Valve Cover, Serpentine Belt, & High Press Pwr Steering Hose?'s

jEster · #1 11-07-2012, 05:17 PM

Looks like our '04 X5 needs some more TLC. After it's last service, the dealership advised us that the valve cover gasket and high pressure steering hose were leaking, and the belt needed replacing. Obviously money is an increasing concern, and what they want to charge seems a bit more than I wanna pay. But I haven't done much work on BMW's and want to know if taking on these repairs is above my abilities. I am a fairly competent shade tree mechanic with a decent set of tools, so have any of you guys done any of these? My biggest concern is the gasket, not sure what all needs to be pulled to get at the valve cover. Also where do you guys get your parts? AutoZone is the closest physical parts place by me, and their site says they can get the parts, just not sure if they are quality replacements for Beemers...

Oh and what kind of time should I carve out to get this done, can't have the wife's ride out of commission too long...

Thanks for the help!

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epdarks · #2 11-07-2012, 06:25 PM

What are you symptoms? Have you seen the leaking with your own eyes? How bad is it?

Dealerships are really good at "finding" issues and reasons to take your money.

I would recommend you take it to a good independent BMW shop.

You can try the site RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog to find which parts you need. Search for the part number in our sponsors website... OEM / Performance Parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Porsche & Volkswagen - ECS Tuning

From there you can buy a Bentley manual and attempt the repair yourself. First things first, WHY do you need this work done?

nebilex · #3 11-07-2012, 06:34 PM

OP, the valve cover is actually not that bad to do since you have the 3.0 engine. There a really good YouTube video you can watch to see the process, I believe the video is for a 3 series but same engine, and the good thing about the X is there is a bit more room to work on than the 3 series in the video. The only thing I would tell you to watch out for is during installation, make sure the gasket doesn't slip on u. But as epdarks mentioned, first thing to do is to find the oil leak the dealer is talking about....visual inspection, the after driving the car, let the engine cool down and run ur finger around the engine and see if you get any oil( perhaps not the best way to check).... Good luck, do a search on here and u'll find a few valve cover gasket discussions....

jEster · #4 11-08-2012, 01:49 AM

I totally agree with both of you, I haven't had a chance to confirm the"leak" yet but figured I would start getting my ducks in a row in case it does exist. I did a brief inspection the other night and did see an area that accumulated more dust/dirt than the surrounding area. It was at the passenger side closest to the firewall. And there is also a similar accumulation on the upper power steering hose closest to the radiator. Also my wife has complained of smelling something she said was similar to burnt rubber. There aren't any signs of of oil under the car where she parks it, and the oil level is still full, so it might be minor, or is being burnt off the exhaust manifold. As for the belt, it looks to be showing a bit of cracking, so figured if I had to do the other items I might as well do it to be on the safe side. But would put that off if no leaks were found. Thanks for the YouTube tip, as well a picking up a Bentley manual, usually used Clymer but I assume they aren't as good for German cars right?

Thanks again, will investigate it further tomorrow in the daylight...

Skyline · #5 11-08-2012, 11:29 AM

If the belt is cracked, replace it right away for sure.

The power steering hose should not be too difficult to change, just a bit messy.

And the valve cover gasket should not be too difficult either, especially if you look up some of the on-line tutorials. But as posted above, confirm the source of the oil leak on your own before fixing these. Clean the engine well, then drive the car a bit and look, (and feel).

If it were my X, I'd stay away from Autozone in terms of parts. You're much better off with someplace like ECS for mostly OEM and some original parts, and someplace like Faulkner BMW for mail order original BMW parts.

OEM / Performance Parts for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Mini, Porsche & Volkswagen - ECS Tuning

BMWPartsSource.com

If you go to a local dealer for parts, many give a discount for BMW CCA membership.

Vorteil · #6 11-08-2012, 01:30 PM

I have the same issue as well. I have an 04 4.4 & the covers have a small leak there & I think the front cover. I heard for mine it's a pain & very time consuming. I have an independent shop that quoted me $1k and it's an all day job. Seems like I will need to do it eventually but the cash flow is not the best ast this time.

Skyline · #7 11-08-2012, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorteil

I have the same issue as well. I have an 04 4.4 & the covers have a small leak there & I think the front cover. I heard for mine it's a pain & very time consuming. I have an independent shop that quoted me $1k and it's an all day job. Seems like I will need to do it eventually but the cash flow is not the best ast this time.

There are some very good tutorials linked online here. Using those as a guide, I just did mine on my 4.4. It certainly is a good amount of work, but all day is stretching it a bit for just the valve cover gaskets. After doing the job once, I'd bet I could do it in 2.5-3 hours. If that "all day" includes the front covers, that's another story. If you really need the front covers done, depending on mileage, you might want to think about a timing chain and guides, but that will certainly add significanlty to the repair costs. Either way, plenty of folks here have said they paid well more than $1,000 for just the valve cover gaskets...and did not seem upset about it.

jEster · #8 11-14-2012, 05:19 AM

Thanks for the advice! Gonna clean the engine tomorrow, as well add check the parts links you were kind enough to share. I was a bit uneasy about using AutoZone for the X, and your message clinched it...

Time to get dirty...

jgold47 · #9 11-14-2012, 05:12 PM

My only advise for the valve cover is to 1) use OEM only, do not use the victor reinz 2) make sure you replace the spark plug gaskets as well (they are usually included) 3) replace the valve cover bolt grommets.

Its very easy to do on a 3.0

Also, if you get the cover off and the gasket is hard and brittle and you cant get it cleanly out, use a heatgun to heat the gasket up and it should peel off. DO NOT BE STUPID ABOUT THIS. the gasket gets super brittle and will 'shatter' all over the place even into the car. all three I have done on m5X engines have had this problem. the m52 one I had to use a heat gun, scraper and a pick to get the whole thing off.

I dont want to scare you, but I dont see this brought up very often.

the belts are easy to do, provided you get the fan off the front of the engine. this requires a special tool, but its probalby worth owning. While you have the fan off and the valve cover off, you should also consider doing the vanos seals, and replacing the thermostat and waterpump so you dont have to go back and do it again later.

All very easy DIY's if your patient and have the time to achieve

jEster · #10 11-27-2012, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgold47

My only advise for the valve cover is to 1) use OEM only, do not use the victor reinz 2) make sure you replace the spark plug gaskets as well (they are usually included) 3) replace the valve cover bolt grommets.

Its very easy to do on a 3.0

Also, if you get the cover off and the gasket is hard and brittle and you cant get it cleanly out, use a heatgun to heat the gasket up and it should peel off. DO NOT BE STUPID ABOUT THIS. the gasket gets super brittle and will 'shatter' all over the place even into the car. all three I have done on m5X engines have had this problem. the m52 one I had to use a heat gun, scraper and a pick to get the whole thing off.

I dont want to scare you, but I dont see this brought up very often.

the belts are easy to do, provided you get the fan off the front of the engine. this requires a special tool, but its probalby worth owning. While you have the fan off and the valve cover off, you should also consider doing the vanos seals, and replacing the thermostat and waterpump so you dont have to go back and do it again later.

All very easy DIY's if your patient and have the time to achieve

Excellent advice, thank you! In regards to the "special tool", is this specifically to remove the fan, or some other related component? And what is it, where do I get one, how much, and finally can I make do with a conventional tool used unconventionally to get it done? Obviously I do not want to destroy, strip, or otherwise damage parts, just hate being forced to buy proprietary tools when something standard would have worked... Oh and where do you get your OEM parts?

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