Valve cover leak: Replace just the gaskets?

My 97k miles 2013 E92 has had a seeping valve cover, can tell from the burning smell. Upon inspection, I have oil weeping from the oil fil cap and along the gasket. Could I get away with just replacing bolts+gaskets?

At that mileage your magnesium valve covers will have their coating flaking off especially at the mating surface. So unless you want to do it a second time when the first attempt doesn’t seal properly then just replace them. Check out NRW’s aluminum valve covers which come in a handful of standard colors and I believe you can get custom colors too for a fee. Last I checked his valve covers are $1100 which is considerably cheaper than new oem covers and they also address the flaking issue moving forward.

You can also check out MPorium's cover refinishing service. Colter Dean knows what he is doing, and he refinishes them so they are true and (hopefully) won't leak.

serranot wrote

You can also check out MPorium's cover refinishing service. Colter Dean knows what he is doing, and he refinishes them so they are true and (hopefully) won't leak.

Awesome indy shop! I thought he was only using them for in-shop customers? I remember him saying he wouldn’t market them until he found a way to ensure he didn’t run out of them for his customers. Did he find a way? That’s great if he’s opened them up to anyone.

My local shop recommended I replace the cover and gaskets in one go since the magnesium ones can warp over time, making a new seal challenging to seat. This is in addition to the coating flaking off.

I think m359 restorations had an aftermarket valve cover solution that solved some of these issues, I just went with OEM.

M3SQRD wrote

Awesome indy shop! I thought he was only using them for in-shop customers? I remember him saying he wouldn’t market them until he found a way to ensure he didn’t run out of them for his customers. Did he find a way? That’s great if he’s opened them up to anyone.

I don't know. You may be correct. I just know he did them.

Without seeing the condition of the grooves on the inside of the valve covers, no one can tell you for sure.

But we can say that if you have a leak, it's most likely the coating flaking off where the gaskets sit.

Therefore it would be pointless to just put new gaskets in. Many have tried only to have them leak and have to be re-done.

IMO, I would never do gaskets only.
At minimum, existing covers need to be redone, or better yet new aluminum covers, but new oem will do also.

serranot wrote

I don't know. You may be correct. I just know he did them.

It’s not on their e-bay store. It has the vanos washers and the individually measured ACL rod bearing but no refurbished valve covers.

Maybe try contacting them directly.

I have installed a few sets of their covers.

tdott wrote

Maybe try contacting them directly.

I have installed a few sets of their covers.

That’s a good idea but when I do it I’m going with an option that will eliminate the issue permanently.

M3SQRD wrote

That’s a good idea but when I do it I’m going with an option that will eliminate the issue permanently.

The oem ones seems to last ~10 yrs on average, give or take.
The new alumunim covers are too new to tell.
Redone covers vary in quality, but I expect a proper quality job to last longer than oem.

I'd like to hear what your sure fire permenent way is.

tdott wrote

The oem ones seems to last ~10 yrs on average, give or take.
The new alumunim covers are too new to tell.
Redone covers vary in quality, but I expect a proper quality job to last longer than oem.

I'd like to hear what your sure fire permenent way is.

Wow, didn’t expect this but ok.

Powder coated aluminum valve covers are used on quite a few cars going back decades so the data are already out there on powder coated aluminum valve covers. Are the power coated aluminum valve covers being used on the S65 somehow different from all of the other powder coated aluminum valve covers in some way? OEM issues are primarily due to the valve cover being magnesium. There’s no, or limited, data on the longevity of powder coated magnesium valve covers yet you claim it’ll last longer than oem - where did your data come from? Where did you get the stock ones lasting ~10 years on average? From what I’ve seen, I believe the data are biased to the left of 10 years.

M3SQRD wrote

Powder coated aluminum valve covers are used on quite a few cars going back decades so the data are already out there on powder coated aluminum valve covers.

So these engines never have valve cover leaks?

