e46 valve cover question

[Josh (PA)]

Hey Guys.

I'm doing my valve cover gasket today on the e46. Does the amount of oil up here look normal to you? The forum pics i've seen have way less oil floating around.

[Nick M3]

Looks like 15k oil changes to me. Sludgy.

[John V]

Yeah. That's really ugly.

[Josh (PA)]

I cleaned it up as best I could. The old gasket was amazingly brittle. It looked like there were a few small leaks towards the firewall and one around one of the plug holes. I put it all back together and it still runs. :dunno:

I've been good w/ 7500 mile oil changes since i've owned it. Plus the pan gasket leaks, so it gets an extra fresh quart every month.

I'll take it in for a change tomorrow to clean out anything that freed up after cleaning and wound up in the oil or filter.

[bren]

How was the job? Are there any good diy's - are they even necessary?

I need to do this on my father's car.

[Josh (PA)]

How was the job? Are there any good diy's - are they even necessary?

I need to do this on my father's car.

It was easy. Probably an hour and a half from start to finish.

This a very thorough and well written DIY. Unfortunately, the pics aren't loading, but you'll get a clear idea of what to do from reading. Be sure you get the full gasket kit with the vcg, the spark plug gaskets and the grommets for the bolts. Get some high temp RTV too.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=886063

[bren]

Cool thanks. Probably end up doing it next week. I'll try to remember to post a comparison pic of the head once we get in there.

[John V]

Bren if you guys don't want to do stuff like this I'm happy to

[bren]

Trust me, I've suggested that to him several times, but he likes projects that keep him busy. Only took him 2 hours to put a headlight bulb in my brother's car last weekend, this should keep him busy for a couple days. :lol:

[Josh (PA)]

Bren if you guys don't want to do stuff like this I'm happy to

how hard is the oil pan gasket to replace on x drive cars?

[3LOU5]

Mine looks a little better than yours, probably because my one-way commute to work is 15 miles:

http://forums.carmudgeons.com/showthread.php?t=76594

7,500 OCI with Mobil1....

[John V]

how hard is the oil pan gasket to replace on x drive cars?

I have to assume horrible.

[Josh (PA)]

I have to assume horrible.

You want to try it?

[John V]

Sure.

[clyde]

:lol:

What about a fuel pump on an XK8? Bonus, you could help me push it onto your trailer.