Having just replaced my valve cover I can say the job of getting in there wasn't so bad. Loosen the ac line on the right wheel arch so you can lift them about an inch it makes removing the VC at least 50x easier.

I made a tool from angle iron in the past to counter torque the crank bolt and used a pulley system to pull the bolt to the torque and angle.

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2011 E70 • N55 (me)
2012 E70 • N63 (wife)