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

[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.

[cobra]

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

[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 🤦♂️

[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]

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

[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.

[cobra]

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

[YoungDinosaur]

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