BMW and M Power Owners

skaif · 13 Dec 2021 at 05:00

Any F80 M3 owners had the Valve Cover Gasket issue?

Mine had white smoke coming out from the back of the engine bay under hard acceleration smelling like burnt rubber / plastic and has been diagnosed with this issue after spotting a small oil leak from the gasket. Dealer is quoting around 1k to fix which seems a bit much. Is there any permanent fix for this or just something to budget for?

panthro · 13 Dec 2021 at 11:30

skaif said:
Any F80 M3 owners had the Valve Cover Gasket issue?

Mine had white smoke coming out from the back of the engine bay under hard acceleration smelling like burnt rubber / plastic and has been diagnosed with this issue after spotting a small oil leak from the gasket. Dealer is quoting around 1k to fix which seems a bit much. Is there any permanent fix for this or just something to budget for?

That sounds horrendously expensive for a rocker cover gasket.

MissChief · 13 Dec 2021 at 11:39

panthro said:
That sounds horrendously expensive for a rocker cover gasket.

Probably six or seven hours Labour at £125+ included.

DRZ · 13 Dec 2021 at 17:07

MissChief said:
Probably six or seven hours Labour at £125+ included.

To change a rocker cover gasket doesn’t take six or seven hours though. It’s something that takes 30-40 minutes including making a brew.

ChrisD. · 13 Dec 2021 at 17:16

Yeah but it's M car tax.

iamdjdz · 13 Dec 2021 at 20:57

[TW]Fox said:
What I dislike about the F30 is the interior. It's always annoyed me - it's just poor. It feels like a big 1 Series (the dash is VERY similar to that found in the F20 1 Series) and never felt to me like a premium car inside. The G30 is far nicer, it's better made, it looks better and generally just feels a lot more upmarket. So to does the new G20 3 Series - it's back to being a small executive car.

I don't think either the E90 or the F30 3 Series represent the best of what BMW can do from an overall perspective. The F30 drives well - very well - but if thats all that mattered you'd probably not be buying a 3 Series.

So ignoring any don't change because the price is so high stuff (not a financial hardship) we went with a G31 520d touring M sport with the most sport suspension delete. It's 100% the best car I've ever owned and you're right, the interior is leaps and bounds better than the f31 320d. Cost to change was the equity and unless prices tank to over 50% the current in 18 months we should have the same equity we thought we'd initially have in the 320d. I think we'll go back one day but everytime I get in that day gets pushed back

.

GinG · 13 Dec 2021 at 21:28

mjt said:
How much extra wear does a caravan put on the rear suspension?

As you are meant to load a caravan pretty even and not nose heavy I'd say not a great deal.

Worst case is you have a nose weight of around 80-100kg...not a massive amount really.

dlockers · 13 Dec 2021 at 21:31

GinG said:
As you are meant to load a caravan pretty even and not nose heavy I'd say not a great deal.

Worst case is you have a nose weight of around 80-100kg...not a massive amount really.

So what youre saying is you'd do better asking to see the size and weight of their significant others?

GinG · 14 Dec 2021 at 12:50

dLockers said:
So what youre saying is you'd do better asking to see the size and weight of their significant others?

I mean...wouldn't hurt would it? That way you can work out the wear and tear on the seats.

panthro · 14 Dec 2021 at 23:06

MissChief said:
Probably six or seven hours Labour at £125+ included.

It takes 6 to 7 hours to change 6 to 7 gaskets!
This is a job for an independent garage. It's straightforward.

naefeart · 15 Dec 2021 at 07:58

panthro said:
It takes 6 to 7 hours to change 6 to 7 gaskets!
This is a job for an independent garage. It's straightforward.

It does seem a bit excessive, but not a million miles off; I’ve seen mention of dealer/Indy quotes from 3-5 hours, and anywhere up to 2k to fix depending which dealer you approach.

It does appear to be covered by warranty however, which is obv the best route. Out of warranty, best get a few quotes.

jpaul · 15 Dec 2021 at 08:25

GinG said:
Worst case is you have a nose weight of around 80-100kg...not a massive amount really.

torque converters on bmw/mercs have to be the saving grace for towing - dsg clutches would be toast (vw/audi/ford) ?
side to side wear, impulse shock, on rear wheel bearings and bushings sounds likely.

GinG · 17 Dec 2021 at 11:31

jpaul said:
torque converters on bmw/mercs have to be the saving grace for towing - dsg clutches would be toast (vw/audi/ford) ?
side to side wear, impulse shock, on rear wheel bearings and bushings sounds likely.

I've a Skoda with DSG and still going strong. Doesn't seem to worry the DSG at all, it's not a huge weight to have on them really. Yes it is likely to wear quicker than not but I'd imagine real world not having much issues.

paradigm · 19 Dec 2021 at 18:27

I’d really like my 440i back now. BMW Bluebell in Crewe have had it since the middle of October and I’m utterly done with the “courtesy” X1 xDrive 25e that I’ve been in for the last 2 months.

mjt · 19 Dec 2021 at 19:21

paradigm said:
I’d really like my 440i back now. BMW Bluebell in Crewe have had it since the middle of October and I’m utterly done with the “courtesy” X1 xDrive 25e that I’ve been in for the last 2 months.

What is it in for? 8 weeks seems like rather a long time... Chip shortage-related?

paradigm · 19 Dec 2021 at 20:05

mjt said:
What is it in for? 8 weeks seems like rather a long time... Chip shortage-related?

Yes, semi-conductor shortage related. Originally went in for water-ingress at the rear end (killed the rear electric module, the roof motor and one of the window regulators), as part of the "repair" they had to flash the central electronics with updated firmware (I guess due to newer replacement parts in the rear) and the flash went wrong. I've now got a bricked car and they seem unable to get the parts.

mjt · 19 Dec 2021 at 20:29

paradigm said:
Yes, semi-conductor shortage related. Originally went in for water-ingress at the rear end (killed the rear electric module, the roof motor and one of the window regulators), as part of the "repair" they had to flash the central electronics with updated firmware (I guess due to newer replacement parts in the rear) and the flash went wrong. I've now got a bricked car and they seem unable to get the parts.

Oh ****. That sucks :/

dlockers · 19 Dec 2021 at 20:55

Snap. Worth a complaint to get an upgraded courtesy car?

Maybe you could complain with an abusive trust?

NVP · 21 Dec 2021 at 14:03

@Mr Fox Is there any visual way to tell if either a G31 or F11 have IAS? Or am I stuck requesting VINs? Thanks x

[TW]Fox · 21 Dec 2021 at 14:04

You'll have to check the spec unfortunately.

Is this to avoid cars with it fitted?