So my slight oil leak (and intermittent stink) is/are seeping valve cover gaskets. It will be DIY this time. I would appreciate it if anyone has the shopping list for this job. I am looking for the list of all of the parts I need to order to do the valve cover gasket replacement. Thanks for any help.
All of the below might well be of interest: Much of it is 740's, but pretty much the same engine - note that I'm no BMW V8 expert, this is all stuff I dug up to research issues w/ the V8's (my mom has a '97 740il, thus the interest). I haven't attempted any of these maintenance tasks, but - consider what all else you might need to address if getting into a major disassembly job there - would be silly to have to take a whole bunch of stuff apart again to get back to something you could have dealt with easily while doing what needs doing now. If you're around 100k, there are any variety of things that are likely needed, or impending; your radiator and expansion tank are very likely on borrowed time (replacing the fan blade ended up w/ the radiator neck cracking just from a light bump, on my mom's car earlier this year). The plastic fan blades have been known to grenade (possibly due to a locked up fan clutch) - new fan clutch ain't a bad idea by 100k, and a new fan blade will be much cheaper than the damage to the hood and cooling system from a grenaded fan blade. Any number of mentions of the OSV below, it's lifespan, etc, plus various difficult-to-access hoses/pipes/belts, etc. If it seems like a lot to read, keep in mind that reading up on all that is just a fraction of the time it takes to replace valve cover & valley pan gaskets, much less having to re-do some part of that job. http://home.comcast.net/~vicent/osve38.html http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/49387 http://www.magnum1.com/BMW-740/740_Pages/Maintenance-Pages/Rear-Manifold-Cover-740.html http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/264840 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/205279/1998-bmw-7-series/page-16 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/344734 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/121268 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/793672 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/439586 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/233246 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/124059 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/124310 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/124355 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/205279/1998-bmw-7-series/page-16 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/240317/1996-bmw-7-series/page-5 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/11919 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/816587 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/607468 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/552039 http://forum.roadfly.com/threads/5284090 http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/410780 http://www.magnum1.com/BMW-740/740_Pages/Maintenance-Pages/Valley-Pan-740.html http://www.magnum1.com/BMW-740/740_Pages/Maintenance-Pages/Valve-Cover-Gaskets-740.html http://www.magnum1.com/BMW-740/740_Pages/Maintenance-Pages/Oil-Change_Gasket_Oil-Pump-Bolts-740.html http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1441379 Some more info about the fan blade issue - you can decide for yourself if you want to spring for any of the Zionsville items - pricey, but appear to be a solution, vs. having to perpetually replace BMW OEM parts every 100k (might depend on your plans for the car, long-term) http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/screen/prod/store_code/6134/product_code/E39SDCKII.htm http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/store/screen/ctgy/store_code/6134/category_code/CCSE39.htm If you keep googling, you may well find further info - Might be worth asking Mike Miller if the earlier V8's are more likely to experience any of the "typical" issues vs. the later ones. I wonder, for instance, if V8's from '97 on, have as much a problem with the oil-pump bolts loosening over time as, apparently, earlier ones.