Valve seals on N62 can cause smoke as early as 50 k miles.

I've removed the engine simply because it is easier to work on outside of the car, and I don't know its history.
I bought the car recently, as a project, knowing it had issues.

I wanted to become more familiar with it while doing some proactive work, like gaskets, seals, and other known wear parts, etc.

Some of my questions have been answered here, so I suspect I'll do a little more than I initially expected.

Update:
Removed pass. side VC.
Found a bug. I was hoping this would be the root of all problems.
Sadly, no.
Guess I'll keep looking.
Close proximity to the oil fill cap........
It must've been living in that awesome BMW oil.

IMHO this is the only way if one wants a reliable N62. Address all known problems and you should be good for 50-100k miles without major problems.

Great job, keep pics coming but I know it is hard to snap pics with grease up to your elbows.

My 03 e53, M62 is in great shape but leaks oil from every where.... About to drop the sub-frame with motor and trans so that I can seal it back up and hand it to my son so he can use it for a few more years while in college (125k on it). (Fixed the trans at 93k.)