E85, Oil Leak - valve cover gasket? [PICS]

[mike5809]

Hello,

There was a faint smell of burning oil today when I pulled into my driveway after a 20 minute drive. I opened the hood and noticed a little smoke coming from the engine.

Upon further investigation I noticed that there was some oil which has leaked and I believe that it dripped on the exhaust/engine which in turn burned off (thus causing the smell).

I took a few pictures and was hoping if anyone can identify where the leak is coming from. To me, it appears that it is a valve cover gasket - but I do not want to say that for certain.

I had the vehicle at the BMW dealership about 2 weeks ago for an oil change. Since then I have put 1,200 miles on the car. I checked the oil today after I noticed the leak and it has not lost any oil (dipstick still says that it is full) - so it appears that the leak is minimal and by the amount of oil present I would say that it has been there a while.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Also, if it is a valve cover gasket how much does that usually run to have fixed from a dealer?

[pokeybritches]

How many miles are on the car? I had to replace my valve cover gasket around 90k miles. I haven't looked into it too much, but it should be a fairly easy DIY.

[mike5809]

The car has 85,xxx miles.

I figured that it should be pretty easy, as I have replaced the valve cover gasket on a few Honda/Acuras.

I just would like to confirm that is where the leak is coming from before I start ordering parts/tearing apart the car.

When yours leaked, was it in a similar location?

Thanks for your help.

[Shipkiller]

Replacing the gasket and plug well seals (they come as a complete kit) is super easy..

When I pulled the Vanos off the Roadster to replace the internal O-rings, I also replaced those seals.

[pokeybritches]

Originally Posted by mike5809

The car has 85,xxx miles.

I figured that it should be pretty easy, as I have replaced the valve cover gasket on a few Honda/Acuras.

I just would like to confirm that is where the leak is coming from before I start ordering parts/tearing apart the car.

When yours leaked, was it in a similar location?

Thanks for your help.

I honestly couldn't tell you. That was several years ago before I knew much about the car or had the tools/time to do any sort of work myself.

Since you're around the mileage that the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced, I'd just go ahead and do it and see if it solves the problem. A replacement should last you several more years and another 80-100k miles (life of the car?).