[Kahn///M]

Long time lurker, first time poster.... please bear with me you fine, fine people.

What I drive-
2006 e90 325xi
~102,000 miles
I have LOVED this car more than is normal/healthy, but I also drive it like the devil, and never turn down to beating some JDM kid in a roadrace

US left hand drive, in Florida so it gets veeery hot.
Been a BMW genius/client advisor at a BMW dealer, no longer there - and so I have no access to the shop .. lol

It is an 06, therefore the valve-cover is the Mg one.

recent relevant work: thermostat replace, water-pump replace, oil filter gasket, valve-cover gasket (just gasket, no valvecover, didn't have the money making BMW Genius pay).
It requires an oil-pan gasket, but i've ignored this because it seems minor mechanically...


A tech told me that the valve-cover and VC gasket are important, because a big enough oil leak can catch fire and melt your VANOS, rendering the car undriveable.

That was when I had him replace the VC gasket, but I held off on the VC itself b/c of cost. I have the metal magnesium VC, which apparently corrodes over time and leads to leaks. The tech told me last November, 2016 that I had 6 month to a year for the VC before I should consider replacing that.

6 months later....

That said, the car has been incredibly reliable thus far.

THE (main) ISSUE:Gaping holes where my Bosch coils insert above the spark plugs.

I have observed this in the front-bumper most front 3 coil areas. The others ones are too far back, so I can't reach them.

It appears to me like an explosion somehow got past the spark plugs and into the chamber where the Bosch Coils are inserted. The coils appear to be undisturbed, although coated in what seems like metal dust.
I have no idea how that could have happened. Is that a serious issue? The engine has been running just fine, strong enough to road-race the JDM kids, and doesn't sound weird to my ear.... I've attached a video of the engine revving.

The entire VC seems to be a lot filthier than it was last time, (photos included) when the tech was complimenting my clean engine. I'm not sure if it could be related to this strange corrosion around where the spark plugs go into.

I have other issues as well, but hopefully can find them somewhere in the forums... this is the most alarming one right now....


Please tell me, on a scale of 1 to trading-in to CarMax next week, how much should I be freaking out? *nervous*

Here's the dropbox if my attachments did not work...

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f4eln58xq...twuUehqna?dl=0

- Kahn ///M

[e90dum]

You can get the whole valve cover on ebay for 200 bucks. Buy that and engine degreaser. lol


Also: you have some serious competition regarding beating up an n52. I deliver pizza in mine. Not only that, I track it as often as I can. My rev limiter is 7500, and I usually don't even bother looking at the tac.

I have ran the car without oil before. The night before a track day, actually(at like 2am). Started the car, started cleaning up my shop, then ran and turned it off when I heard it beeping at me. Had a fun track day the next morning

I have ran the car with 1.5+L too much oil before. I didn't tighten my oil filter cap enough and lost oil pressure going down the road. Because BMW is the dumbest car manufacture on earth, and I don't have a big boy dipstick, I had to guesstimate how much oil I lost and pore it in(or tow it back to my lift- fuck that)



That being said - if you broke your n52 you prolly seriously fucked up (or your engine ate a belt...)


I honestly doubt the solution to your problem is anything other than new plugs/coils.

Speaking of which, when is the last time your spark plugs have been changed?

I don't know the first thing about your problem, but I figured I'd tell you your engine is likely fine. I have 135k miles. Also: what were you pointing out with the video of the revving? Does it sound different to you? I likely won't notice anything through a video

[JuniorB]

I have an 07 and my engine is spotless. Those are not from arcing coils, your car would be misfiring if running at all. They are the coil cavities and shouldn't be leaking oil. Install the coils and make sure the boots are good, powerwash that engine down and make it like you've babied it since new, and send it. They will dump it at auction anyway, you might see 2500-3k range. I've seen them from 4K to 6k for an 06. If that car was mint, you would still see that much. Dealers love presentation, if your car shines, so will you. They see a car that's dirty, they'll asume it's been neglected and your dumping it for reasons. When I go to my Inskip dealer, it's amazing what cars look like...

[Torgus]

Originally Posted by e90dum

You can get the whole valve cover on ebay for 200 bucks. Buy that and engine degreaser. lol


Also: you have some serious competition regarding beating up an n52. I deliver pizza in mine. Not only that, I track it as often as I can. My rev limiter is 7500, and I usually don't even bother looking at the tac.

I have ran the car without oil before. The night before a track day, actually(at like 2am). Started the car, started cleaning up my shop, then ran and turned it off when I heard it beeping at me. Had a fun track day the next morning

I have ran the car with 1.5+L too much oil before. I didn't tighten my oil filter cap enough and lost oil pressure going down the road. Because BMW is the dumbest car manufacture on earth, and I don't have a big boy dipstick, I had to guesstimate how much oil I lost and pore it in(or tow it back to my lift- fuck that)



That being said - if you broke your n52 you prolly seriously fucked up (or your engine ate a belt...)


