N55 valve cover gasket replacement cost

KRAMCLASSIC · 01-30-2019, 02:12 AM

Hello Everyone. So I got a quote earlier this week for replacing my valve cover gasket from my local Indy shop and they quoted me $700. I'm just curious how much other Indy shops are charging. This was just for the Gasket itself including parts with labor but not the valve cover. I'm considering just doing this myself but still curious what other Indy's are charging every else. Thanks in advance for the feedback.

bobdavisnpf · 01-30-2019, 11:12 AM

My shop quoted $1000 to replace, and warned if the valve cover is warped, a new one is $600 additional. I'll do spark plugs at the same time ($385), and save about $40 in overlap labor.

KRAMCLASSIC · 01-30-2019, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobdavisnpf

My shop quoted $1000 to replace, and warned if the valve cover is warped, a new one is $600 additional. I'll do spark plugs at the same time ($385), and save about $40 in overlap labor.

I just did my plugs recently but I'll definitely do the Valve cover while I'm on this as well. Kind of surprised to see this @60K miles for my car, is everyone else seeing their valve cover gasket going out at around the same mileage?

OkieSnuffBox · 02-12-2019, 02:48 PM

My shop just quoted me $650 for the valve cover gasket. Said it would be $1,000 if it needed a new valve cover.

HyeWarrior · 02-12-2019, 06:24 PM

I believe I paid about $750 after tax and labor for a new valve cover

KRAMCLASSIC · 02-12-2019, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

I believe I paid about $750 after tax and labor for a new valve cover

Nice, sounds pretty comparable to the shops around here in the south bay area. That's a really good price, what shop did you go to and were you happy with their work?

I'm bought the after market Valve cover kit from ECM tuning for $275 and plan to have a local Indy who's gonna charge me $105/HR for labor.

Havocsteve · 02-13-2019, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

My shop just quoted me $650 for the valve cover gasket. Said it would be $1,000 if it needed a new valve cover.

$650 for a gasket? WTF?!?! I replaced mine when I did my VVT servomotor swap, it was like $60 CAD LOL!! The valve cover would be $650 (it's around $800 CAD).

OkieSnuffBox · 02-13-2019, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havocsteve

$650 for a gasket? WTF?!?! I replaced mine when I did my VVT servomotor swap, it was like $60 CAD LOL!! The valve cover would be $650 (it's around $800 CAD).

Yes, when you have a shop do it you have to pay them for labor as well.

Being that I no longer enjoy working on my daily, I'm happy to drop the car off and pay for it.

Biz92 · 02-15-2019, 09:16 PM

I paid $900 parts and labor but on N54. Vic @ EuroSport, Burbank, CA does great work and is a stand up guy!

HyeWarrior · 02-18-2019, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havocsteve

$650 for a gasket? WTF?!?! I replaced mine when I did my VVT servomotor swap, it was like $60 CAD LOL!! The valve cover would be $650 (it's around $800 CAD).

My repair included the entire valve cover. There was a crack, but I believe the valve cover itself was only about $140 ish

Happy Jose · 02-19-2019, 06:35 AM

Replacing the valve cover gasket is a fair amount of work, since you have to remove the injector hardware. Figure an independent will charge $100/hour for labor and a dealer twice that.

KRAMCLASSIC · 02-19-2019, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyeWarrior

My repair included the entire valve cover. There was a crack, but I believe the valve cover itself was only about $140 ish

HyeWarrior could you refer me to your Indy? I'm located Carson but I don't mind making the drive if your Indy can help me out, I'm not getting much love from my Indy's here, they want only an OEM BMW valve cover or they won't do the work. I get that for most of the engine components it would be best to go with OEM BMW, but I have seen enough positive feedback from others using the high quality aftermarket valve cover gaskets with no issues and its half the cost. I Hope they can help me too.

135 TING · 03-04-2019, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KRAMCLASSIC

HyeWarrior could you refer me to your Indy? I'm located Carson but I don't mind making the drive if your Indy can help me out, I'm not getting much love from my Indy's here, they want only an OEM BMW valve cover or they won't do the work. I get that for most of the engine components it would be best to go with OEM BMW, but I have seen enough positive feedback from others using the high quality aftermarket valve cover gaskets with no issues and its half the cost. I Hope they can help me too.

If you’re still interested in doing the repair I know of a shop in Santa Clarita that can do it for a fair price

mfindigital · 03-04-2019, 02:35 PM

Go to SPEEDLOGIC in Fullerton and call it a day. No one will beat his price or quality of his work. Better prices if you buy prices through him, and his prices are hard to beat.

