any oil.

[Ihave1]

Originally Posted by Donutz

Try replacing the oil filler cap. I would suggest pulling the engine sound cover and with a paper towel or rag, squeeze the foam liner to absorb any oil.

I replaced the filler cap with the valve cover, but that is a great point about the foam having absorbed oil. I will check it out. Thanks!

[Island Road]

Originally Posted by Ihave1

Were you able to figure out the mystery leak? I just did mine this weekend and have oil bubbling out of the seam on the heat shield. I am hoping it is just residual oil that had accumulated up in the folded over seam that is now coming out. My oil filter housing gasket it also a bit leaky so it could be that, but the oil is not continuous along the shield so it would have to be magically jumping from place to place. I replaced the whole valve cover so it can't be a crack. At least I hope not...

Has the same thing, used a bit of gasket seal went away. Also try re-torquing the bolts again.

[Ihave1]

Originally Posted by Island Road

Has the same thing, used a bit of gasket seal went away. Also try re-torquing the bolts again.

Good thought, I will try to re-torque them this weekend. I went to 8.5NM as the shop manual for my N54 135i calls for. That is a bit higher than the 335i so I hope that was not somehow too much.

[drevan]

Due to recent event i added Valve cover gasket to my Oil Filter/Cooler housing gaskets things to do. Since "im there" what else should i change/upgrade that fails within the 90k miles range?

[ralo]

I removed the tray from the side of the block to get a good look at things and tightened down on the the bolts just a little more because I did not want to risk cracking anything and its been fine ever since .I also think the gaskets could possibly just need a little time to seat right because even after my last adjustments I saw oil but it just stopped completely after about a day.

[GetSomeE92]

Great DIY. But a word to the wise: Do not use a cheap torque wrench. The one I have has worked without a problem for a long time, but when I set it to 7 foot pounds it never clicked and resulted in two bolts shearing off in the head. F my life. And F me for trying it on a second bolt after it failed me on the first.

[robc1976]

Originally Posted by GetSomeE92

Great DIY. But a word to the wise: Do not use a cheap torque wrench. The one I have has worked without a problem for a long time, but when I set it to 7 foot pounds it never clicked and resulted in two bolts shearing off in the head. F my life. And F me for trying it on a second bolt after it failed me on the first.

VERY true! Most torque wrenches don't go that low. Also, pull torque wrench end with 2 fingers on very end or you will not hear a click.

[RCOLEMAN545]

I found this DIY very helpful doing my own valve cover, MAKE SURE that the gasket is flat, especially on the passenger rear corner where it is hard to get, and MAKE SURE you use the correct torque and torque sequence. I tried to rush, and ended up doing the job twice, TAKE YOUR TIME.

[Turbo_power4ever]

Originally Posted by RCOLEMAN545

I found this DIY very helpful doing my own valve cover, MAKE SURE that the gasket is flat, especially on the passenger rear corner where it is hard to get, and MAKE SURE you use the correct torque and torque sequence. I tried to rush, and ended up doing the job twice, TAKE YOUR TIME.

wow that sucks. my torque wrench didnt read low enough and since this is my only car i hand tightened all the screws... lol i just went around randomly from one side to the other and back an fourth as my sequence. at the end i probably turned all those screws like 1/16 of a turn like 5 times. lol luckily for me everything went smooth

[Turbo_power4ever]

Originally Posted by GetSomeE92

Great DIY. But a word to the wise: Do not use a cheap torque wrench. The one I have has worked without a problem for a long time, but when I set it to 7 foot pounds it never clicked and resulted in two bolts shearing off in the head. F my life. And F me for trying it on a second bolt after it failed me on the first.

f@!k i would have been pissed!

[Donutz]

Did this yesterday. Thank you for the diy.

Broke the rubber boot off of 3 coil packs, but otherwise everything else went fine. New coil packs should arrive tomorrow, so I'll start the car then and see if it still runs.

I couldn't remove the bar that goes from the shock mount point to the firewall, but everything still went fine. Removing the old valve cover was a pain due to the spark plug guides. Installing the new valve cover was much easier as I left the guides out.

One tip I would add, for those changing the valve cover, is to completely pull the bolts out of the old cover. I loosened them all, but somehow a couple would grab a thread before I pulled the cover off, preventing me from being able to get the cover off. After pulling the bolts out the cover popped off easily.

If your budget allows, get a 1/4 drive torque wrench. Mine is in inch lbs, and cost about $25 cdn. Well worth the investment.