Change the Valve Cover--- FAIL

[falanius]

Well, a few months back, my mechanic said that I needed to change my Valve Cover there is a tiny crack next to the ground wire.

I have a 2003 330ci manual (stick) e46.

So to save $400 in labor, I decided to buy a used Valve Cover on EBAY and install it myself. Easy right??

I read the forums here, then watched a few videos and took my notes. I went to ebay, entered the part and my car type and got a Valve cover for $150. Much better than $350 at Pelican Parts.
valve cover.jpg

This morning, I got up at 7:30am and started the job. Heard that it could take 5 hours and plus I was going to change my spark plugs while I was at it.
Not hard at all. A couple of the back screws are a pain in the butt to do, but I got them off. Then I noticed something...

My valve cover on the car looks DIFFERENT than the one that I bought. The one on the car has plastic sockets that the ignition coils slide in. This one is metal and NO sockets. I'm like....what the heck! I go back to the ebay listing, yeah, it shows my car type as one that it will fit.

So, like an idiot, I drive down to the car shop with my wife's car, yep, this will not fit, you can' use it. So, after 2 hours, I put the original valve cover (with the small crack in it) BACK ON.

Feel like a total dork that I bought the wrong part. So, now I'm back to looking for another part for this car. Good news I didn't break anything, and it wasn't as hard as I was thinking it would be. Oh, and I did change my spark plugs.

Question 1: Is there a way to make use of this Valve Cover I bought? Or do I just re-sell it on ebay?
Question 2: I still don't have the money for a $350 new valve cover, so I'm thinking of rolling the dice and getting a used one. Here are a couple of auctions, any of these you'd recommend?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Engine-V...-/132171786873

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-M54-Engi...-/112381550751

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-M54-Engi...-/152497978803
This one says it came from a M54 2005 325i, Mine's a 330ci in 2003, are there differences?

Thanks!
Andy

[Leothelion092]

Dude go to FCP euro, not only do they offer EVERYTHING THEY SELL IN THEIR WEBSITE FOR LIFETIME WARRANTY REPLACEMENT (in case the new one fails again) they might even have aftermarket options for you. Def check them out. (And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING even their motor oil!)

[Leothelion092]

Here is the link for the valve cover gasket!

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...er-11127512839

It might be possible that the one you bought on eBay may have been for the smaller 2.5 inline 6 rather than the bigger engine our 330ci's have (the 3.0 inline 6) remember to buy your gasket set too! (Also sold on FCP euro for lifetime warranty <3

[Mless5]

It is best to go by part # that is appropriate to your specific car. You can enter last 7 of your VIN on realoem.com and from there you can find the part # you need. I too almost got incorrect one, but my xi was mack at the production change cut off, so I knew that I had to be extra careful. I yanked correct one from the salvage yard for $25. Turns out, my original kept leaking gasket after gasket because the cover itself was warped: I put a piece of straight glass against the mating surface and there was a 2-3mm gap visible.

[Eaglesail]

Well that was an 'all for NOT'.....sorry to hear this! My question, was as a result of a small crack in the valve cover in any way a concern...other than it was there? Did it leak oil?...was the crack going to get bigger...did your mechanic tell you a lie?

If it ain't broken....thing!

I will live with a tiny small oil leak....in my 325 xi! My car leaks a small amount of oil...mind you, synthetic oils find ways leak better than conventional oils.

The point I am making, if you own an older car, you will have some level of oil leakage. If small, you should not be anally concerned...If you are losing mega amounts, and see a puddle on the ground every morning...you need to address it immediately.

[TonyAngel]

If you are tight on money and you just have to get a used part, have you tried calling around to local salvage yards or recyclers? If so, you can go over there and visually verify that what you are buying is the part that you need. eBay is a horrible place to buy used parts, unless you know exactly what you are looking for. I've searched for parts by part number on ebay to come across listings using the part number that I am searching for only to find that close inspection of the pictures show the part to be incorrect.

If you don't have any place local, at the very least, get someone on the phone and tell them what you are looking for.

[shoman24v]

Looks like you need the valve cover that doesn't take the screw on coils, a later model one.

I'd verify a crack does exist. It should be leaking at that point. Generally, the valve cover leaks on the manifold (passenger side) if it's leaking out of the top by the coils then there's a definite crack.

If you indeed have a cracked cover, try junk yards where you pull parts. If you can find one, it shouldn't be more than $20-$30.

Just be sure you take your time screwing all the screws in.

[Dave1027]

Any small crack is a problem since it would represent a vacuum leak and throw off the air/fuel balance.