I cracked one of the CCV lines while taking out the intake manifold to replace the starter and got a check engine light. Instead of replacing the CCV, I was looking for a more permanent solution. I had missed German Auto Solution's second run of CCV replacements so I did my research to find that the M56 valve cover could be used to permanently "delete" the external CCV.
I looked at my local pick-n-pull and found that there were two SULEV E46's in their lot and to my excitement, the first E46 I arrived at had almost everything I needed, the second one had an engine fire so nothing to pull from there. I removed the valve cover, the gaskets, the dipstick assembly, and the wiring harness (probably didn't need it but grabbed it anyways). There was no beauty cover but I had no plans to run it without one anyways - the tabs for the covers are still intact should I decide to change my mind down the road.
Another interesting thing to note is that the valve cover gasket and spark plug gaskets are viton and are still pliable with no oil to be seen on the gaskets themselves.
I tried my best to clean the inside of the valve cover and took apart the internal plates for the CCV. That's when I found two of the bolts were broken off and the cap for the membrane had been tampered with at some point. Interesting to note that the M56 cover is aluminum but has steel threaded inserts for the bolts that hold the internal plates. The membrane was also torn. I watched the 50'sKid on YouTube about the M56 swap and he said he's never seen a torn membrane... Well guess I'm just lucky lol. Ordered the replacement membrane on eBay and it is being shipped from Russia.
The membrane assembly is a two piece design, originally I thought the hard disk was molded around the flap but the rubber flap pops out if you try hard enough. Retain the disk if you ever find yourself in the same situation.
The membrane cover tabs were almost all broken as well... Not sure if it would work properly but from my research I came upon a thread that there was a possible replacement (11127547058) for the cover. I'll update the thread when it gets in from AutohausAZ.
I also got my valve cover sand blasted for $90. I would've preferred bead blasting as it is a bit coarser and the idea of any remaining sand being circulated through the engine scared me. The shop that did the job cleaned up the majority of the caked on oil but I had to go back in and clean the pockets. I wouldn't go to that shop again as I know that these pockets could've easily been blasted away with the aluminum oxide. Secondly, there was still aluminium oxide in the threads which to me is a big red flag. I would've expected the shop to at least blow some compressed air into those holes as there could be a chance of the aluminum oxide entering the oil system. :mad
Anyways, I got it installed in the car today and expect to put in the rest of the parts in tomorrow to fire it up. Also my M54 plastic valve cover was indeed warped. I placed it down on a piece of glass and I could see the whole front of the cover was lifted a few millimeter higher than the back.
