M42/44 / 318ti Valve Cover Gasket DIY. PICS! * DIY * Replace the Valve Cover Gasket and Spark Plugs on the M42/44 Engine. Parts Needed: • M42/M44 Valve Cover Gasket: 11121721876 • Rubber Bolt Washers (15x): 11121721879 • Spark Plug Hole Gasket w/Bolt Hole: 11121721475 • Spark Plug Hole Gasket w/o Bolt Hole (3x): 11121721476 • Oil Supply Seal: 11121247948 (M44 only) • Spark Plugs (4x): I used NGK “BKR6EK” • High Temp RTV or any gasket sealer you desire. Tools Needed: • 7mm Socket • 10mm Socket • 13mm Socket • 16mm Socket • 8mm Combo Wrench • 10mm Combo Wrench • Philips Screwdriver • Flat Head Screw Driver • BMW Tool Kit Spark Plug Socket (Look in your trunk) • BMW Spark Plug Boot Puller. Attached to valve cover :D • Air Compressor w/ Blow Gun (optional) New Parts. Valve Cover Gasket + Spark Plug Seals http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1281.jpg Rubber Bolt Gasket/Washer http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1284.jpg New NGK Spark Plugs http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1286.jpg |
#1. Disconnect Negative Battery Cable (13mm combo wrench) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1289.jpg |
#2. Disconnect Positive Battery Cable. 10 mm combo wrench. 318ti Only? #3. Remove Battery. 10mm Combo or 10 mm Socket on battery hold-down bolt. 318ti Only? #4. Unbolt Battey Box. Two 13mm bolts underneath battery. 318ti Only? Battery + Battery Box Removed. You can see the two battery box bolts rethreaded so I won’t lose them. I think the 318i/is/ic has the battery in the back, so I guess you can omit steps #2, #3, and #4. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1298.jpg |
#5. Unplug and unscrew (Two 8mm Nuts) Ignition Coil Pack. Unplug. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1292.jpg Unscrew. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1293.jpg #6 Unplug Spark Plug Boots. Blue BMW tool in use. Just unsnap them for now. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1294.jpg -- http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1295.jpg |
#7. There are two nuts/bolts (10mm?) that attach the spark plug wire channel/heat shield to the valve cover. Loosen, but do not remove these nuts. I took these pics on installation, that’s why it’s so clean :) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1334.jpg -- http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1335.jpg |
Here’s the reason I’m replacing the valve cover gasket..... http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1303.jpg |
#8. Remove the ignition pack, spark plug wires, plug wire channel w/ heat shield, and insert tray as one unit. The insert tray lightly clips into the top of the valve cover. Use a flathead screwdriver to unsnap it. The wires hang up in the passenger side rear corner, so it takes some wiggling to get the whole thing out. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2..._1298label.jpg -- All removed. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1299.jpg |
#9. Optional? To make it easy, remove the ducting above and behind the wiring channel. 7mm Socket & Philips Screwdriver. It’s the same one that you remove to replace the 318ti cabin filters. You can see the dirty filters hidden back there. Now would have been a good time to have had new ones ready..... Idiot! I don’t really know if this is necessary for 318i, 318is, or 318ic people. It may not even be necessary for the 318ti, but I thought it would make things easier to pull the valve cover away. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1304.jpg |
#10. Remove the spark plugs. 16mm Socket? First, blow compressed air into the spark plug holes to keep debris from falling into the cylinders when you remove the spark plugs. Old (40,000 mile) Bosch Platinum +2 Plugs, plus the BMW spark plug socket. You can see the oil leak residue (hex part) on the second spark plug from the right. That didn't leak 40,000 miles ago... http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1306.jpg |
#11. Unbolt all 15 valve cover bolts. (10mm socket?) With the battery box and wiring duct removed, they are all easily accesible. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1307.jpg Here’s what the valve cover bolts look like. You will be replacing the black rubber part. The Smaller bolt (two of them) are from the spark plug channel; the perimeter bolts are the longer ones. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1308.jpg |
All bolts removed; cover ready for removal. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1309.jpg |
#12. Gently pull the valve cover away. Do NOT pry it. I used the valve cover breather pipe to pull up gently. Opened up. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1318.jpg |
