Valve cover gasket DIY

TX wrote

LPM3 wrote

Has anyone done this themselves? or is this a 2-person job?

I'm trying to do it currently by myself. So far I'm stuck getting the valve cover to actually release from the head. I don't want to use a pry bar as shown in the video diy. An extra set of hands would help for moving wires/hoses out of the way and tool changes.

Use a nylon pry bar. Sacrifice an interior one, it'll come.

SAMM3Y wrote

Use a nylon pry bar. Sacrifice an interior one, it'll come.

Yeah, I have a nylon trim pry bar and nothing is giving. I can actually see the aluminum head deflecting with the force applied. My covers are 10 years old and never changed so they're on there like glue. I've spent an hour and only could get one corner up about an 1/8th of an inch. It goes right back once I remove the wedge. I'm hammering in little shims to hold the 1/8th inch gap that I gained, but can only get one corner to budge. its like someone used liquid nails to put it on. heeeelp

TX wrote

SAMM3Y wrote

Use a nylon pry bar. Sacrifice an interior one, it'll come.

Yeah, I have a nylon trim pry bar and nothing is giving. I can actually see the aluminum head deflecting with the force applied. My covers are 10 years old and never changed so they're on there like glue. I've spent an hour and only could get one corner up about an 1/8th of an inch. It goes right back once I remove the wedge. I'm hammering in little shims to hold the 1/8th inch gap that I gained, but can only get one corner to budge. its like someone used liquid nails to put it on. heeeelp

I remember mine was a bastard. 11 years old too. Keep working at it.. it'll feel like your gonna break it but gain some ground and lever that fucker.. don't forget your fighting the spark plug tubes too.. they'll be stuck on there

SAMM3Y wrote

I remember mine was a bastard. 11 years old too. Keep working at it.. it'll feel like your gonna break it but gain some ground and lever that fucker.. don't forget your fighting the spark plug tubes too.. they'll be stuck on there

I got it...Check out this McGuyver rig. I ran some 50lbs zip ties through one of the bolt holes on the only corner I could budge and used them as a handle to pull up with. How's she look internally? looks pretty clean to me. I don't see any sludge or metal wear on the cams.

Ive been idle on my Valve cover gasket for several weeks now as I waited to get the valve covers powder coated. Does anyone know where the longer ground bolts slide into? There are two for each side, I wasn’t sure exactly what spot. Thank you!

nleeumd wrote

Ive been idle on my Valve cover gasket for several weeks now as I waited to get the valve covers powder coated. Does anyone know where the longer ground bolts slide into? There are two for each side, I wasn’t sure exactly what spot. Thank you!

Sure If you look in my picture for the one side you can see it near the top rear.

I’ll see if I can find some better pictures for you.

TX wrote

Sure If you look in my picture for the one side you can see it near the top rear.

I’ll see if I can find some better pictures for you.

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e92-m3-cou/repair-manuals/11-engine/11-12-cylinder-head-with-lid/


It looks like passenger side is rear top
Driver side is second from the rear top.

TX wrote

Sure If you look in my picture for the one side you can see it near the top rear.

I’ll see if I can find some better pictures for you.

Thanks, I should have taken pictures myself, ugh:sigh:

TX wrote

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e92-m3-cou/repair-manuals/11-engine/11-12-cylinder-head-with-lid/


It looks like passenger side is rear top
Driver side is second from the rear top.

Hmm, what about the other two? I have a total of 4 ground bolts

Never mind, its supposed to be 24 and 2 ground bolts correct?

nleeumd wrote

Hmm, what about the other two? I have a total of 4 ground bolts

Never mind, its supposed to be 24 and 2 ground bolts correct?

I bought two more ground screws instead of the regular ones, I suppose I can just still use the ground screws elsewhere on the cover, seems like its the same, other than the threads sticking out on the top.

nleeumd wrote

I bought two more ground screws instead of the regular ones, I suppose I can just still use the ground screws elsewhere on the cover, seems like its the same, other than the threads sticking out on the top.

I don’t see why not. I would just put them someplace where they won’t be in the way. Yes only 1 ground screw per side.
Nobody will ever know but us.

