tmv, great DIY from Beisan systems and thanks for posting this here. My X5 is 90+K miles and does not display any symptom of vanos seals. My brother X3 2004 with 85K miles and his car vanos is not creating any issue.
I did not think of vanos seals when i replaced valve cover gasket, i may take a look at them sometimes in the summer or until it's getting failure.

Vanos seal fails gradually and doesn't cause any real noticeable issue with the way the car drive. You can't feel it. The car will loose its responsiveness over time as the seal degrades. There are many Vanos threads, on Bimmerfest and Bimmerforum under E39 subforum.
Personally, I will do the Vanos seal as I did on my 525i.

It seems like your X at least 7 year-old. Did you replace vanos seals for your X5 yet?

I will have it done along with cooling system overhaul next month as a 10yr birthday gift for it :-)

tmv, excellent! I have read the link you posted here, and talk to BMW tech. I will have it done soon, sometimes when it's getting warmer. Thanks for your information.

:beerchug:

Just wanted to echo the compliments. You post is Very helpful indeed and the added photo detail is just what the wrench doctor ordered The Bently book just can't offer up enough pics, but you and this great website have bridged the gap. Many thanks and Mahalo.

I'm doing my spark plugs as we speak (I'm sure they are original at 9 years old) and when I got the engine cover off like the pic above, directly behind the oil cap on that long black section of the valve cover going towards the firewall there was oil residue, not dripping but residue that I had to wipe off. Also, the bolts that hold the valve cover down on the right side look rusted and not clean like the pic above.

Would residue on top of the valve over indicate a leak at the gasket? I also have a "whistling" which is faint but very pronounced when you open the hood you can tell its coming from the valve cover area. I thought it was my lower intake boot but the sound does not come from that area.

Thoughts?

Great DIY, and the pics are complementing it greatly. However, there's a slight mistake:

http://sites.google.com/site/khuelecorp/11.jpg

The cylinder numbering starts from the front of the car, not from the rear:

Firing order...
1-5-3-6-2-4

6--------------
5--------------
4--------------
3--------------
2--------------
1--------------
Front of engine


To Ricky Bobby: best way to find out where the leak is - use some smoke, or the carb cleaner method. Usually, a leaky VCG will soil pretty good with oil. I wouldn't be surprised if you found a leaking vacuum rubber hose - there's one that goes around the engine from the SAP. Then, there are a few rubber plugs that go straight to the intake manifold - at the rear of the engine. Those split in time as well.

Ricky B.
Some thoughts for your consideration. At around 90K miles, I replaced the seals on my VANOS with good results. Naturally, I had to remove the valve cover and I purchased a new seal. But, upon close inspection of the top of the cover, which I keep very clean, I found micro cracks - you could not see them at room temp, but you could see tiny slivers of oil that ran in a continuous crack line near places that you would expect to be stress points. Like you, I also found evidence of old oil at the outside of the seal edge - it was clearly a small leak and the high temp of the exhaust was enough to burn it dry so no drip. Bottom line, I purchased a new valve cover at an aftermarket parts place (OEM part) and it came with the new seal pack (so I now have an extra seal pack, but oh well). I don't like oil leaks or doing things twice, so I replaced everything along my path that may be near its end of life. I know I replace stuff too early some times, but my personal time is limited since I'm a working slob like the 40% of people that actually pay taxes. I submit that your time and piece of mind is also valuable. Mahalo,