M62 Valve Cover replacement

[geargrinder]

What oil? There no oil on the outsides of M62's.

That's the special "self-renewing anti-corrosion treatment" feature designed in by Munchen.

[JimLev]

You don't have a pan under the engine with a pump to return it back to the engine??

[geargrinder]

speaking of which, do people also powder coat their upper and lower timing covers?

Yes.

do these powder coats tend to keep oil from sticking to them? so they're easier to clean?

Yes. If you choose a gloss of course. A wrinkle finish, which is the most popular for the VCG's of course is less so. But the magnesium covers aren't the smoothest finish in the world and so it helps to use a 'texture' finish on those to make them look good and hide the surface imperfections.

A hammer type finish might be somewhere best of both worlds, really its semi-glossy and wipes/washes well but visually its 'textured' so hides imperfections.

[joekitch]

A hammer type finish might be somewhere best of both worlds, really its semi-glossy and wipes/washes well but visually its 'textured' so hides imperfections.

that's the plan stan. visually hides imperfections AND is easy to wipe down. This means i can quickly identify leaky gaskets and easily clean up afterwards rather than scrubscrubscrub spraywithsimplegreen scrubscrubscrub

[JimLev]

speaking of which, do people also powder coat their upper and lower timing covers?

also, do these powder coats tend to keep oil from sticking to them? so they're easier to clean?

Yes and yes, along with the oil filter housing too.

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[philly98540]

Jim, I see some minor grime next to your Valley Pan! Get some toothbrush action in there.

[JimLev]

I'll jump right on that spot boss, will follow it up with a Q-tip.

[philly98540]

Lol. Your attention to detail is unmatched!

[JimLev]

Are you certain these vc are magnesium? My painter told me they were sintered aluminum.

Never heard that one before. The inside of our valve covers have a Mg imprint on them.

[claylakem6]

Never heard that one before. The inside of our valve covers have a Mg imprint on them.

Thanks Jim, I will look more closely. The last set I got from the junkyard the vc was separating in layers and I have never seen magnesium do that?

[JimLev]

Here's the inside of my tu cover, you can just make out the Mg.
I have a set of non-tu covers that I've been working on.
They don't have the Mg, but they have the same pitting/imperfections as all of the tu VC's I've powder coated.


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[joekitch]

one other thing to note is how freakishly light the VCs are given their size. magnesium is 34% lighter than aluminum by volume so...

[Daveingigharbor]

I just had mine done in a silver to match the engine cover. Shop knew what they were doing, $185 for the two. The only downside is the uneven surface that shows with non-textured paint.

I ended up buying a used pair to send to the powder coating company, due to a two to three week turnaround. that allowed me to do everything in one day (spark plugs, and gaskets)

[geargrinder]

Yep. An extra set is handy. Be even better to have extra set of timing covers too if doing the 'whole job'. I'm thinking about doing my extra set in a different coating.... hammered instead of wrinkle this time...

[joekitch]

so, when i was told "brake cleaner melts that stuff off" i was wasn't expecting the caked on super grime to literally melt within one second of spraying it and run off. Smells terrible but holy hell does it work a treat
tomorrow is the day of great degunking

[dannyzabolotny]

so, when i was told "brake cleaner melts that stuff off" i was wasn't expecting the caked on super grime to literally melt within one second of spraying it and run off. Smells terrible but holy hell does it work a treat
tomorrow is the day of great degunking

Smells terrible? What are you talking about? Brake cleaner smells amazing! Do you also think gasoline and paint thinner smell gross? Best smells on the planet right there.

[joekitch]

before and after five cans of brake cleaner




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[geargrinder]

ZOMG the brake cleaner disolved your upper timing covers!?!

Honestly not a fan of the "buy a case of brake cleaner and hose away!" Approach myself. Ain't good for you nor possibly parts, it ain't "all porpoises parts cleaner" on the label after all.

IME using another degreaser like a citrus for a good wash down first means you only need to get serious for a can or two with something like BC. Doesn't take any longer, might even be faster, and you inhale a crap ton less toxics.

[geargrinder]

Btw you could have also pulled the last cable up and out before clean too. If the oil pan is out already the dipstick too although leaving the dipstick is prob good idea if you're doing the brute hose down method and the pan is still there.

Be sure to track those lower cover bolt locations when you get there... Those bolt lengths are all over the place and important.

[DoriDori]

All the old M62tu valve covers look like crap at this point, but a competent powder coating shop should be able to take care of them. A proper shop will sandblast all of the old finish off, soak it in a solvent, and bake all of the oil out in an oven prior to powder coating.

My X5 4.6is had some pretty grotty old valve covers but my powder coater was able to make it look awesome. The key is to get a textured finish— a smooth finish will never look good on a beat up old valve cover.

x2.i did the same colorway on my 540 covers. Because the casting marks are so ugly from the factory, my powerdercoater guy advised a wrinkle finish.

[joekitch]

Just dropped the valve covers and UTCs off at a place called new england industrial coatings inc based out of worcester.
They'll do all of it in that textured metal finish shown earlier in the thread for $350 all in, at least that was their initial estimate. should take about a week or maybe slightly longer.

[M5XTu]

If you guys ever need this done, PM me. I sold the powder-coated valve covers to the OP. I have 2 more sets for an M62TU. I can do an exchange program so you do not have any downtime.


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[smoothgrass]

If you guys ever need this done, PM me. I sold the powder-coated valve covers to the OP. I have 2 more sets for an M62TU. I can do an exchange program so you do not have any downtime.

New user so I can't PM you but I'd like to know more about the sets you have available. Just now getting ready to replace the VCG's on a new-to-me '03 540i and was planning on having the covers cleaned and coated locally or sending them out if necessary. Downtime isn't really an issue, but if you already have a set that was done right I would be interested. Mine are in good shape other than the peeling; 115k miles and never been off the car. Please PM me with your contact info if you like.

[kaineb]

WAAAAY toooo much. Pass! Less than $100 near me.

If you can ship. This is my local guy that knows how to do it.http://boneheadperformance.com

I contacted him and he bumped the price up by 50%. Just doesn't look good doing that... Though he did a nice job on them.

- - - Updated - - -

before and after five cans of brake cleaner

Im up to 20 cans of brake cleaner, 1 gallon of degreaser, 1 can of strong engine degreaser, and 2 pressure washing sessions and im still not done. This car is the worst ive ever seen. But much better than when i got it. LEaking from everywhere and the entire engine bay was pitch black. Coming along...

[StephenVA]

Prince Wheel Services
1398 Walkup Ave Monroe NC 28110 US

Phone: 704-289-3600 Toll Free 877-7WHEELS
Fax: 704-289-3223

E-mail: princewheel@gmail.com


They just completed a set of covers for a friend that was installed over the weekend. Crinkle finish to hide all the casting marks. Turned out like jewelry. Nice guys and competent shop. We had them do 18 wheels for M5, and Mercedes wheels. Turned out GREAT. They are the only shop I have found on the East Coast that can do a proper shadow chrome finish on M5 wheels and have them look like factory. There maybe others out there but Prince has delivered the right stuff for multiple M5 owners and exceeds expectations. Se the M5 forum for lots of examples and success stories.