TX wrote

I don’t see why not. I would just put them someplace where they won’t be in the way. Yes only 1 ground screw per side.
Nobody will ever know but us.

Thanks for the quick response!

nleeumd wrote

Thanks for the quick response!

If you're OCD about it, I suppose you could always install them in an easy to access location and change them for a proper bolt later. Don't forget the drei bond 1209 or permatex ultra black RTV silicone on the joints up front 2 joints per side. Not too much. a pea sized drop flattened out is all you need.
oh and if you're replacing plug tubes they get fresh motor oil on each end around the rubber gaskets. Also, the oil breather (black plastic housing), if you remove it, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get the valve covers installed under the fuel line side. Torque specs can all be found on the newtis.info link i posted above for all fittings. Just go up a level on the web page and look for the torque specs.

TX wrote

If you're OCD about it, I suppose you could always install them in an easy to access location and change them for a proper bolt later. Don't forget the drei bond 1209 or permatex ultra black RTV silicone on the joints up front 2 joints per side. Not too much. a pea sized drop flattened out is all you need.
oh and if you're replacing plug tubes they get fresh motor oil on each end around the rubber gaskets. Also, the oil breather (black plastic housing), if you remove it, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to get the valve covers installed under the fuel line side. Torque specs can all be found on the newtis.info link i posted above for all fittings. Just go up a level on the web page and look for the torque specs.

Thanks, I ended up replacing the oil separators too. My biggest hang up is trying to slide the passenger side coil pack down the tube, the one closest to the passenger side fire wall (spark plug tube #8?). any technique? Seems like the coil plug is too long to slide into place, not sure at what angle to approach it, but didnt want to just use brute force.

nleeumd wrote

Thanks, I ended up replacing the oil separators too. My biggest hang up is trying to slide the passenger side coil pack down the tube, the one closest to the passenger side fire wall (spark plug tube #8?). any technique? Seems like the coil plug is too long to slide into place, not sure at what angle to approach it, but didnt want to just use brute force.[/QUOTE

Try it from a few different angles you will eventually find a spot it will go. I had to bend the bottom rubber a little bit to get it to clear the top of the tube with the pack wedged up against the surrounding car parts.

nleeumd wrote

Thanks, I ended up replacing the oil separators too. My biggest hang up is trying to slide the passenger side coil pack down the tube, the one closest to the passenger side fire wall (spark plug tube #8?). any technique? Seems like the coil plug is too long to slide into place, not sure at what angle to approach it, but didnt want to just use brute force.

If you slot it in between the strut tower and the fat rubber hose that's there, it slots right in at an easy angle. The mistake is trying to fight that same fat black hose.

First post ever! Because it seems like most of my questions have been answered somewhere on the internet....

Im about to start my S65 valve cover gasket job. I have yet to find confidence about using a Dreibond substitute.

It seems like its either: Critical which sealant I use to replace it, or any general equivalent (permatex/hylomar/dirko) will do.

Could anyone shed anymore light on this so I can stop freakin googling it looking for an answer that doesn't exist? I could have rebuild my whole engine twice with in the time Ive spent researching this.

Also, anyone have thoughts on the contact cement trick to hold gasket in place while reseating cover??

Thanks in advance everyone. Forums are amazing.

ddac wrote

First post ever! Because it seems like most of my questions have been answered somewhere on the internet....

Im about to start my S65 valve cover gasket job. I have yet to find confidence about using a Dreibond substitute.

It seems like its either: Critical which sealant I use to replace it, or any general equivalent (permatex/hylomar/dirko) will do.

Could anyone shed anymore light on this so I can stop freakin googling it looking for an answer that doesn't exist? I could have rebuild my whole engine twice with in the time Ive spent researching this.

Also, anyone have thoughts on the contact cement trick to hold gasket in place while reseating cover??

Thanks in advance everyone. Forums are amazing.

