Please can I ask what special tools you needed? It would be great to know, although l checked my engine yesterday as I too hadn't removed the engine cover since purchasing and found it all looked okay with nothing major leaking, but as preventative maintenance I'll replace the whole cover this summer, for now I've got my local garage replacing just the water pump and tank , stat housing etc. I have major plans for my car but I need to see what my friendly garage think of it before spending ££££.
Rocker cover & oil filter housing leaks - thoughts on what to address?
- Thread starter j24
- Start date
TOMGREEN413 said:
As Brouse says, nothing too out of the ordinary - I just got caught short tool-wise a couple of times when going through the job!
I had normal 1/4 and 3/8 socket sets, but ended up needing to buy:
- 1/4" Torque Wrench 5-25Nm (to torque the valve cover bolts)
- Torx Socket Set (think I only needed an E8 and E10 for the job)
- 1/4" drive deep socket set (needed a deep 10mm socket for the two ground bolts)
- A 1/4" female - 3/8" male socket adapter. My torque wrench is a 1/4" but the E10 torx socket I needed to use for most the valve cover bolts is a 3/8"... difficult to find an adapter going that way around!! Amazon sells one for £4
- Some bent ring pliers to remove the metal spark plug tubes
So I did spend a little bit on tools (haven't added it up, but must be around the £50ish mark) - but I wasn't starting from a huge collection anyway!
And still very much quids in compared to asking a garage to do the work for me. The previous owner was quoted £410 just to replace the valve cover gasket!! Admittedly it was a main dealer, but pretty pleased I managed to install an entire good quality OEM Elring Valve cover for a hell of a lot less than that (around £145 for the cover including all new gaskets etc).
Well done Sir, respect!!! 
Thanks for the tool list :wink:
Thanks for the tool list :wink:
j24 said:
Hi j24.
Are you still happy with the Elring rocker cover? I’ve just ordered the same as the PCV seems to have let go on mine. Bit annoying as the rocker cover gaskets were only replaced about 5 months ago.
Did you use the gaskets that came with it or did you order additional original BMW?
Simiewimie said:
Still all okay as far as I can see! I’ve been paying attention to it pretty closely since doing the job, the only thing I haven’t checked is the spark plug tubes to see if there’s any oil pooling in there - but no reason to suspect there would be as no leaks elsewhere.
Same as you, I debated buying BMW gaskets and fitting them to the Elring cover - but in the end I stuck with the Elring gaskets that arrived with the cover. To my untrained eye they seemed good quality. I know Elring are a quality brand and make a few gaskets for BMW (think I read somewhere that they may make the OE oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets).
Time will tell, but happy with the decision so far!
Awesome. Thanks j24.
I’m now just considering whether I do it myself or take it to my mechanic who’s previously worked on it.
Did you do yours in a garage or outside, open to the elements?
I’m now just considering whether I do it myself or take it to my mechanic who’s previously worked on it.
Did you do yours in a garage or outside, open to the elements?
Simiewimie said:
Lucky enough to have a small garage which just about fits the zed, so did mine in there - I think you’d be able to do it in the open, just a case of hoping for a nice (dry) spring day!
Definitely doable in one day - but worth making sure you have all the tools etc you need for the job ready to go. It ended up taking me a few days to sort because of a few trips out to get deep sockets, adapters for socket bits to fit my 1/4 torque wrench etc… a few things I didn’t know I’d need when I started the job! Plus I managed to drop a bolt as I was putting the valvetronic motor back on… never to be seen again! That cost me a couple of days as I had to order one with my local dealer. Felt a little overkill for a 70p part!
All in all it was a doable job. Felt a little daunted doing it all, but there’s a couple of really good YouTube videos out there to guide you through the various steps. I found this one pretty handy:
https://youtu.be/7JrK6YoNV3o
Coincidentally he’s installing the Elring valve cover in the video too!
Thank you so much!
Hi, j24.
I’ve just replaced the rocker cover, and all seems good!
Did get a lot of smoke on start up from bottom of engine (exhaust manifold) but hoping it’s just oil that dropped as the old cover came off.
Only problem I had with the Elring cover was that the bolt at the end of the valvetronic motor would not go through. The two that go in to the face of the cover sat fine, but it’s as if the mount hole is too small. Did you have the same problem? How did you get around it?
Thanks.
I’ve just replaced the rocker cover, and all seems good!
Did get a lot of smoke on start up from bottom of engine (exhaust manifold) but hoping it’s just oil that dropped as the old cover came off.
Only problem I had with the Elring cover was that the bolt at the end of the valvetronic motor would not go through. The two that go in to the face of the cover sat fine, but it’s as if the mount hole is too small. Did you have the same problem? How did you get around it?
Thanks.
Simiewimie said:
Ah that’s interesting - do you mean to bolt that sits underneath the valvetronic motor?
Here’s a picture of mine (before I put the bolt in):
I didn’t have any issues with the hole. Did you use an allen key to turn the bolt at the end of the motor?
I wound the motor so that the hole on the valvetronic motor pulled in and aligned with the valve cover before bolting back up, and had no issues on my end (other than the fact I managed to drop the bolt as it’s a fiddly thing to get back in!)
That’s the one.
Yes. It went in and out fine by turning the bolt with the allen key. I’m going to have another look today. I did try a couple of times yesterday, but will have another go and make sure I’m trying to screw it in straight, as it is a bit of a squeeze down there with the driver.
Yes. It went in and out fine by turning the bolt with the allen key. I’m going to have another look today. I did try a couple of times yesterday, but will have another go and make sure I’m trying to screw it in straight, as it is a bit of a squeeze down there with the driver.
Simiewimie said:That’s the one.
Yes. It went in and out fine by turning the bolt with the allen key. I’m going to have another look today. I did try a couple of times yesterday, but will have another go and make sure I’m trying to screw it in straight, as it is a bit of a squeeze down there with the driver.
Yep, it’s definitely a fiddly one!! The only bolt I managed to drop/loose
I ended up needing to buy a new one from the dealer for about 70p :lol:
You might need to remove an ignition coil or two to get at it properly.
Glad that the rest of the job went well, and good luck with the last fiddly bit!
