2008 528xi valve cover

Asked by dpfitzger Apr 09, 2020 at 09:31 AM about the 2008 BMW 5 Series 528xi Sedan AWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

When I removed the valve cover to replace the valve cover gasket a small metal cap fell off the inside of the cover.  There are 2 of these caps near the middle of the valve cover and they attach to a housing that has 2 small tubes in it.  I am trying to determine what these caps are for and how to keep the 1 that fell off from falling off again after I replace the gasket and put the cover back on.

1 Answer

I had the same thing happen on my 528xi. Opened the cover and found one of these loose. I CLEANED the entire cover in and out and made sure there were no leaks or blockages. Then I used an adhesive i bought at the parts store that was made for high heat and oil/gas tolerant. Might have been black RTV? It seemed that it was originally "welded" onto the overall cover, but for this one the "weld" had failed and so it came off. These seemed to be screens that maybe separated liquid out of the oil or exhaust vapor recirculation vents/airways built into the valve cover. I did that in Jan 2019 and have had no trouble. I am not an expert. Just evaluated my options and decided it was an acceptable risk. Also willing to take the cover off again just to confirm if I get any indications there is a problem. I did some internet research to help confirm that the adhesive was a reasonable choice. I used the same adhesive when I changed the Valve that manage exhaust gas pressure inside the valve cover (the diaphram failed as they do, and i replaced the cap without replacing the entire valve cover gasket).

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