[Drummin335i]

Attempted a valve cover gasket install over the weekend. Pretty major leak after 2 days. The center area of the valve cover leaked into the middle area and filled spark plugs holes 4, 5, and 6 at the rear of the motor. Also, the rear passenger fastener nearest to firewall was leaking down onto the exhaust causing some smoking! Lost about .5 qt of oil.

The vcg gasket is a Meistersatz gasket from FCP Euro. I ordered a few replacement fasteners in case some snapped during install. I ended up replacing the 3 center ground posts. Snapped the fastener closest to the oil filter, replaced that with no issues. All other fasteners checked out and looked good.

All fasteners on the valve cover to head were torqued to 75 inch-pounds. Was this too little? Rob's DIY states 7 to 7.5 ft-lbs, which is slightly more than 75 inch-pounds. I went with 75 inch-pounds because the manual posted on the last page of his DIY states 8.5 nm / 75 inch-pounds. [http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...75317&page=10]

I cleaned all the oil in the center area of the valve cover, and cleaned out the spark plug holes of oil. Should I just re-torque everything and test it out again or go ahead and buy a new gasket? I checked the torque after cleaning, and the problematic areas seemed to have loosened up after heat cycling or something. They were not as tight as the 75 inch-pounds I torqued them down to.

Thoughts? I know this is a straightforward job, but that big of a leak threw me off. Not really expected. I could understand some minor seepage.

[Jklad]

Originally Posted by Drummin335i

Attempted a valve cover gasket install over the weekend. Pretty major leak after 2 days. The center area of the valve cover leaked into the middle area and filled spark plugs holes 4, 5, and 6 at the rear of the motor. Also, the rear passenger fastener nearest to firewall was leaking down onto the exhaust causing some smoking! Lost about .5 qt of oil.

The vcg gasket is a Meistersatz gasket from FCP Euro. I ordered a few replacement fasteners in case some snapped during install. I ended up replacing the 3 center ground posts. Snapped the fastener closest to the oil filter, replaced that with no issues. All other fasteners checked out and looked good.

All fasteners on the valve cover to head were torqued to 75 inch-pounds. Was this too little? Rob's DIY states 7 to 7.5 ft-lbs, which is slightly more than 75 inch-pounds. I went with 75 inch-pounds because the manual posted on the last page of his DIY states 8.5 nm / 75 inch-pounds. [http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...7&page=10]

I cleaned all the oil in the center area of the valve cover, and cleaned out the spark plug holes of oil. Should I just re-torque everything and test it out again or go ahead and buy a new gasket? I checked the torque after cleaning, and the problematic areas seemed to have loosened up after heat cycling or something. They were not as tight as the 75 inch-pounds I torqued them down to.

Thoughts? I know this is a straightforward job, but that big of a leak threw me off. Not really expected. I could understand some minor seepage.

You'll want to triple check the torque you placed on each bolt, and also the order in which you torqued them. This is why it's best to by all new bolts.

Also, check that you didn't accidentally get the gasket caught on anything when you were reinstalling the cover, causing it to slip out of alignment.

Did you reuse the old valve cover? Check that you didn't nick or damage, or crack anything during the removal or reinstalls toon process.

[Drummin335i]

Will triple check torque again.

Gasket did not seem to have fallen out of alignment. Used some Permatex High Tack to help hold it in place during install. I went around the edges of the valve cover with a mirror to make sure the gasket was visible before torquing. Also felt for it physically by hand. Should be good.

Reused the original valve cover. There was one minor crack on the inside lip that holds the vcg maybe half of an inch long, most likely from inserting paint scraper trying to pry the cover off the first time. Sealed that small area with some extra RTV. It's in a different area than the oil leaks, and don't think it will be an issue for some time.

[Drummin335i]

Found the issue. The gasket was tucked up inside the valve cover, not sealing closest to injector 6. Hard to notice until you get an inspection mirror and some light up in there to verify. How annoying.

Swinging by the dealership and hopefully completing this job all over again tonight.

[LQQKOUT]

You should check the gasket first. Might be able to re-use it.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Had to do my personal VC twice.

Once cause I thought I only had to replace the gasket.

Second time cause once I was all done I realized the VC was cracked.

What a nightmare of an install for a "Valve Cover".

