Hi

I have an oil leak on the LH bank (passenger) of 4.4 v8 bmw engine . I’ve cleaned to oil off and found that both the vanos solenoid seal and the top chain cover are both leaking, I did the rocker cover 6 months ago so that is ok. My question is how easy is the top chain cover gasket to replace and do I need to remove the vanos soleniod to do it or can I just remove the oil seal and slide the cover over it. Thanks in advance

Might be wise to check your PCV and relevant pipework if you are getting top end leaks?

Did the PCV valve and hoses last year so there all ok. I’ve changed the upper chain cover gasket now and solenoid gasket and the answer is no you don’t need to remove the solenoid you can slide the cover over it, the worst bit about the job is the SAI pipe which runs from block to block, if anybody else does this just remove the pipe completely to save you a lot of time and messing about and make sure it’s seated correctly when you refit.

Out of interest, how difficult was it to do the PCV? - got to do mine soon, I read that one of the pipes (the smallest one?) is a right pita to replace?