[E92TiAg335i]

Hey guys. I'm at 57k miles on a fbo e92 335i 6mt. I just took my car to the dealer to get a new battery a little while ago.

While there, the tech wrote "note: valve cover gasket starting to leak."

I looked and I didn't see anything.

Today, I think I started smelling the valve cover gasket ever so slightly.

How imperative is it for me to fix it immediately?

I drive a lot, but i'm also moving into a new place soon, so a lot of money will be spent on that.

Is the valve cover gasket super serious? How much should i pay for this job?

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

It's labor intensive in that there's a lot to remove to get it off. You don't need to do it right away, but you will notice your oil level drop over time if you wait long enough. You'll want to consider it in the future.

The dealer will charge close to $1,000 to do it. An indy will be $700-800 I'd guess. The DIY isn't hard, it just takes a little while.

[E92TiAg335i]

Bump. It's barely leaking. Is it still worth doing immediately?

[weehe126]

Where is it leaking from? Really the only concern is if it leaks enough to get on the serp belt.

[E92TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Where is it leaking from? Really the only concern is if it leaks enough to get on the serp belt.

It looks like it's leaking from the hot side on top of exhaust, definitely not near belt.

To be honest, i can't tell if it's leaking or just dirty (57k miles)...

[lwgrenier]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

It looks like it's leaking from the hot side on top of exhaust, definitely not near belt.

To be honest, i can't tell if it's leaking or just dirty (57k miles)...

It's probably leaking onto the downpipe from the back left corner of the cover.

That being said after I replaced my gasket I was at the dealer and they told me mine was leaking when it was not. They may have seen the old oil residue from before I replaced the gasket or they may have just been trying to rip me off.

Edit: My car was right around 60k when it started leaking though.

[tcphoto]

The VCG has been on the top of my list for awhile and it’s not an immediate issue. I’ll smell a little oil hitting the exhaust manifold every once in awhile so it may be smart to take care of it soon. I think the gasket is $42 and the DIY is about two hours including cleanup.

[weehe126]

Originally Posted by E92TiAg335i

It looks like it's leaking from the hot side on top of exhaust, definitely not near belt.

To be honest, i can't tell if it's leaking or just dirty (57k miles)...

I'd just wait for the pcv valve to go bad and get a new VC with gasket attached. You are getting to that mileage.

[lwgrenier]

Originally Posted by tcphoto

The VCG has been on the top of my list for awhile and it’s not an immediate issue. I’ll smell a little oil hitting the exhaust manifold every once in awhile so it may be smart to take care of it soon. I think the gasket is $42 and the DIY is about two hours including cleanup.

DIY is definitely longer than 2 hours, unless maybe you've done it 10 times.

Originally Posted by weehe126

I'd just wait for the pcv valve to go bad and get a new VC with gasket attached. You are getting to that mileage.

Yeah I wish I had just replaced my VC when I fixed mine.

[BurrNinja]

Mine was leaking at same spot, nothing major went wrong other then oil burning at times when you open hood. Also you will eventually get oil burning smell in vents when idle with air on and I will tell you it's not pleasent. I did mine myself took roughly 4-5 hours. Not terrible for me at least since I've done one before it on my e90. It's a good learning experience IMO cause you save tons working on your own car.

[EVC]

I would recommend replacing the valve cover along with the gasket. The cover contains other integrated components that you may as well refresh while your at it. The cover can suffer cracking over time so a new one would prevent you from redoing this in the future. You can get the set from FCP for $500-ish if I remember right. It's a pain to get it all apart but not overly technical. Plenty of good vids about this on YouTube.

[BurrNinja]

Originally Posted by EVC

I would recommend replacing the valve cover along with the gasket. The cover contains other integrated components that you may as well refresh while your at it. The cover can suffer cracking over time so a new one would prevent you from redoing this in the future. You can get the set from FCP for $500-ish if I remember right. It's a pain to get it all apart but not overly technical. Plenty of good vids about this on YouTube.

Yeah PCV system if fails it cause excess crankcase pressure and pull air in through both rear and front main seal causing them to rip. One way to test the system is pulling oil cap and if engine stumbles and you feel hard suction get it replaced asap. Oil will start to leak from seals and annoying squeal will be unbarable. Also purchase the crank case hose that's attached to the valve cover it can crack when taking off.

[EVC]

Agreed! That crankcase hose practically disinterested on me when I did my valve cover. Plan on replacing it along with the valve cover.

[philgli]

pro tip - after you do it, clean off all the oil residue from the leak. that way you can see if there is a new leak that develops.

I agree that a lot of times, the dealer may be seeing an old leak (or a leak from another area).

[11e92]

Hey guys anyone know where I can find a good video on how to replace a VC on a 2011 E92 N55. Mine is leaking and I already bought a VC from ECS tuning just looking for a really good video to help me along.

[paolotonzini]

It's not that hard there is videos on YouTube that you can fallow I did it for my first time in maybe 2 hrs-3, and I put an aftermarket valve cover and gasket set from ebay I payed like 150

[paolotonzini]

[paolotonzini]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EJULtHi3riKsgqmh7


https://photos.app.goo.gl/cMVsbEcnVRfPHt6Q9

[AJL]

Also, here's the actual instructions from TIS:

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...h-lid/CsT0IDpE

[Vulcan50]

Out of curiosity I called my local stealership after I did mine, they wanted $14XX. He stressed that was PARTS AND LABOR. My gasket was around $30. If I could have done it within interruptions and losing the tools I was just holding, probably 4 hours in my driveway. It's definitely easy enough to be a good intro to your engine bay!

[cranelec]

[QUOTE=weehe126;

I'd just wait for the pcv valve to go bad and get a new VC with gasket attached. You are getting to that mileage.[/QUOTE]

^+1!!!