[BashShah]

2012 F30 335i Sedan.
Money is an issue at the moment, and My VC has a Crack.
Occasional Burn oil smell in the cabin and when I park in the garage.
Squeal sound when engine shuts off during auto start/stop.

So the plan is to buy a VC and DIY it.
OK, the question I have is:
other than OEM bmw branded VC.

What other VC brand have you tried, and are happy with?

1) Did it come with all the screws or did you have to purchase them separately.
Viacom, URO, etc....etc...

2) ECS Tuning offers a Viacom complete kit with 3 additional items.
a) Flange. (do I really need this?)
b) more screws
c)VC Bolts

any help would be appreciated

Best Regards,

[Onizukachan]

Your valve cover has a crack or the gasket?

[BashShah]

Originally Posted by Onizukachan

Your valve cover has a crack or the gasket?

as Per Stealership - Hair Line Crack. at the Back, driver's side and it is leaking.

[Wgosma]

This is the type of component part you're smart to buy Genuine BMW, ditto for the gasket. It takes a few hours to R&R the cover- shop labor is about 5 hours ( trained mechanic).

Suggest you wait until you have the bucks and do the job only one time with parts of known quality.

[Onizukachan]

Personally I’d buy a VC used locally, a new BMW gasket set, and install it myself. It is not a hard job, just get things clean of oil, and if needed a dab of “The Right Stuff” in the corners and to keep the gasket(s) in place when installing cover. And follow the. specified torque sequence. If you can’t find one, inside to out alternating sides kind of like a wheel or head bolts, only i recommend 2-3 stages from hand tight to final torque spec.


Did my e46t m56 in about 2 hours in my own garage, did my mgb every 5-10k when I had to check/adjust the valves . Did the e34s m50nv as well for fun and to paint it, and did the 4G63T to paint the cover back in the day.

Take your time, have good light, stop and read directions thrice. and several shop/paper towels.

[BashShah]

Originally Posted by Onizukachan

Personally I’d buy a VC used locally, a new BMW gasket set, and install it myself. It is not a hard job, just get things clean of oil, and if needed a dab of “The Right Stuff” in the corners and to keep the gasket(s) in place when installing cover. And follow the. specified torque sequence. If you can’t find one, inside to out alternating sides kind of like a wheel or head bolts, only i recommend 2-3 stages from hand tight to final torque spec.


Did my e46t m56 in about 2 hours in my own garage, did my mgb every 5-10k when I had to check/adjust the valves . Did the e34s m50nv as well for fun and to paint it, and did the 4G63T to paint the cover back in the day.

Take your time, have good light, stop and read directions thrice. and several shop/paper towels.

This advise is awesome.
This is the same as just replacing the Gasket if my VC was not cracked.
Very Nice and it is interesting, now the ONLY thing that gets in the way is a New PCV that I would like to change but I think they are integrated in the VC.
there is a DIY fr a Cracked PVC, but not interested in taking a dremel to a Perfectly good VC.

been through a few DIY videos and 1 ISTA non readable guide.
I am also planning on removing the intake Manifold and cleaning out the Ports to the best of my ability by hand.

going to take my time with it.
Thank you again.

[BashShah]

any advise if I want to replace my PVC Valve also?
am I able to access the PVC Valve on a Used VC and simply replace it from the inside?
Has Anyone done this before?

Thanks in advance.

[mecheng77]

I did it on my n52 and the labour is similar to the N55, the aftermarket covers were very similar in price compared to the oem Bmw cover when the dealer gave me 10% off. There is cheap ones on eBay but I'm unsure of the quality.
It's not difficult but it's a decent amount of labour so I went with Bmw and it came with all the gaskets

[khj24]

Originally Posted by BashShah

any advise if I want to replace my PVC Valve also?
am I able to access the PVC Valve on a Used VC and simply replace it from the inside?
Has Anyone done this before?

Thanks in advance.

I would be more comfortable buying a knock off than a used one. There's a beck/arnley on rockauto for $233 including gaskets. They always have 5% off coupons as well if you look around.