I honestly doubt the solution to your problem is anything other than new plugs/coils.

Speaking of which, when is the last time your spark plugs have been changed?

I don't know the first thing about your problem, but I figured I'd tell you your engine is likely fine. I have 135k miles. Also: what were you pointing out with the video of the revving? Does it sound different to you? I likely won't notice anything through a video

How many times a week does this happen to you?

[tlow98]

But new VC online and install.

[Kahn///M]

Originally Posted by e90dum

You can get the whole valve cover on ebay for 200 bucks. Buy that and engine degreaser. lol


Also: you have some serious competition regarding beating up an n52. I deliver pizza in mine. Not only that, I track it as often as I can. My rev limiter is 7500, and I usually don't even bother looking at the tac.

I have ran the car without oil before. The night before a track day, actually(at like 2am). Started the car, started cleaning up my shop, then ran and turned it off when I heard it beeping at me. Had a fun track day the next morning

I have ran the car with 1.5+L too much oil before. I didn't tighten my oil filter cap enough and lost oil pressure going down the road. Because BMW is the dumbest car manufacture on earth, and I don't have a big boy dipstick, I had to guesstimate how much oil I lost and pore it in(or tow it back to my lift- fuck that)



That being said - if you broke your n52 you prolly seriously fucked up (or your engine ate a belt...)


I honestly doubt the solution to your problem is anything other than new plugs/coils.

Speaking of which, when is the last time your spark plugs have been changed?

I don't know the first thing about your problem, but I figured I'd tell you your engine is likely fine. I have 135k miles. Also: what were you pointing out with the video of the revving? Does it sound different to you? I likely won't notice anything through a video

Thanks everyone for your replies - I appreciate that!

I had not realized you could get a VC for as low as $200... I was quoted around 500 - with my employee "discount" ... lol.

Definitely glad to hear I've got competition in N52 land. Ive heard its a stout engine, but seeing holes in it makes one panic!

To answer your question... I do not know when the sparks were done =| Definitely time lol. Just on a tight budget at the moment and trying to prioritize repairs. And yeah, the video doesn't really do much justice. It seems to be revving fine, sometimes a loud metallic pop after turning on/ cooling off but nothing too alarming...

tlow98 A fair assessment sir. I'll check out pelican parts and see if I have to confidence/tools for such a task. Has anyone here done a VC replacement themselves?

JuniorB 07, nice ! All about that pre-LCI .. haha. Good info. You answered what I was primarily worried about. It sounds like getting new coils would be a good idea. Having worked at a dealership, what you say checks out. Although... 2500-6000 would be a heartbreak. It's hard to shell out the money to repair it, but I can think of no 50/50 car that's as fun to drive as a BMW. I don't want to settle for an FRS, so i'd love to keep my bimmer alive... just gotta know when to call it and get a different e90 or even e46... Do you think my e90 is beyond redemption? haha


Again thank you everyone for reading and for being such a great community !!!!

Edit: My car has taken erm... two ... shall we say, "short flights" where I hit a curb at speed and caught some air. Such an impact could likely loosen the Bosch coils, such that the boots didn't seal correctly. Not sure.

[tlow98]

Lots of people have done them. It's not considered a 'small' job. I think the dealer would charge 1k and an independent 6-700.

I had no idea the mag covers would degrade in this manner. Sort of crazy. I thought those were the 'good' covers on these cars? Oh well.

[JuniorB]

The maintenance behind the vc is to keep it clean because it is mag. It gets grimmy under the cover, so it's good to clean it. They don't leak like plastic ones, maybe from a crack, but rarely. If your going to trade it, clean it up real well, make sure no cel,or other lights are on and sell it privately, you'll always get more, may take a while since there everywhere. Check book value, that may give you an idea, but a clean car goes a long way when selling.

[CTinline-six]

1. Buy a valve cover
2. Install it yourself to save money
3. Continue to drive your e90
4. Profit


This is a minor issue. Getting another E90 or even an E46 will be a much bigger headache, since they will likely have the same issues that you just fixed on your own car, if not more.

[JuniorB]

No, I wouldn't look at it like that, if you were misfiring because of that, then the boots would be damaged and you can see the arch at nite. The coil cavities should be dry and a vc should only be changed if cracked. It's aluminum and sustain a lot more than composite. Look in there to see if it leaks at all. Those prices at ball peak of course,and would be higher to a private seller. You could put a ton of labor and money that's not nessary if you plan on selling it. Most buyers look for cel lights and safety issues, and that it can pass emissions.