Crankcase pressure ?

[bajaracer]

Hello everyone,

I purchased a 2007 Z4 3.0SI coupe with 41K miles from a local Lexus dealer two weeks ago. I had the car looked at by my local BMW mechanic. He had two discoveries when he inspected it today.

1. He hooked up a crankcase pressure gauge to the top of the engine oil fill port. He mentioned the crank pressure was higher than normal. He mentioned 13, i dont know if that was lbs or some other unit. It did not drop after the car found its resting idle. He mentioned it could be a valve cover seal going out.... does that make sense ?

2. He found out the auto tranny pan was seeping oil and mentioned it could be the sealing sleeve. I looked at it and it makes sense since it was wet in the area. This a major issue ?

Those were the two major things wrong with the car. I feel lucky.... I think hahaha

Here is the issue I have now, when I negotiated my car purchase i was under the impression the N52 motors needed to have the valves adjusted like the S54 motors. MY BAD !! i guess they dont have the same issue. So the deal they gave me 1K less than on my trade in anticipating the valve job would cover it... Me not know what I know now went for it.

Should I have the dealer replace the valve cover gasket due to the higher than normal crank pressure ? I dont see any oil leaks...

thanks
Ben

[Finnegan]

Leaking valve cover gasket is a fairly common issue. You could DIY and fix it yourself for under 50 bucks.

2007 with failed sleeve is also common. If you're handy with a wrench, you can probably fix this one too, although it's not going to be fun since it's under the car. Might want to do the gasket yourself and have the other repaired.

[bajaracer]

Thanks for reply Finnegan, good reading.

I took the plastic top cover off today and didn't spot any leaks around the valve cover. Should I replace it anyways ? Should i even worry about ?

[Shipkiller]

You also don't have a S52 motor. The S52 was in the early E36 M3 & early MZ3's if I remember correctly.

The Si has an N series motor.

[bajaracer]

Yes, I meant N52, sorry. I am very new to the BMW world.

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by bajaracer

He mentioned it could be a valve cover seal going out.... does that make sense ?

Originally Posted by bajaracer

Thanks for reply Finnegan, good reading.

I took the plastic top cover off today and didn't spot any leaks around the valve cover. Should I replace it anyways ? Should i even worry about ?

I'd just keep an eye on the valve cover seal and check the oil frequently. "Could be" isn't "it's leaking". It's not generally something that, even if leaking a bit, needs to be fixed today.

The transmission is something I'd fix though, it's not going to get better and there's actually a leak (and, if it wasn't leaking now it would eventually anyway).

[bajaracer]

Finnegan, you da man! thanks your comments. A great asset to the forum.