I bought some refurbished powder coated valve covers from deansbimmer and in speaking to him about the install he advised to put down a thin bead of silicone all the way around the gasket valley, the spark plug tubes, the oil separators, and the cam sensors. Basically anywhere that could leak. I used Dreibond. You can get it online from FCP. It's expensive but one tube is all you need and it made me feel better about it.

gfisher99 wrote

I bought some refurbished powder coated valve covers from deansbimmer and in speaking to him about the install he advised to put down a thin bead of silicone all the way around the gasket valley, the spark plug tubes, the oil separators, and the cam sensors. Basically anywhere that could leak. I used Dreibond. You can get it online from FCP. It's expensive but one tube is all you need and it made me feel better about it.

I want to echo this.

On my driver side bank, it started to leak oil within a few hundred miles after a fresh VCG (Genuine BMW Brand). I wasn't sure if I pinched the gasket or if my powdercoated valve cover was warped. So, I removed my freshly installed valve cover gasket, put a thin bead of Drei Bond around the perimeter and torqued it back to spec. All is well. Driver side bank is bone dry and has no signs of leaking anymore. I hope it holds up.

Emphasis on thin bead of Drei Bond. You do not want silicone gasket maker getting inside your engine!

Johal E32 wrote

gfisher99 wrote

I bought some refurbished powder coated valve covers from deansbimmer and in speaking to him about the install he advised to put down a thin bead of silicone all the way around the gasket valley, the spark plug tubes, the oil separators, and the cam sensors. Basically anywhere that could leak. I used Dreibond. You can get it online from FCP. It's expensive but one tube is all you need and it made me feel better about it.

I want to echo this.

On my driver side bank, it started to leak oil within a few hundred miles after a fresh VCG (Genuine BMW Brand). I wasn't sure if I pinched the gasket or if my powdercoated valve cover was warped. So, I removed my freshly installed valve cover gasket, put a thin bead of Drei Bond around the perimeter and torqued it back to spec. All is well. Driver side bank is bone dry and has no signs of leaking anymore. I hope it holds up.

Emphasis on thin bead of Drei Bond. You do not want silicone gasket maker getting inside your engine!

So did you use any sealant prior to the Drei bond? Black/ultra black is fine to use for this application so I disagree.. it isn't like it's a surface to surface mating application the valve covers are still relying on the gasket for the seal not the bonding agent if installed correctly. Once the bonding agent has gone off it isn't going anywhere and even if it did, it wouldn't hurt the motor. For the diff cover, I'd use drei bond. For holding the valve cover gasket in place whilst you install and filling some seepage permatex is fine.

SAMM3Y wrote

So did you use any sealant prior to the Drei bond? Black/ultra black is fine to use for this application so I disagree.. it isn't like it's a surface to surface mating application the valve covers are still relying on the gasket for the seal not the bonding agent if installed correctly. Once the bonding agent has gone off it isn't going anywhere and even if it did, it wouldn't hurt the motor. For the diff cover, I'd use drei bond. For holding the valve cover gasket in place whilst you install and filling some seepage permatex is fine.

I should have clarified in the last post. I used a pea sized amount of Drei bond on the front of the valve cover where the vanos cover meets the cylinder head. All new BMW hardware was used, I replaced every single bolt with the integrated rubber washer.



Here is a photo of where I originally applied the sealant.

ddac wrote

First post ever! Because it seems like most of my questions have been answered somewhere on the internet....

Im about to start my S65 valve cover gasket job. I have yet to find confidence about using a Dreibond substitute.

It seems like its either: Critical which sealant I use to replace it, or any general equivalent (permatex/hylomar/dirko) will do.

Could anyone shed anymore light on this so I can stop freakin googling it looking for an answer that doesn't exist? I could have rebuild my whole engine twice with in the time Ive spent researching this.

Also, anyone have thoughts on the contact cement trick to hold gasket in place while reseating cover??

Thanks in advance everyone. Forums are amazing.

I too just took on this endeavor, I believe the most important element is to replace all the bolt/grommet's, along with the spark plug tubes, I wouldn't worry about the Dreibond substitute too much, just a touch of RTV where the front cover meets the heads, you will be fine. I work for a dealer group with a BMW store and the techs tell me they use RTV all the time, so that is what I did.