Valve Cover Gasket Replacement

After owning the BMW for a bit of time, some common issues started occurring on my car. This was expected as my car was now 10 years old and the rubber used in the valve cover becomes brittle and hard over time under heat and consistent compression. I began smelling burning oil in the cabin, which indicated a leaking valve cover gasket. 

I decided to go for an aluminum valve cover as another problem with replacing only the gasket was that the plastic of the valve cover could crack and need to be replaced over time too. I would be able to kill two birds with one stone and ensure that my engine would last. 

Additionally, I was ecstatic to find that my 320i has an Electronic Waste Gate instead of a Pneumatic one. I was initially discouraged as my car was made in 2013 and generally EWGs only appeared on 2014+ models. However, this now means that I would have significantly higher tuning potential with ECU based mods. 

Process for Valve Cover/Gasket Replacement:

1. Remove everything covering access to the engine

• left and right plastic cowl pieces, crossbar pieces, and center bar and seals

2. Remove Plastic Engine Cover and Sound Isolation Foam

3. Remove Ignition Coils, Ground Connections, O2 Sensors, and Vanos Plug

4. Remove Fuel Feed Line + Unscrew Low Pressure and High Pressure Fuel Rails

5. Remove High Pressure Fuel Pump

6. Remove Rear Bracket Blocking the Vacuum Pump and move all cables to the side, then remove the Vacuum Pump

7. Remove front two Camshaft Magnets and unplug them

8. Remove the entire Valve Cover and replace necessary components

• Valve Cover, Valve Cover Gasket, Vanos Plug Gasket, Vacuum Pump Seal

9. Put everything back together

• Make sure to torque Valve Cover and crossbar to the correct spec. (9 Nm for Valve Cover bolts, 69 Nm 90 degrees for Crossbar Bolts).