I recently discovered this web site and it has already proven to be a great resource! Thanks to everyone who have posted such interesting things to read!!

Now I am wondering if I might be able to get a little help. I was changing the oil in my 4.4 a little while back and noticed that the skid plate was wet with oil . I removed the skid plate and cleaned it up, but I could see that the oil was all around the bell housing where the transmission bolts to the engine block. The leak looked like it was from the rear main seal, but with only 97,000 miles on my 2001 E53 (yeah ... only ) I thought that it couldn't be. I promptly took it to a trusted BMW mechanic that my father has used on his BMWs and Mercedes over the years and he said it was the valve cover gaskets (he said he put dye in the oil and used some sort of light to inspect where the oil was leaking out). He also says it's a 5 hour job to change the gaskets, and from looking under the hood, I'd tend to believe him.

Is it normal for the 4.4s to have leaky valve cover gaskets with this kind of mileage and age? Also, is this something I should get the dealer to fix or is it more time consuming than difficult? Could it be the rear main seal?

Any advice is sincerely appreciated!!