tnycman

I been looking for a Valve cover Gasket DIY but can;t find any for a V8 E60 550.. I found some for 7, and 3 series but nothing for my model..

anyone plz ? If there is something here already I apologize in advance, but it can;t find anything form my searches..

Kamil09m

I've been searching as well. Best one i could find is from BMW TIS

Left side (cylinder bank 5 to 8):
My link

Right side (cylinder bank 1 to 4):
My link

tnycman

It looks like there isn;t really anything out there.. I think the Bentley book would be my next bet..

B_Schnell

I just purchased the Bentley Manual and there is nothing in it that has detail as to how to do the valve cover job and get around the wiring harness and strut that is in the way on the passenger side for the N62 V8 Engine? So waste of $100 bucks. Thanks to the great DIY on this site I was able to do the transmission pan and fluid change myself. The Trans pan is plastic so it begins to leak from anywhere from 30k to 70k from posting I have seen. The job is messy and it took me the better part of an afternoon, plus you burn your arm on the hot exhaust pipe that is located right where you need to reach up to the oil fill plug while the engine is running for proper oil temp. Lifetime fluid my ass, the color of the fluid was the same as a Guiness! and this was the 2nd trans oil pan and oil change at just 70K miles! the guy that owned the car before me apparently changed the pan as it had the older and new bolts ( smaller and larger ) My local Indy guy quoted me 1,200 for the trans job, the dealer quoted about 2,000 The Dealer wants about 2,400 for the valve cover job. Local indy guy want about 2,400 but is suggesting timing cover replace and water pump replace at the same time. So once you add these costs to the infamous cylinder valley coolant pipe job at about $7,000 from the stealer, you are looking at about $11,000 in costs at about every 50K on average ( my observation from various postings) BMW should be ashamed? For a car that cost over $60K new, you expect more! BMW has been plagued by valve cover leaks for years for their V8?s and they still haven?t corrected the problem. And to make matters worse the N62 Engine is especially tough on the passenger side to fix due to all the crap that is in the way. How is it that BMW receives so many awards for their engine designs with all these problems at relatively low miles? Dumbkaufs! I owned a 97 Audi and no repairs till 120K miles for a water pump. I sold that car to my friend and his kid is still driving it now with over 250K miles and haven?t spent half the costs of repair that I have on my 545i. Over $11,000 in dealer cost of repair at about every 50K ? You?d be better off buying a Porsche and you get better performance for the money I'd like to say I enjoy the car when it runs but these costs are outrageous and don't account for all eletrical problems ( I had the wiring harness replaced and as well as the IDrive screen under warranty plus fortunately the cylinder valley coolant pipe at just 35,000 miles!) what's coming? spark plugs, replacing the radiator, alternator, fuel/filter pump that is in the gas tank, wheel bearings, I'll need new shocks soon and now my ball joints are making a loud snapping sound at just 70K miles!..... Since 2006 it is unreal all the costs of repair to this car?

rctmthouse

Schnell,

Are you talking US dollars here because $ 2000 from the dealer and $ 1200 from an indy shop is expensive for a tranny job.

hooch999

Your car is 7 years old now, that's plenty for any german car, you would invest a lot into porsche as well, depending on your luck. And yes, the quotes you posted are nuts, tranny oil change is ~$500 USD, and if you cannot afford do it at a decent indy shop - don't buy BMW.
And BTW color of the tranny fluid means really nothing, you should not touch it under normal conditions for at least 100K miles.

carfucious

I am sorry, I have to disagree. The OP has very good points, and saying if he can't afford to maintain then don't buy is a a cheat. These costs are an outrage.

Cars can be designed to last 100k miles with only minor maintenance, many brands are very successful at it.

Many of us migrated from Honda/Acura, and I believe the expectation that an expensive luxury car should last is reasonable and expected. This is not some Ferrari or hand-built lambo exotic, these are mass market cars that appear designed to last about the length of a short lease term.

There is a member that repaired their own valve cover gaskets, I'll hunt for the thread, the on-line manual only tells how to perform the gasket change on a engine removed from a vehicle, I couldn't find instructions for in-frame.

The boardmember that posted the transmission service has done us all a great service, although we can now all be identified by the burns on our wrists, I am still pleased to have saved the money and solved my harsh shift issue without resorting to changing the trans.


Cafucious