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#13. Underside of valve cover. Pull old gaskets away and clean up cover to your liking. Insert new gaskets. Freshly Pulled http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1280.jpg New gaskets installed and ready to reinstall. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1322.jpg |
#14. Replace oil supply pipe seal. After 10 years and 139,000 miles, mine was hard as plastic! The new one is soft and squishy. (M44 Only) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1321.jpg Seals up to this oil supply pipe http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1320.jpg |
#15. Clean half-moon surfaces with rubbing alcohol or the like, and apply small beads of sealer. I used Permatex High Temp RTV. I didn’t know how much to use, so I guessed. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1323.jpg -- http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1324.jpg |
#16. Install new rubber washers on the two smaller valve cover bolts. Reinstall valve cover as perfectly aligned and straight down as possilbe. Hand thread the two smaller bolts (spark plug channel) to keep the valve cover in place. #17. I used a mirror to make sure the back side (with half moons) were properly seated. You can see a tiny bit of the RTV squeezing out. The RTV instructions said to reinstall the valve cover and let the RTV squeeze out just a bit, then let it cure for a full hour. I used this time to clean up a bit and to install the new rubber washers on the remaining bolts. I found it easiest to use a diagonal cutter and cut away the old rubber washers from the bolts. Reinstalling the new washers is a PIA. I needed grease on some to get them to slide on easily. I should have cleaned that mirror first :) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1328.jpg -- http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1332.jpg |
#18. After the RTV has cured, I torqued the valve cover bolts to a bit less than the 10 nm spec. #19. Install new spark plugs. Use the included BMW tool and hand thread the spark plugs until fully seated. The torque spec for the plugs was 18 ft-lbs, but that seemed a bit much and I stopped at about 10 ft-lbs. #20. Plug in the valve cover breather hose. http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1333.jpg |
#21. Reinstall the ignition set. Make sure you rebolt the plug wire channel/heat shield to the outside of the cover. See Pics in Step #7. BTW, it was much easier to install than remove. #22. Reinstall the wiring harness ducting, if you removed it. #23. Reinstall the battery box, battery, and positive battery cable, if you removed it. #24. Reinstall spark plug channel cover. All back together! http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f2...8/IMG_1336.jpg |
#25. Reconnect negative battery cable. Check oil level, and start it up. Check for leaks. If all is well, take it for a short drive and then check for leaks again. -------------------------------------- Well, that's how I did it. First draft BTW, so I may have omitted stuff and made some errors in my typing. No guarantees on anything, so work at your own risk!! Recommendations: • Do this shortly before you need an oil change. You're certain to get a small amount of debris into the cam/valve area. • Use lint-free rags when wiping oil seal areas. The less lint and debris that gets into the engine, the better. • Do this only when the engine is cold. |
My first roadtrip after the new plugs got me a new personal gas mileage record. 33.4 mpg. That was with numerous stops too :) 34 mpg should be no problem with a non-stop run. |
cover gasket tutorial Thanks for the excellent post. I found oil in the first and second plug wells today, so I'm putting this job on my list. |
Does anyone know what the plates are called that the oil return tubes are attached to. I'm getting my valve cover powder coated and had to take everything off. The rubber gasket that is on the one plate is very dry and I would like to replace it since everything is ripped apart. I can't find anything on real OEM that shows what there are and running the one part number I can find on RealOEM doesn't come up with anything. Quote:
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Great posting! thanks much for the detail, and all the pics. In looking for a gasket set, I found the dealer is about 2-3x the price of the non-BMW parts houses. But, the oil supply seal is a dealer-only part, and not carried by the BMW dealers (I called east to west coast). It is a 2-3 day delivery for this $5.00 part. Be sure you have all parts before this surgery - my ti is now immobilized until I get that part. |
