Oil leak / sometimes smells of burnt oil - Valve cover gasket? (SOLVED)

[Cubieman]

Was oil found in the spark plug #2 well ?

Oil was indeed in spark plug hole in cyl. # 2, I have yet to open it back up unfortunately.

[y2k_o__o]

Mine has been leaking oil for a while from the spark grommet on cyl. #2, it's annoying as I can smell it while driving. The VC has been off one time and re-used, however it leaked before it was removed.

Genuine BMW VCG, Grommets, Tube seals all put in about 2 years back.

I recently pursched Elring tube seals and plan to reuse the VCG/Grommets and maybe put a bit of drei bond or Toyota FIPG on the tube seals hoping for a seal this time.

I may warranty the VCG/grommets as they have been used 2 times now, that would be the smart move.

However it seems the BMW VCG seems to be ok with being used a few times.
It will be a bit of a pain to remove the Toyota FIPG from the VCG around the vanos>head area and half moons.

Was oil found in the spark plug #2 well ?

[Cubieman]

Mine has been leaking oil for a while from the spark grommet on cyl. #2, it's annoying as I can smell it while driving. The VC has been off one time and re-used, however it leaked before it was removed.

Genuine BMW VCG, Grommets, Tube seals all put in about 2 years back.

I recently pursched Elring tube seals and plan to reuse the VCG/Grommets and maybe put a bit of drei bond or Toyota FIPG on the tube seals hoping for a seal this time.

I may warranty the VCG/grommets as they have been used 2 times now, that would be the smart move.

However it seems the BMW VCG seems to be ok with being used a few times.
It will be a bit of a pain to remove the Toyota FIPG from the VCG around the vanos>head area and half moons.

[R60BBA]

The Elring VCG always leaks in short order, if not immediately. This is just one of those areas of the car where you should get the part with the BMW sticker on it.

What’s your take on the Elring head gasket kit (which comes with their VCG)?

I presume the parts within the Elring kit are okay to be used when replacing the head gasket bar the VCG, which should be replaced with a genuine BMW item?

https://web.tecalliance.net/elring/en/parts/10/074.550/detail

[YoungDinosaur]

Wow, keeping the VCG genuine BMW and changing the other gaskets/seals to OE/OEM dropped the price to $120. Thanks everyone.

[cobra]

Yep - only had issues with the elring vcg. Others seem fine.

[eacmen]

Really? OK that would save quite a bit of money. The Elring Vanos gasket is ok?

In my experience yes. Any decent brand for the other gaskets should be fine.

[YoungDinosaur]

Really? OK that would save quite a bit of money. The Elring Vanos gasket is ok?

[eacmen]

Ugh, I'm ordering a new VCG kit because I'm having the Vanos replaced and I just went down this Genuine vs Elring VCG rabbit hole. It turns out that I had an Elring VCG installed in 2020 and it was leaking and burning oil by 2022. No wonder! I guess this time i'm dropping $400+ on Genuine gaskets 🤦♂️

Only one you need genuine is the VCG itself. The other seals don't need to be genuine.

[YoungDinosaur]

Ugh, I'm ordering a new VCG kit because I'm having the Vanos replaced and I just went down this Genuine vs Elring VCG rabbit hole. It turns out that I had an Elring VCG installed in 2020 and it was leaking and burning oil by 2022. No wonder! I guess this time i'm dropping $400+ on Genuine gaskets 🤦♂️

[cobra]

Thanks guys, ordered up a new VCG and will reuse the other parts.

[dukeofchen]

After my Elring VCG leaked I replaced it with OE, but kept the grommets and tube seals from the kit and they've been fine.

Personally not something I would think too hard about, especially at that price. The VCG being a picky area makes sense given the tolerances to have it sit perfectly flush and achieve the right compression on the ridges for a proper seal, but the other areas seem like they would be more forgiving.

[enjoy_m3]

Had this issue also, I had heard from a fellow m3 buddy there was a bad batch of elring gaskets. I replaced my elring vcg that was a few thousand miles old that was leaking in the middle with another new elring one. It leaked in the same spot ( not a lot but noticed during cold start) and I replaced the valve cover instead from my spare motor, the gasket was the same. Leaked went away. Weird... Also did this with my exhaust cam sensor and it still leaked, bought OEM from pelican. Going to have to try another one again.

[Slideways]

Son of a b**** my VCG is leaking again. Stupid Elring!

I am buying OEM this time. FCP won't do a credit towards it because it's a different manufacturer, but it's worth it to not have that oil smell again.

My question is - Should I also replace all the bolt gaskets and the spark plug tube gaskets? I haven't noticed any leaks at the bolts so probably not necessary, but can't tell with the spark plug tube gaskets since they're inside. The OEM ones are $222 for a set of 6 which is absolutely absurd, which leaves the options of Victor-Reinz or Elring.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/BMW-parts/M3/?year=2005&m=20&e=196&t=6&b=9&d=600&v=&keywords=11127831271

Thinking of going VR just because I know the Elring sucks.

Replace the VCG and reuse the grommets.

[ChapterM3]

Son of a b**** my VCG is leaking again. Stupid Elring!

I am buying OEM this time. FCP won't do a credit towards it because it's a different manufacturer, but it's worth it to not have that oil smell again.

My question is - Should I also replace all the bolt gaskets and the spark plug tube gaskets? I haven't noticed any leaks at the bolts so probably not necessary, but can't tell with the spark plug tube gaskets since they're inside. The OEM ones are $222 for a set of 6 which is absolutely absurd, which leaves the options of Victor-Reinz or Elring.
https://www.fcpeuro.com/BMW-parts/M3...ds=11127831271

Thinking of going VR just because I know the Elring sucks.

I replaced all of mine with all OEM BMW parts and hadn't had an issue until the car went down for its HG. I cannot believe the price hike on those!! I just bought that exact kit for $64 back in Feb. Maybe write or call FCP and see what's the deal with those and why they're so much more than 6 months ago? That's insane!

Sorry to hear this man, the Elring VCG should honestly be pulled from their catalog. I've emailed them and sent them this thread showing all of the different stories and cases where that specific gasket has failed way too early, no response