BMW M52/M54 Valve Cover Gasket Replacement 1994-2006 E36 E38 E39 E46 E53 E60 E65 E85 *Fast Method*

[@bogusienombre355]

This video was very detailed. I have not seen a better job for e46 on YT. Nice camera work.

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers!

[@danielkara7536]

Thank you guys. Your videos definitely make it so I can do these repairs on my weekends. Greatly appreciate your video style.

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the kind words Daniel, glad the videos were able to help you out with your BMW project. Appreciate the feedback as well, thanks again for hanging out. Cheers!

[@carloscubillo9198]

Beautiful, nice, clean and clear video. Thank you for helping out.

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the kind words Carlos, glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks again for hanging out. Cheers!

[@alepepperoni2563]

Thanks for the tutorial. This would be a good time to replace the coil pack and spark plugs too right?

[@BradleysGarage]

Hey Alex, glad your enjoyed the video. In general you would only need to replace the coil packs if you were having current misfires. The spark plugs are due for replacement at 60k miles. We will be posting that quick tutorial video up shortly. But yes, this is a great time to replace them since you have everything apart. Thanks again for hanging out, Cheers!

[@ron8566]

I just did this work on my 2000 R129 SL500. This looks to be a much simpler job on the M54 BMW engine. My neighbor had this work done by a shop and they insisted on replacing the plastic valve cover. They would not do the work unless they also replaced that part. They claimed that reuse of the old plastic valve cover is prone to leaking. Is this true in your experience?

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the questions Ron. While it is common for the plastic valve covers to warp/leak over time, in most cases the leak can be solved with just a new gasket. Unfortunately shops tend to not want any cars coming back with the same issue. Therefore, they advise doing the complete replacement approach. The OEM BMW valve cover is over $500 and the aftermarket is around $300. Whereas the gasket is less than $50. Since we are doing all the work ourselves, we are willing to just replace the gasket only and take the small risk of a leak still being present. We daily drive the E46 330Ci pictured in the video and we have not had any leaks since the repair. Thanks again for hanging out, Cheers!

[@ron8566]

@@BradleysGarage - that makes perfect sense to me. They told him they had too many returns when they didn’t replace the whole valve cover. BTW, my neighbor paid $1,800 for parts and labor. Whew!

[@BradleysGarage]

@@ron8566 Ouch, that hurts the wallet. We found one for our other E46 at a local pick-a-part place for $50. Here is the short of our adventure - kzbin.infoBMUqSRxCBJA We are going on a 4k miles since the replacement and no issues thus far. Thanks again for hanging out. Cheers!

[@pomatmarc]

I replaced mine 3 years ago and it starts to leak again so I might consider replacing the cover as well now!

[@MaggotCZ]

the secondary air pump is not really EGR :D they just put it there to heat up the cats sooner so they could slap EURO 4 on it because the M54 without it are EURO 3 compliant.

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the clarification, it's hard to keep up on what they are calling all the emission related components these days. More and more stuff to choke the life out of these motors. Cheers!

[@Undefeatedannointing]

What tool are you using like a impact ?

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the question Matthew. We are typically using the 3/8 drive ratchet from Milwaukee, Model#: 2457-20 for all the lightweight stuff. We also have the 1/4 drive version for all the small stuff Milwaukee, Model#: 2456-20 If you need more of an impact 3/8 then we use the stubby Milwaukee, Model#: 2854-20 Good luck on your BMW project. Cheers!

[@Eatingsakurasass]

Did u empty the oil?

[@BradleysGarage]

Thanks for the question, sorry we didn't address that in the video. It is a good idea to schedule this with your oil change as there may be some debris that falls into the motor. You can also clean up the engine bay so you know for sure you have solved the oil leak. Good luck on your BMW project, Cheers!