I'm not a mechanic either, but have the ability to do techy work to a certain level. That's why I wanted to know if a Bentley would help.

Secondly, should I be worried about the above mentioned issues? Like the valve stem seals?

 

These v8 cars are great! Mine has 72,000 miles on it and I took the engine apart a week or so ago and everything looked great! I was unable to find any visible wear at all. Look for yourself:







The pistons, cylinders, and timing chains also appear in extremely good condition. Remember guys, this is the motor from my 550i that was providing over 550 horsepower and it still looks great!

 

107000 on my 08 550. No leaks. I changed the water pump around 80000. The bearing was starting to make noise. Plugs and struts last year at 100000.
No evidence of seal problems yet.
the first thing I purchased after I got the car was a Bentley manual. I like to know how things work. Torques for certain jobs are helpful too.

 

That's good to know. I will check my service history to see if water pump has been replaced.

Has anyone had to do any of the major services at earlier mileage? I did a search on the valve stem issue and it seems like its mostly 545's that were effected? Were the seals not better for later production cars? (2008+ 550i)

 

Engine wear is a non issue...true for all/most BMW engines. Each engine has its weak points, but wear is not one of them. Valve stem seals will affect all of the V8's eventually IMHO, oil leaks is a BMW weakness (inferior seal materials). But, I don't ever let the weaknesses dictate how long I keep the vehicle, I just know what to look for and plan on having to repair sooner or later.

 

^ That's what I am trying to do actually. Position myself by looking in advance to know what to look for or expect coming... OR decide before hand to sell the car (while its in good condition) for the future M5.

 

I also got the Bentley right away(did also have it for my E39), however despite the Bentley not always getting it right for The E60, I still find it to be worth its bit as it has a lot of useful info and it saves you a lot of Googling. Recommend getting it only around $100. After all.

 

My car is currently not making any noises and last I got checked (4k miles ago) - there were no leaks.

Is there anything I can do to see early signs/symptoms?
To prolong - should I do quicker oil changes? (Currently going 7500 miles per change)

 

Check the weep hole in the front of the engine block for coolant (this is the leaky coolant transfer pipe).

Regularly check the engine bay/splash shield for leaking oil.

Doubt that is going to prevent the common N62 and N62TU problems, but it keeping it at 7500 is good the for engine in the long run.

 

I'm at about the same mileage with my '08 and no valve stem issues as of yet, although I do use some oil when I romp on the car a bit. I assume it'll be time for stem seal replacement at about 120K. Loosing coolant somewhere...have to top off every 2 weeks. New hoses, coolant tank, thermostat, water pump about 20K miles ago. Fixed leak on hose on top of radiator, no leak from timing cover, so who knows where its going...