Hey all... Looking for someone to give me a quick, easy to understand DIY course on replacing the leaky valve cover gasket on my 2002 E46 330i. Any help greatly appreciated
Not to be a smart-a$$, but Remove oil cap Remove plastic cover over coil packs Remove plastic cover over injectors Remove lid for cabin filter remove cabin filter remove rubber trim from cabin filter cowl remove cowl for cabin filter (you will see the screws for it when you remove the filter) unplug coil pack wires remove coil packs and clean out any oil in spark plug wells remove valve cover carefully remove old gasket and clean all sealant from cover and head installation is reverse of removal To me, it is a simple process, but I am a mechanic. If you can get your hands the Bentley repair manual, you should get one if you plan on doing any work on your car. Very good manuals, very complete, and I have only found a few mistakes in all the ones I have used. Good luck.
Thanks alot, Paul.. Ordered my Bently manual 5 minutes ago!! lol Doesnt seem too hard... I replaced the head gasket on my old Saab and I am assuming it cant be much more involved than that.
Waaaaay easier than that. I don't like the Saab head gasket job. Too much work on a backwards motor. You should have no problem if you can do that.
Took me about 7 or 8 hours of cursing and throwing tools. We would never have done it if the owner was not our biggest patron. Did a GM Saab gasket too. That one was much easier. Use whatever sealant the manual recommends. Those valve covers are plastic and warp, which is the biggest cause of leakage.
Yeah I spent about half of those 3 days throwing tools myself, which ultimately ended up with me breaking my hand in anger... sweedish engineering my a$$ lol Thank God this is the last thing I have left to fix on the 330 (hopefully) Just dropped 600 bucks on a new throttle body after my car started throwing EML in my face
Yup. Have had to do several of those. BMW actually recommends replacing the harness as well, but we have started making that optional to the customer, because I don't see any faults. Do yourself a favor adn check the plug at the electric T-stat. If it looks like it has any coolant crud in it, change the T-stat if you have not done so already. Had a 330i that lost the harness and the t-body due to this, and we just barely saved his DME!