Yeah, I'd get the new oil supply seal for sure. I contemplated not changing it, but after seeing how hard it was, I was glad I replaced it. Cheap insurance for ensuring a good flow of oil to the cams. |
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I think I got it from PelicanParts.com |
Yep, found everything I needed at PelicanParts.com. It totaled something like $51 with 2-day shipping. |
Excellent DIY, just booked maintenance for this in our local workshop. And now i can collect all needed parts. Oil Supply Seal: 11121247948, cant get this part anywhere in Finland cos M44 engine is very very rare here (didn't import it here much) so need to order it from Germany or Sweden, but without this DIY my car would stand in repair shop couple of days, so thanks ;D |
Awesome write-up...just did this today. Your loss was my gain in pointing out to do the microfilters as well, so thanks for that! Only thing I did badly was I forgot to put the really thin plastic baffle back inside the microfilter assembly. Is this bad? Haha... |
nice write up. the shots of the cam shafts and the valves are beautiful. is it really supposed to be that oily in there? i mean i know there needs to be oil but that looked like a lot. idk im just a noob. :P |
Great write up, did this today, much easier than it looks. I got all the parts for it at pelicanparts.com. |
Thanks for the guide, CirrusSR22, it's nice to have information from someone who's done it before. When I did this job on my 318ti, I tried to avoid removing the cowl ductwork behind the wiring channel at first, but access to a couple of the fasteners at the rear of the valve cover was tough, so I wound up removing it. Having the battery tray out helped a *lot* with access to the ductwork fasteners; wish I'd stopped and considered that when I replaced my microfilters, since it's trivial to access the fasteners on that side of the ductwork with a deep 7mm socket once the battery's out of the way. The inside of the cover was fairly coked up, but I was a little leery of using harsher solvents like carb or brake cleaner since the oiler bar is attached to plastic. In the end, it didn't clean up as well as I would have liked, but I'm probably being too picky. I'm with you on cutting the old rubber isolators off; makes short work of it. I used a couple large sockets to press the new ones on; put a washer and isolator on the fastener, drop it into a large enough socket, and press down on the head with another socket and they pop right on: http://www.horde.net/gallery/var/res...r/DSC_0051.JPG http://www.horde.net/gallery/var/res...r/DSC_0052.JPG When I was done, I wanted to make sure I hadn't accidentally knocked off the oiler bar supply seal. You can see it easily through the oil fill hole if you use a strong light. Took it easy doing it and was done in a bit under four hours, including carting tools out to the garage, two trips to the parts store for solvent (the second one because I forgot my wallet the first time, heh), and cleanup. |
I have a bad oil leak from the top of the motor somesweres in the back going onto the exhaust when parking on my steep driveway facing up. But when I back in, (facing downhill) I have some sort of leak at the front. Cannot see where, guess I'll have to get it up on a lift but this is definately coming from the back of the valve cover on one leak. Thanks for the pictures, as mentioned before, pictures are worth a thousand words! I think the valve cover will be my first project, then worry about other leaks...Thanks again, Cirrus. |
Very good pics. Thank you |
Thanks, Cirrus. The service manual is good to have, but your ideas and photos helped. I changed mine a month ago, and no leaks on top anymore... Now I gotta change the oil filter housing gasket to fix the front leak... Sigh... :cool: |
I checked my spark plugs today and there was oil on all the plugs, and the plugs them selves were fouled. And the oil was leaking past the plugs onto the wire connectors. Is this most likely my problem or am I looking at something much worse? |
oil on the tips (electrodes)? or where they connect to spark plug wire end? If its the wire side of the plug, yes its just your valve cover gasket |
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If the wires have been soaked for a long time with oil, you might want to check the resistance in the spark plug wires, and if the rubber is bad change the spark plug wiring harness. Mine were just starting to leak into the 2 center spark plug holes, so gaskets and seals fixed my problem without changing the spark plug wiring harness. |
Sweet. I've never had to do something like this. Thought it would be alot more complicated and higher level. Thanks for your input. |
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