3.0Si Valve/Rocker Cover Gasket

C

curvature

Member
I have a small leak on the valve cover towards the back of the engine so will be replacing the gasket over the few weeks or so.

Is there anything else I could do whilst doing this job?

Also if anyone could point me in the right direction for the parts required it would be appreciated.
 
Last Summer I replaced a valve cover (VC) gasket on my 2008 128i with the N52 3.0L six. For 2007 and up the VC is plastic and the captive* bolts (screws) are steel, which do not need replacing. I did the VC gasket not because it was leaking, but because of miles and age, AND the Eccentric Shaft Sensor (ESS) seal in the VC was leaking, and traces of oil were seeping into the ESS connector. So I did VC gasket, Valvetronic gasket, ESS ($$), and ESS seal.

Your steps are:
1) Remove the beauty cover and inspect the ESS seal and Valvetronic gaskets. Disconnect the ESS lead, and look at both the ESS and its seal. If there is no oil in the ESS, then you can get by replacing the VC gasket, the Valvetronic gasket, and the ESS Seal. The ESS seal cannot easily and properly be replaced without removing the VC.
2) If you find that there is oil actually in among the pins of the ESS itself (under the connector), then plan on replacing it as well. You don't want to have it fail and do the whole job over.

I will find and link the video(s) I used together with the Bentley manual to do this job - but I suspect they are linked somewhere on this site already.

* two VC bolts by the Valvetronic motor are not captive, that's normal

There are always way more one could do, but these 3 or 4 things go together
 
Here are some links which I found helpful - especially instructions on turning the Valvetronic motor to spin it out and then back into place without a need to re-program or code anything. Keep in mind that these videos are for chassis which bury the rear third of the engine - our Z4's are really much nicer to do this particular task !

https://blog.fcpeuro.com/n51-n52n-valve-cover-gasket-replacement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lu6YJ_io6E
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=990348
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=697252

I will undertake this either during the Winter on next summer as the miles accumulate on my Z4. Right now none of the three gaskets / seals are leaking.
 
Thanks very much for your help.

Mine is an 07 and has the magnesium cover.

Having viewed a few videos the Z4's have loads more room around the engine bay so looks to be a relatively simple job. The last time that I did something like this was over 20 years ago on a Fiat 1.6 8v engine! I think with newer engines it looks a little more daunting because of all the ancillary parts that you have to take off or move out of the way first.
 
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