[Fredo]

My Indy replaced the VC on my 2012 335i last year. He installed :

11127570292 N55 VC
11367609963 Valvetronic screw (2)
11127599753 Vent hose
11377502022 Valvetronic seal

It was $1,033 OTD.

[BashShah]

I am leaning towards new as I do want to replace my PVC and i know the new onces come with a PCV Valve.
but which brand is the question, hoping others join this thread with their reviews of after market VC experience.

[Fredo]

I'm sure you heard about FCP Euro. They offer lifetime warranty in all their products. My mechanic has a good rule of thumb: he only buys brands that are sold by FCP Euro. That makes sense, they sell only the best products out there. I verified FCP Euro only offers the genuine BMW VC. Hope this puts you in the right direction.

Btw, while you are there ...make sure you replace the vent hose and Valvetronic seal. GL on your decision.

[BashShah]

ok, I understand that that replacing the Vent Hose is because it can be brittle.
But why change the Valvetronic seal.

Not trying to cheap out on it, just trying to understand it that's all.

[Fredo]

This is what my mechanic said when he prepared my VC estimate:

"For this repair I only use BMW OE parts, so I will install a brand new BMW valve cover. When I replace one of these valve covers (or gaskets only) I also replace the vent hose that attaches the crank case ventilation system from the valve cover to the intake air pipe. These are notorious for cracking so I just go ahead and replace them in conjunction with the repair as there is no additional labor involved. Next I also replace the seal for the valvetronic motor. The motor comes through the top of the cover and there is a seal at that opening. The seal is originally held on with machine thread screws and the new valve covers use a course thread screw so we need updated screws for this as well. Lastly, I will clean up all of the residual oil. Now if this is a massive leak and there is a substantial amount of oil requiring removal of all the splash shields there may be some additional costs for clean-up and we can discuss that when I see the car."

[deviantspeed]

Why buy a used, possibly warped VC?

Were you going to machine the used VC flat so it's perfect? It will probably, overall, cost more than just buying the new part online. Do it right, or you'll just have a problem again.

[dmaxdmax]

If I was tight on money and a shop told me my vc was cracked, I would make sure I saw the crack before buying a new one.

I'd buy a 'returnable' vc to have it handy if I really did need it.

I don't know what pressures our engine sees up there, but on the e46 it was a very light vacuum. I am an idiot, but I have plastic welded pretty well before using an old soldering iron. I might even consider that. Doubtful there's an adhesive/sealer that would work, but you never know until you look. Not proper, but it could be money saving.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by dmaxdmax

If I was tight on money and a shop told me my vc was cracked, I would make sure I saw the crack before buying a new one.

I'd buy a 'returnable' vc to have it handy if I really did need it.

I don't know what pressures our engine sees up there, but on the e46 it was a very light vacuum. I am an idiot, but I have plastic welded pretty well before using an old soldering iron. I might even consider that. Doubtful there's an adhesive/sealer that would work, but you never know until you look. Not proper, but it could be money saving.

PCV means positive crankcase ventilation. It creates pressure, even on an e46.

Do it right, or there's duct tape.

[BashShah]

With this Corona Virus shit, even ESC Tuning is saying April 30th delivery for their VC KIT.
wow and they reduced the price from 317 to 300.
but delivery date went from 2 days to 45 days.

[Onizukachan]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

PCV means positive crankcase ventilation. It creates pressure, even on an e46.

Do it right, or there's duct tape.

Positive in the crank case, but there has to be negative for there to be flow.
The VC is under vacuum.

[deviantspeed]

Originally Posted by Onizukachan

Positive in the crank case, but there has to be negative for there to be flow.
The VC is under vacuum.

Sounds like you are doing duct tape.

[dmaxdmax]

Originally Posted by deviantspeed

Sounds like you are doing duct tape.

If I didn't have money and my pvc was fine, despite being nice 'low hanging fruit,' and I needed my car to run, I'd actually consider something like a proper (not duct) tape.

Not sure what tape would work for temps the cover might see--maybe Gorilla tape?

Anyway, I am a suspicious sort, so unless I saw the crack, I'd wonder if it was there. I am a bad person, I know. 'Mechanics' come with a wide range of experience, intelligence, knowledge, and honesty.