VALVE COVER GASKETS

[STEVE]

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE AND WHAT KIND OF TOP QUALITY VALVE COVER GASKEST I CAN BUY ?
HAVE A 2004 BMW
REPLACED ORIGINAL VALVE COVER GASKET 15 MONTH AGO AT 110,000 MI.
JUST HAD TO REPLACE THEM AGAIN, 10,000 MILES LATER.
THE “NEW” ONES WERE ALREADY BRITTLE AND LEAKING.
BOUGHT THEM FROM A BMW STORE AND WAS TOLD THEY WERE BETTER THAN OEM.

HELP !

STEVE

Topic

[Rudy Wilmoth]

🙁 I am sorry that you are having a problem with leaks. Most leaks are from over tightening the cover’s nuts. Did you use a torque wrench when you replaced the gaskets ?
You may want to consider going with the OEM gaskets, they lasted 110,000 miles, and the supposed better gasket only lasted 10,000 miles. I would use OEM, but that is just me. Good Luck.

[STEVE]

DID USE A TORQUE WRENCH.
FOLLOWED THE BENTLEY MANUAL TO A T.
WAS TOLD THE GASKETS I BOUGHT WERE BETTER THAN OEM

[mckrishes]

Since you are having trouble with aftermarket gaskets, I would by OEM from BMW. That way if you have any problems in the future, you can address it with them. These aftermarket companies come and go.

[college man]

call your local BMW parts dept. They should back them with a
12month/12k warranty. I know Nissan does that.

[STEVE]

12 month or 12000 miles is still pretty damn poor.
that means a new gasket every year.
piss poor engineering

[george gonzalez]

You could try putting a little black silicone goop on each side of the new gasket, that will make up for a lot of gasket problems.

Also check with a ruler than the mating surfaces are reasonably flat. It’s easy to warp a valve cover if it’s sheet metal and you are too enthusiastic with the tightening.

[Tom]

Silicone goop works, but it is a nasty pain in the backside to remove later. Buy OEM gaskets, they are the best quality you are going to get, and will likely work for many thousands of miles.

[Author]

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