N62 Valve Stem Seal Replacement on 540, 545, 740, 645, 650, 745, 750, X5 4.4 and X5 4.8
The N62 engine was used in most BMW powered V8 cars produced from 2001 all the way through 2010. While it was a very successful engine, it was known for having some expensive maintenance issues and now that these cars are all out of warranty the costs fall on the owners to take care of. One of the most expensive problems we’ve seen with these engines is excessive oil consumption caused by leaking valve stem seals. The original valve stem seals will harden up and cause oil to be sucked into the combustion chamber from the valve train. This is usually seen as smoking on startup or when taking off from a stop light. The excessive oil running through exhaust system will eventually cause damage to the catalytic converters and cause these cars to fail smog tests. Sometimes cars with this problem will exhibit catalyst efficiency codes. The only choice really is to junk the car or have the valve stem seals replaced.
Fortunately as time has gone on the necessity for a cost effective valve stem seal replacement procedure was necessary and a clever method for replacing valve stem seals has come about. Rather than pay the 7k-10k that the BMW dealership will charge for this job, it is possible to replace the valve stem seals without removing the cylinder head at less than half the cost. This is done using a special tool kit that, while expensive, cuts down on labor hours saving the customer quite a bit of cost. Before proceeding with this repair it is important to do a complete diagnostic scan on the vehicle to ensure that it does not also need the secondary air injection cleaning. Valve stem seals leaking for a prolonged period of time can often cause some excessive coking in this part of the cylinder head. These two jobs can be combined to save labor time and cost.
If you have an N62 engine that is either losing significant oil or smoking out the tailpipe please give us a call. You can also use our appointment/contact form to get a quote on our valve stem seal replacement procedure.