Jeef · 03-09-2019, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfindigital

Go to SPEEDLOGIC in Fullerton and call it a day. No one will beat his price or quality of his work. Better prices if you buy prices through him, and his prices are hard to beat.

+1

SayHack · 03-09-2019, 04:10 PM

The $700 estimate sounds fair, considering how labor intensive it is.....Here is my advice: I did it myself with a helping hand. I did the mistake of ordering a reputable aftermarket gasket, and it did not fit well. I ended up driving to the local dealer and purchasing a second set from them (it was $85 ish i think just for the gasket) as i did not feel comfortable reassembling everything back only to find out the gasket did not sit well (the few other gaskets that i was replacing with this job, I kept the aftermarket as they fit well), overall i am happy with the results...The reason I am writing this is because with aftermarket its sometimes hit or miss. Spend few bucks extra (about 200 i think to be more exact lol) and get the OEM cover if you need to, it might save you a headache, hence why some mechanics refuse to work with aftermarket because they are afraid if you return, you might blame them for a bad job.

M135ier · 06-21-2019, 08:05 AM

I just got quoted $729 aud to replace the gaskets or $1970 aud to replace the valve cover by my local Australian dealer

Guess I’ll be taking a day off and tackling it myself. Not sure how they came to conclusion that a new valve cover cost $1240 aud.. ah well.

Jeff@TopGearSolutions · 06-27-2019, 11:15 AM

It's pretty labor intensive install. If it's your first-time plan on a good 4-8 hours as it really depends on how smooth everything goes. I wouldn't say it's difficult, it's just tedious.

I'd replace the valve cover and gasket. The valve cover becomes very brittle and prone to cracking, especially after the first removal.

KRAMCLASSIC · 07-01-2019, 12:35 PM

I was able to get a discount on labor at my friends repair shop and total cost me about $770 with parts and labor. But now my OFHG is due as well as drive belts so I'll be tackling this myself since I don't want to fork out more cash for labor.

Gangplank · 11-23-2021, 11:06 AM

Reviving an old thread. My VC just started leaking. 90k miles so I'm replacing it. Just got quoted $600 for parts (VC, gasket & hose) and another $1000 for labor. Two Indy shops in town, almost same price. :-/

Costello · 03-10-2022, 08:48 AM

I know this is an old post, but if it helps anyone, my BMW dealership in Germany gave me a price of 32 AW (322 euros).

