850i valve cover gaskets

chipray

chipray

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#1
Hello forum. I'm a new member and would like to say "hey" to everyone.

I recently picked up a 92 850i with 115k miles. It's in great shape but leaks motor oil. A local BMW shop gave me an estimate of $700 to change the valve cover gaskets. I was wondering if anyone out there has ever changed valve cover gaskets on the M70 themselves?...is this doable for a home mechanic? I've changed em on other cars..but this is a v12! Anyways, it looks like the intake manifolds will have to come off, and I figured I'd better check with you guys before tearing into it. Are there any special tools required? Any "gotchas" to watch out for? Any other items to check/replace while the manifolds are off?

Also, I've been looking for a shop/service manual for the e31 with no luck. Can anyone recommend where to find a good manual for this car?

Thanks in advance for any replys. Attached is a pic of my car...I love it!

Regards,

Chip
 

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dwayne

dwayne

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well welcome to the board . i am a 850i owner as well , The car just blows me away everytime i drive it , But as with anything there is always repairs that can hit you in the head with cost and experiance and the good ole know what your doing before you screw it up , Lesson learned with a corvette for a few yrs , Anyway you say you have a oil leak depending on the milage you have that can be the problem also there is the reset of the blocks in your computer control display to ...to find a manual for this car is hell unless you got cash to throw around , Also the dealer is not forgiven on labor and cost they see you coming and youl get a cup of coffee a donut even a few skirts may look at you while you fork over almost a grand or to once the car hits the floor rack and up in the air for a pre inspection before they even take one bolt off , the best place for true in depth info on the web is roadfly.org in the 850i section a forum were you can get results about the car and some info i do also have a manual on the car which took me a yr to find and it came from germany from a guy i just stumbled across and he mailed it to me on disk if you like i can try to load the disk up in a zip file and send it to you i can be reached at dwayneh44@comcast.net , Also if its the valve cover gaskets you might as well do a complete tune up overhaul and replace the intake gaskets and the works because intake
does have to come off to get to the covers also check the hoses for leaks as well the car is very computer driven with alot little tricks that was told to me to use in repairing and i got 63 000 miles on mine and i am gearing up for that nightmare day to do the same thing
but i got a manual and a few website url's and some info i can drop on ya in a reply e-mail when you e-mail me ok your car looks good , Also something most 850i owners rarly notice
is the rear end its independant it can reek havoc on exspensive tires make sure you get rear independant alightment i seen pirelli tires get wore out from the outside in so check that to ..so get back to me ..and get your parts together and get ready to get your hands dirty big time talk soon ...... [;)]
 
chipray

chipray

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#4
Hey there Dwayne.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate your input. I know what you mean about the $$$...that's why I really want/need to do some of the stuff myself. I also know what you mean about driving the 850...so smooth and quiet, but at the same time such a beast! I sent you an email. Thanks again buddy!

Chip
 
///M SPEED

///M SPEED

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#5
Nice car Chip! Welcome to bmwboards. Post some pics of that beauty when you get a chance. We would love to see it. There aren't enough 8 series around to admire....
 
lechef

lechef

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Nice car. I just about bought one before I got my 740i. I found a German guy here in LA and it cost me 700.00 for the valve cover gasket and o-rings to be replaced all smog stuff replaced and smoged. Look around and you can find deals out there. I been looking for new tires and it hard for me to swallow 1200.00 for a set of tires. I love the car and realize it will empty the pockets if you do not shop around.
 
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