Preparing for another round of maintenance. I've been putting it off for a while. It's time to get it done. A full gasket kit is ready to go on. It has new coils and plugs with less than 20k miles. I see two items that can be added. Easier to replace the upper O2 sensor and vanos seals. O2 sensors are not a problem. Vanos? How long do seals last? It runs and idles great. No issues on it even being a daily driver. Other than an old fuel pump to worry about, I wouldn't hesitate to drive it out of state.
Good cleaning, RTV on block gaps, and checking for cover cracks. What else would be good to address?
What are valve cover torque specs?
Update: 01/13/25
The cover is on! Ready to daily drive after letting it sit and cure. More pics at the end. I like it. The fit looks good. I used a mirror to reach way around the back. It sealed good from all angles I could see. While tightening down the middle bolts, I felt the entire valve cover go down evenly. I saved the ground wire strap stud bolt. The valve cover kit didn't include a ground wire stud. I replaced the other three center bolts with included hardware. Three center bolts are identical to the outer cover bolts. Only the second in line bolt is for OEM ground. I transferred a new washer and gourmet to seal it. I have not driven it enough know how engine noise will sound. Engine noise (short valve clatter) may be louder. I stopped tightening when all the bolts felt the same. If you continue torqueing down, eventually the bolts bottom out. I used Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket to seal inner side gasket points. Black RTV was used at the VANOS cover seams. Plus, the half-moon areas. I used a rubber mallet to push in the outer gasket. The valve cover grove is deep.
Niayko Aluminum M54 Engine Valve Cover.The cover fits flip down cover lock coils.