Rocker cover & oil filter housing leaks - thoughts on what to address?

[j24]

Kind of ironic that after I start a thread about carrying out preventative maintenance for the water pump/thermostat, I notice I appear to have some non preventative maintenance to carry out!

Looks like I’ve got leaks coming from the rocker cover and oil filter housing.

I’ve got an N52K engine, and the car is on just under 85k miles.

The rocker cover leak is most likely the gasket - but I’m wondering if it makes sense for me to replace the actual rocker cover at the same time to save on costs further down the line? From what I’ve read contains the CCV because I’ve got the N52K engine, and the CCV seems to be something others address as preventative maintenance.

I wouldn’t want to pay my garage to replace the gasket and then have to go back a couple of years later for a new cover, when they could replace it now.

Likewise with the oil filter housing leak, is it work changing the belts and tensioner whilst they’re working in there?

Thanks all. Looking forward to the end of the fire fighting at some point!!

 

[j24]

If it’s not overkill to replace the entire rocker cover, does anyone have any experience with the Febi Bilstein cover and gaskets?

https://m.autodoc.co.uk/febi-bilstein/12829145

 

[Zedebee]

The CCV is more of a problem with the M54 engine fitted to the pre-facelift E85, as it doesn’t like short journeys in cold weather. I didn’t think this was so much of a problem with the N52 where the CCV was integrated into the cover, but I may be wrong.
The rocker cover gasket and the oil filter housing are common weak points for degrading gaskets. The rocker cover gasket may actually be OK, check it’s not just oil coming from the actuator gasket (actuator is cylindrical motor thingy halfway along exhaust side).

 

[j24]

The CCV is more of a problem with the M54 engine fitted to the pre-facelift E85, as it doesn’t like short journeys in cold weather. I didn’t think this was so much of a problem with the N52 where the CCV was integrated into the cover, but I may be wrong.
The rocker cover gasket and the oil filter housing are common weak points for degrading gaskets. The rocker cover gasket may actually be OK, check it’s not just oil coming from the actuator gasket (actuator is cylindrical motor thingy halfway along exhaust side).

Ah, thanks, good to know!

Good tip on the actuator gasket, I'll go and have another closer look to see if I can see any evidence of leaks around the actuator. Looks like that's a little bit of a quicker fix from the youtube videos I've seen.

Any idea if the plastic N52k rocker cover is susceptible to cracking over time, after going through a load of heating/cooling cycles?

I'm still 50/50 on whether I just replaced the rocker cover gasket or go for a full cover (with all new gaskets included) - If it's not the actuator gasket that is.

 

[Zedebee]

Any idea if the plastic N52k rocker cover is susceptible to cracking over time, after going through a load of heating/cooling cycles?

That’s beyond my experience I’m afraid. I had a 50k N52K and didn’t have that problem.
Hopefully someone else will be along to advise.

 

[Brouse]

I'll let someone else comment on the cover, I really dont know but usually the gasket as it was on mine (non N52k( Silver top? Magnesium cover anyway), but yea as mentioned worth checking valvetronic motor (actuator) also in case that's leaking/the cause of leak.

Not sure on CCV side, on mine its a unit nestled under the intake manifold.

Oil filter housing, bit of a pain to do but get on it if leaking, prob worth doing the serpentine belt in case of contamination (NB usually cheaper from direct from BMW than elsewhere, OEM is/was contitech). Get gaskets BMW just for peace of mind. Check tensioner, mine was solid so I left it.

 

[Brouse]

Ah here we go viewtopic.php?t=105709&start=45

Explains silver top/black top(N52k) differences so CCV is integrated in the black rocker cover (I wondered what the hockey puck looking thing was) and is servicable if required.

 

[j24]

I'll let someone else comment on the cover, I really dont know but usually the gasket as it was on mine (non N52k( Silver top? Magnesium cover anyway), but yea as mentioned worth checking valvetronic motor (actuator) also in case that's leaking/the cause of leak.

Not sure on CCV side, on mine its a unit nestled under the intake manifold.

Oil filter housing, bit of a pain to do but get on it if leaking, prob worth doing the serpentine belt in case of contamination (NB usually cheaper from direct from BMW than elsewhere, OEM is/was contitech). Get gaskets BMW just for peace of mind. Check tensioner, mine was solid so I left it.

Thanks for the tips - might go ahead and replace the serpentine belt, as I'm not sure it's ever been changed 85k miles in.

Any idea of the usual lifespan of the tensioner? Half tempted to have that replaced too at the same time if I'm not far off needing it mileage wise...

Think I'm going to try and save a little bit of money replacing the rocker cover gasket and actuator gasket myself - not massively mechanically experienced but seems doable from the youtube videos... Oil filter and oil cooler gaskets look a little more complex... and not sure where to begin with the serpentine belt/tensioner/pulleys, so might ask my local indy how much they'd charge for those.

 

[Brouse]

Good Q, no idea on tensioner, cheap to do if you want peace of mind.