M3SQRD wrote

Where did you get the stock ones lasting ~10 years on average? From what I’ve seen, I believe the data are biased to the left of 10 years.

Based on my experience as a tech, I see many 2008s still with stock ones, granted, they are usually leaking, but thats 16 yrs. Which is why I said average....



Bascailly my main point is, I wouldn't consider anything permanent like you said, While you may not have to replace an alumium valve cover again (you've never seen paint fake off them?), the gasket likely isn't going to last forever...

Dean's covers are available for sale now. I put a set on a couple of months ago. Very happy with his service and hardware.

Warping is a non-issue.

Most people are still getting around to replacing their VCs for the first time, so I think 10 years is a good or even conservative average estimate for OE longevity. A little "sweating" is hardly a cry for replacement, and mine could have gone much longer but I was already in there for the vanos cups.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=30754723&postcount=197

tdott wrote

So these engines never have valve cover leaks?

Valve cover leaks due to a failed gasket isn’t the same thing as a valve cover that has its coating failing

Based on my experience as a tech, I see many 2008s still with stock ones, granted, they are usually leaking, but thats 16 yrs. Which is why I said average....

Ok but that’s not very scientific. Based on what you’ve seen you think it’s around 10 years.

Bascailly my main point is, I wouldn't consider anything permanent like you said, While you may not have to replace an alumium valve cover again (you've never seen paint fake off them?), the gasket likely isn't going to last forever...

Out of all of the valve cover leaks that you’ve personally addressed, what percentage were caused by the gasket? Again, a failed gasket is not the same thing as a failed coating. I wasn’t saying a new gasket is going to “permanently” fix the problem because I wasn’t talking about a gasket to begin with. Yes, paint chips off of aluminum. Ok, so a powder coated aluminum may last 20 years or so.

E92Bean wrote

My 97k miles 2013 E92 has had a seeping valve cover, can tell from the burning smell. Upon inspection, I have oil weeping from the oil fil cap and along the gasket. Could I get away with just replacing bolts+gaskets?

I have gotten away with this for 1 1/2 years. Bank 1 looked alright on mine (very small bubbling near oil fill) when doing VANOS covers. Fast forward to today everything is fine except thre oil fill and oil separator (think that’s the name). The actual gaskets are dry and not leaking; I spent a quality 20 minutes cleaning the channels and such prior to install and still holding.

That being said I’m probably going to replace them sooner than later.

Thanks for the info everyone! I’m not going to tackle this right away since some sweating isn’t terrible.
On a related note I do want to ensure I’m not loosing excess oil. My last oil change was ~2500 miles ago. My oil level sensor went from the max mark to ~3/4 full, still within the green range. I expect a high revving v8 to burn some oil, so is this around average with mixed aggressive driving?

Regarding oil consumption on S65:
In my experience, the more frequently the engine is revved out, less is the oil consumption. I’d say a quart every 2500 miles is reasonable for these engines..

BimmerMan33 wrote

Regarding oil consumption on S65:
In my experience, the more frequently the engine is revved out, less is the oil consumption. I’d say a quart every 2500 miles is reasonable for these engines..

Good to know, thanks! But do you mean the more it’s revved, the higher the consumption? I wouldn’t expect an inverse relationship.

E92Bean wrote

Good to know, thanks! But do you mean the more it’s revved, the higher the consumption? I wouldn’t expect an inverse relationship.

When the engine is revved out, apparently the piston rings seal better and less oil passes by, therefore less oil burn and decreased oil consumption.
My oil consumption decreased since my new job commute has minimal traffic & multiple opportunities to rev out!
Also read an engineering article about this somewhere..

Over 170k miles I’ve always seemed to burn/lose oil when going on long highway trips (like 2-4 hours of continuous cruising), but not on my typical commutes.

nick3753 wrote

Over 170k miles I’ve always seemed to burn/lose oil when going on long highway trips (like 2-4 hours of continuous cruising), but not on my typical commutes.

Ok I just took a 4 hour roadtrip at a steady 75mph so that tracks.