[5mall5nail5]

Hey all - this sucks - I did the whole VCG job the other day. Took forever. I am so used to M5x/S5x engines where the gasket takes like an hour tops. This was much, much more involved. I didn't realize that people recommend replacing the valve cover itself when doing this job so I ordered the kit and away I went. Everything went well, aside from the job being terribly annoying, and I cleaned it all up and went on a 70 mile round trip tonight only to smell mild oil stink again. This is on an N20 with 72k miles.



Ignore the black booger on the manifold - I was wiping the head/valve cover with a microfiber rag while the exhaust was still hot. But, alas, you can see that the valve cover is quite damp with oil. I peaked through the wiring on top and I don't see oil on top of the manifold. I had checked the HPFP gasket and valvetronic gasket, looks good there (replaced w/ new during the job).

Because I don't see oil on the head surface/gasket surface, I suspect that the valve cover itself must be cracked, right? Just need some sanity checked here before I tackle this again.

Thanks all!

[MHF30]

Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5

Hey all - this sucks - I did the whole VCG job the other day. Took forever. I am so used to M5x/S5x engines where the gasket takes like an hour tops. This was much, much more involved. I didn't realize that people recommend replacing the valve cover itself when doing this job so I ordered the kit and away I went. Everything went well, aside from the job being terribly annoying, and I cleaned it all up and went on a 70 mile round trip tonight only to smell mild oil stink again. This is on an N20 with 72k miles.

[IMG]https://photos.kensycloud.com/i.php?...13cdf8d-xl.jpg[/IMG]

Ignore the black booger on the manifold - I was wiping the head/valve cover with a microfiber rag while the exhaust was still hot. But, alas, you can see that the valve cover is quite damp with oil. I peaked through the wiring on top and I don't see oil on top of the manifold. I had checked the HPFP gasket and valvetronic gasket, looks good there (replaced w/ new during the job).

Because I don't see oil on the head surface/gasket surface, I suspect that the valve cover itself must be cracked, right? Just need some sanity checked here before I tackle this again.

Thanks all!

Your valve cover is cracked, I can see a minor one in the picture you posted. I've been told the covers are notorious for cracking on the N20s, fortunately I haven't had this issue yet myself.

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[5mall5nail5]

Originally Posted by MHF30

Your valve cover is cracked, I can see a minor one in the picture you posted. I've been told the covers are notorious for cracking on the N20s, fortunately I haven't had this issue yet myself.

Yep! Ironically that's not a crack but a seam in the mold. However, you're right, it is cracked. I replaced it with a new genuine cover from the dealer today - so, cool, did the project twice. Learn from me, all!

Here are the cracks - couldn't see them without searching for them:

[MHF30]

Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5

Yep! Ironically that's not a crack but a seam in the mold. However, you're right, it is cracked. I replaced it with a new genuine cover from the dealer today - so, cool, did the project twice. Learn from me, all!

Here are the cracks - couldn't see them without searching for them:

Interesting! How difficult of a process is it to DIY this?

[5mall5nail5]

Originally Posted by MHF30

Interesting! How difficult of a process is it to DIY this?

Well... it wasn't a ton of fun to be honest. I have built many M50/M52/S50/S52 engines and valve cover/gaskets on those are cake... about an hour if you go slow. The first time I did the gasket (which included 2 new bolts for HPFP, valvetronic gasket, rear vacuum pump gasket, and all 3 valve cover gasket portions) it took me about 5 - 6 hours to complete. Of course it was then that I noticed the valve cover still getting oily and stinking, etc.

Today, doing it for the second time, I was down to about 3 - 3.5 hours.

It's very doable if you have some basic tools. FCP Euro has a good video on it, just make sure if you do it to spend the money on a new cover - boy do I wish I did that the first time around - I didn't do enough reading and just assumed the covers themselves were sound.

[MHF30]

Originally Posted by 5mall5nail5

Well... it wasn't a ton of fun to be honest. I have built many M50/M52/S50/S52 engines and valve cover/gaskets on those are cake... about an hour if you go slow. The first time I did the gasket (which included 2 new bolts for HPFP, valvetronic gasket, rear vacuum pump gasket, and all 3 valve cover gasket portions) it took me about 5 - 6 hours to complete. Of course it was then that I noticed the valve cover still getting oily and stinking, etc.

Today, doing it for the second time, I was down to about 3 - 3.5 hours.

It's very doable if you have some basic tools. FCP Euro has a good video on it, just make sure if you do it to spend the money on a new cover - boy do I wish I did that the first time around - I didn't do enough reading and just assumed the covers themselves were sound.

Damn! Five hours the first time around sounds pretty involved. I'd like to think I'm capable but draw a line at messing around with engine components myself lol. I made the same mistake myself, when I was getting preventative timing chain work done I had them change the gasket but not the actual cover. Would have saved myself the labour down the line.