Yea gaskets easy, you might also need new bolts for rocker cover. On mine they are one time time use due to being torque-to-yield.

Belt itself is piece of cake, havent done tensioner so can't comment.

On oil filter/cooler where are you based? If I'm not near you there might be a fellow forumer willing to spare some time if you beer them up. Obvs if you just want to get it sorted asap go to your indy.

 

[j24]

Good Q, no idea on tensioner, cheap to do if you want peace of mind.

Yea gaskets easy, you might also need new bolts for rocker cover. On mine they are one time time use due to being torque-to-yield.

Belt itself is piece of cake, havent done tensioner so can't comment.

On oil filter/cooler where are you based? If I'm not near you there might be a fellow forumer willing to spare some time if you beer them up. Obvs if you just want to get it sorted asap go to your indy.

I think the bolts are the same on the n52k plastic rocker cover, so will need to buy new ones for the job.

Good to know the belt might not be too difficult, and not too expensive looking at prices for the contitech part.

Have read that the genuine tensioner might be an INA part.

It's the fiddly bolts etc that make me a little nervous tackling the oil filter/cooler gaskets... looks simple enough when the thing is off - but tricky to reach bolts that you don't want to drop makes me nervous! Maybe will see how I go with the rocker cover gaskets and see how brave I feel!

That said, would be more than happy to beer up a fellow forumer if they fancied giving me a hand! :rofl:

I'm near Bath/Bristol way.

 

[j24]

Finally got around to removing the basic cosmetic cover for the engine (no idea why I didn't do this sooner!)

Looks like the leak is a lot more advanced than I initially thought... it's coming from the top left side of the engine - no idea if it's the rocker cover gasket, the actuator gasket, or the rocker cover itself.

But either way I've got some serious pooling going on:

 

[j24]

Good news is that I couldn't see any oil inside the eccentric shaft sensor.

Anyone have any idea what's causing it?

Not sure if it's the valvetronic gasket or if the pooling around the coil packs is down to the rocker cover gasket seals.

Either way, now weighing up whether to just take the plunge and buy an entire new rocker cover with all new gaskets etc.

OE BMW is about £380, but weighing up if I should for go either the Elring:

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/elring/16165416

OR the Febi:

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/febi-bilstein/12829145


Autodoc has 41% off for a few more hours, so the OEM Febi is down to £185... almost £200 cheaper than the OE genuine BMW cover.

And the Elring is £140 (not sure why there's a £70 difference in RRP between the Elring and Febi - would have thought they'd be pretty equivalent??)

I don't want to 'cheap' out on the car, but surely getting the Febi or Elring should be a safe bet... right? And £200 is quite a big difference (especially with how much I've spent on the car since getting it a couple of months back!!)

Does anyone have any experience with either the Febi or Elring rocker covers / gaskets on the N52 black top??

Thanks all

 

[1536Z4]

Does anyone have any experience with either the Febi or Elring rocker covers / gaskets on the N52 black top??

Please read my post here concerning Febi gasket https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=139753

 

[enuff_zed]

I have had very good results with Elring. That would be my recommendation.
On M54 and N46, but not N52. Can't see how they would be any less effective on that though.

 

[1536Z4]

Not sure if it's the valvetronic gasket

Changed mine whilst I had the valve cover off . Bought the VDO from this seller which is exactly the same part as the BMW but much cheaper

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265635545917

 

[Brouse]

Ooo yea mucky, looks like the filler cap and/or seal (just the seal on mine) given the spread pattern esp when looking at the actuator photo. Is the underside of your cosmetic cover oily too?

Prob worth doing CCV as it would indicate to me there is sufficient crankcase pressure to cause that leak. Oil filler is a simple gasket so shouldn't "let go" in comparison to the oil filter housing for example.

 

[axelleveau]

[ref]j24[/ref] it looks like we got to the same point! I also removed my beauty cover this weeked and found this:




I am now also wondering about changing the entire cover rather than buying main gasket+valvetronic actuator gasket+eccentric shaft sensor gasket. Is there a replaceable gasket for the oil filler?

 

[1536Z4]

Prob worth doing CCV

CCV is built into the valve cover and is sealed . If there is a problem withh CCV it is a new cover or you have to saw off the CCV cap and replace with an aftermarket item . This will give you an idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml_H04ztl3E

 

[Brouse]

Prob worth doing CCV

CCV is built into the valve cover and is sealed . If there is a problem withh CCV it is a new cover or you have to saw off the CCV cap and replace with an aftermarket item . This will give you an idea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml_H04ztl3E

Oh damn sorry yes blacktop has it integrated!

In that case might be worth doing the cover and gaskets along with any compromised gaskets.

 

[j24]

Please read my post here concerning Febi gasket https://z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=139753

I have had very good results with Elring. That would be my recommendation.
On M54 and N46, but not N52. Can't see how they would be any less effective on that though.

Thanks both - surprised at the issues with the Febi gasket, sounds like Elring might be the way to go gasket-wise.