94K miles so far, runs great. love this car....but is an expensive hobby !

At 62K, this car had both the valve cover and timing cover gaskets changed. I now see the right side VC leaking again (rear, right)..not sure if this is the gasket or the cover itself (warped??).
Thinking of doing it myself, never done it before...so any help will be appreciated.

I also see some traces of oil below the alternator area (new alternator, the car just died in the middle of the street!). Please see the attached picture 1 and 2. not sure what engine component is down there...also see some the 2 hoses they seem to have some oil leaks (not sure what are they called)?? Any help? any DIY thread you can point me to?

Another basic question, removed the top plastic cover...but I am not sure how to remove the one over the coils,both sides (3rd picture). I don't see any fasteners holding , should I just yank it hard enough (tried with little force already)?

thanks.

 

sorry you will have to post a actual picture as I'm a little leery of opening a PDF from someone with only a single post

 

sorry...photos attached

photo 1 - see some oil traces on the 2 hoses connected to the what i think ins the lower left side of the radiator. Not sure what are those

photo 2 - see oil traces in the area below the bottom roller/belt. Not sure what part is this? I recently changes the alternator...the indy should have detected if this were an alternator bracket leak??

photo 3 - very basic quagmire! how to remove the R side engine trim cover? Don't see any fasteners?

 

#1 Pretty sure this is the transmission oil cooler. Could be engine oil cooler.

#2 Power steering hose.

#3 Don't have this car, but pretty sure it just pulls off. It is held on by some studs pushed into rubber grommets.

Honestly, none of these look that bad. If you don't have drips on undershield nor on the garage floor and you don't have fluid loss from the reservoirs, I'd just keep an eye on it and not do anything.

 

Your leak appears to be in the alternator bracket gasket area. Google "Alternator Bracket Gasket". BMW put a hole in the block that is covered by the alternator gasket and frequently leaks. Also, the valve cover job is 8-10 hours by an experienced mechanic. Definitely not for the faint of heart (no, this ain't no chevy small black valve cover change)

 

FYI:

Pelican BMW Tech Article - The Infamous Alternator Bracket Oil Leak on the E65 BMW 7-Series -

 

Thanks all for the inputs. Yes the R side undershield has oil, so I will likely need to replace the R VC gasket.
SytinMike - based on research the R side seems fairly straight forward? Maybe your 8-10 hrs estimate is both sides? Maybe I will go to back to the indy (

 

can I change the camshaft sensor gasket and o ring without removing the valve cover? I googled for it, could not find any posts where someone just changed these seals. Mine is leaking very light...the sensor seems to be fine so far.

 

If you have a leak at the back of the head by the firewall there is a port plug there just next to a bracket. Almost impossible to see. If I remember correctly you will need to cut a Allen wrench short to access and remove the plug. put some sealer on there and re-install/

 

here is a picture with the shorted allen wrench in the plug....



here is the set screw, very hard to see...