01-30-2019, 02:12 AM	#1
KRAMCLASSIC Private First Class 46 Rep 192 Posts Drives: 2012 135I 6MT AW/RED Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: SoCal iTrader: (1)	N55 valve cover gasket replacement cost Hello Everyone. So I got a quote earlier this week for replacing my valve cover gasket from my local Indy shop and they quoted me $700. I'm just curious how much other Indy shops are charging. This was just for the Gasket itself including parts with labor but not the valve cover. I'm considering just doing this myself but still curious what other Indy's are charging every else. Thanks in advance for the feedback. __________________ 12 135i: DINAN S3, ARM 7" FMIC, MADDAD MIDPIPES, REMUS EXHAUST, INJEN INTAKE, ARM CP
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01-30-2019, 11:12 AM	#2
bobdavisnpf Hapless Noob 99 Rep 125 Posts Drives: '12 E88 135i, '89 E30 vert Join Date: Jan 2019 Location: PNW iTrader: (0)	My shop quoted $1000 to replace, and warned if the valve cover is warped, a new one is $600 additional. I'll do spark plugs at the same time ($385), and save about $40 in overlap labor. __________________
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02-12-2019, 02:48 PM	#4
OkieSnuffBox Major 1803 Rep 1,011 Posts Drives: '13 135i Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: OKC, OK iTrader: (0)	My shop just quoted me $650 for the valve cover gasket. Said it would be $1,000 if it needed a new valve cover.
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02-12-2019, 06:24 PM	#5
HyeWarrior Major 747 Rep 1,119 Posts Drives: 2012 135i DCT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: San Dimas, CA iTrader: (1)	I believe I paid about $750 after tax and labor for a new valve cover
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02-15-2019, 09:16 PM	#9
Biz92 Private 5 Rep 60 Posts Drives: 2008 335I Coupe Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Simi Valley, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW 335i [0.00]	I paid $900 parts and labor but on N54. Vic @ EuroSport, Burbank, CA does great work and is a stand up guy!
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02-19-2019, 06:35 AM	#11
Happy Jose Banned 114 Rep 334 Posts Drives: 2012 BMW 135i M-Sport Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: Waynesville, Ohio iTrader: (0)	Replacing the valve cover gasket is a fair amount of work, since you have to remove the injector hardware. Figure an independent will charge $100/hour for labor and a dealer twice that.
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03-04-2019, 02:35 PM	#14
mfindigital Lieutenant 349 Rep 574 Posts Drives: 2011 135i Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: los angeles iTrader: (0)	Go to SPEEDLOGIC in Fullerton and call it a day. No one will beat his price or quality of his work. Better prices if you buy prices through him, and his prices are hard to beat. __________________ 2011 Space Grey 135i DCT: Pure Stage 2, Fuel-it Stage 2 LPFP, ST XTA Coilovers, Berk Street Axle Back, MHD Stage 2+, VRSF Catless DP, VRSF 5" FMIC, VRSF LCP, BMS UCP, M3 FSB, e92 M3 Drivers Seat.
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03-09-2019, 04:10 PM	#16
SayHack Private First Class 37 Rep 131 Posts Drives: 2008 BMW 128i Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (0) Garage List 2008 BMW [0.00]	The $700 estimate sounds fair, considering how labor intensive it is.....Here is my advice: I did it myself with a helping hand. I did the mistake of ordering a reputable aftermarket gasket, and it did not fit well. I ended up driving to the local dealer and purchasing a second set from them (it was $85 ish i think just for the gasket) as i did not feel comfortable reassembling everything back only to find out the gasket did not sit well (the few other gaskets that i was replacing with this job, I kept the aftermarket as they fit well), overall i am happy with the results...The reason I am writing this is because with aftermarket its sometimes hit or miss. Spend few bucks extra (about 200 i think to be more exact lol) and get the OEM cover if you need to, it might save you a headache, hence why some mechanics refuse to work with aftermarket because they are afraid if you return, you might blame them for a bad job.
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06-21-2019, 08:05 AM	#17
M135ier New Member 2 Rep 13 Posts Drives: M135i Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Salzburg iTrader: (0)	I just got quoted $729 aud to replace the gaskets or $1970 aud to replace the valve cover by my local Australian dealer Guess I’ll be taking a day off and tackling it myself. Not sure how they came to conclusion that a new valve cover cost $1240 aud.. ah well.
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06-27-2019, 11:15 AM	#18
Jeff@TopGearSolutions 3441 Rep 79,212 Posts Drives: C6 Z06, 09 335i, 10 335xi Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: www.TopGearSolutions.com iTrader: (37)	It's pretty labor intensive install. If it's your first-time plan on a good 4-8 hours as it really depends on how smooth everything goes. I wouldn't say it's difficult, it's just tedious. I'd replace the valve cover and gasket. The valve cover becomes very brittle and prone to cracking, especially after the first removal.
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07-01-2019, 12:35 PM	#19
KRAMCLASSIC Private First Class 46 Rep 192 Posts Drives: 2012 135I 6MT AW/RED Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: SoCal iTrader: (1)	I was able to get a discount on labor at my friends repair shop and total cost me about $770 with parts and labor. But now my OFHG is due as well as drive belts so I'll be tackling this myself since I don't want to fork out more cash for labor. __________________ 12 135i: DINAN S3, ARM 7" FMIC, MADDAD MIDPIPES, REMUS EXHAUST, INJEN INTAKE, ARM CP
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11-23-2021, 11:06 AM	#20
Gangplank Brigadier General 1540 Rep 3,071 Posts Drives: 2011 e82 135i n55 Sport w/ DCT Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Vero Beach, FL iTrader: (2) Garage List 2011 135i [0.00]	Reviving an old thread. My VC just started leaking. 90k miles so I'm replacing it. Just got quoted $600 for parts (VC, gasket & hose) and another $1000 for labor. Two Indy shops in town, almost same price. :-/ __________________ 2011 135i w/ DCT \| ZSP Sport Pkg \| PPK \| Ohlins R
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03-10-2022, 08:48 AM	#21
Costello Enlisted Member 2 Rep 32 Posts Drives: 335i E92 LCI Join Date: Dec 2021 Location: Bayern-Germany iTrader: (0)	I know this is an old post, but if it helps anyone, my BMW dealership in Germany gave me a price of 32 AW (322 euros).
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