If you pinched the old gasket it might not be worth re-using. You need to use your best judgement on that.

I do like the idea of a torque wrench anywhere you can.

Just keep in mind with the VC that you need to go around as evenly as possible with the bolts.

The procedure for me was very tedious, as I went around and only tightened the bolts little by little to ensure I was tightening everything as evenly as possible.

I'll be honest, I didn't use a torque wrench, sometimes I do prefer my own hand to feel what's tight enough and what isn't. I wanted to make sure nothing was binding or stripping as that was a good indication it's not lined up or coming down evenly.

I'm not recommending this but my point is the VC is not as easy as just torquing down. I'm sure you know this since most people don't even use a torque wrench. Make sure you torque them down like you would the Heads. If you don't know what I mean, google the sequence of typical head bolts.

Just be patient with it next time around and make sure you get all aspects of it installed evenly 1 bolt at a time.

[Drummin335i]

Originally Posted by Jeff@TopGearSolutions

Had to do my personal VC twice.

Once cause I thought I only had to replace the gasket.

Second time cause once I was all done I realized the VC was cracked.

What a nightmare of an install for a "Valve Cover".

If you pinched the old gasket it might not be worth re-using. You need to use your best judgement on that.

I do like the idea of a torque wrench anywhere you can.

Just keep in mind with the VC that you need to go around as evenly as possible with the bolts.

The procedure for me was very tedious, as I went around and only tightened the bolts little by little to ensure I was tightening everything as evenly as possible.

I'll be honest, I didn't use a torque wrench, sometimes I do prefer my own hand to feel what's tight enough and what isn't. I wanted to make sure nothing was binding or stripping as that was a good indication it's not lined up or coming down evenly.

I'm not recommending this but my point is the VC is not as easy as just torquing down. I'm sure you know this since most people don't even use a torque wrench. Make sure you torque them down like you would the Heads. If you don't know what I mean, google the sequence of typical head bolts.

Just be patient with it next time around and make sure you get all aspects of it installed evenly 1 bolt at a time.

Where was your VC cracked? I checked mine pretty good, I believe it is okay.

Old gasket was pinched first time around. Did not want to risk reusing it, so went ahead with oem gasket from local dealer. I made sure to verify the gasket was in place with a mirror once the valve cover was reinstalled. Checked out good. Hand-tightened all bolts, and then used a torque wrench set to 75 in-lbs and went around in a pattern. Double and triple checked all of them.

A lot more confident this time around. Hoping this fixes my light oil consumption and minor smoking issues from exhaust.

[Riceball777]

The valve cover gasket install sucks. Took me all day and I had to do it twice. When I started my car oil leak out like crazy and I realized one defection of the gasket sliped off and I have to do it all over again. Before you start tightening the bolts you must make sure the gasket is seated correctly. I fully under stand why the dealers charge $1000 for this job.

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by Riceball777

The valve cover gasket install sucks. Took me all day and I had to do it twice. When I started my car oil leak out like crazy and I realized one defection of the gasket sliped off and I have to do it all over again. Before you start tightening the bolts you must make sure the gasket is seated correctly. I fully under stand why the dealers charge $1000 for this job.

Really? I did it my 1st time in 2.5hrs. I thought it was rather easy...The local dealership wanted 1850.

[Island Road]

Originally Posted by Torgus

Really? I did it my 1st time in 2.5hrs. I thought it was rather easy...The local dealership wanted 1850.

I did mine twice also, first time just replaced the gasket found out colver was cracked. Ordered a new kit, replaced it again and still getting a bit of a leak, thinking its pinched some place. The job is not that hard just PIA and easy to get wrong cause the gasket likes to move around.

Might end up doing it again. ugh

[j1gilles]

Originally Posted by Island Road

I did mine twice also, first time just replaced the gasket found out colver was cracked. Ordered a new kit, replaced it again and still getting a bit of a leak, thinking its pinched some place. The job is not that hard just PIA and easy to get wrong cause the gasket likes to move around.

Might end up doing it again. ugh

I only charge $175 to do a VC on a 335i when I do it on the side... It's not too bad once you figure it out. The trick is to get everything pulled out of the way before you reinstall the cover. [IMG][/IMG]

[j1gilles]

Bungee cords are you friends