Maintenance Time!

[gr330zhp]

Whats up guys?

So my BMW is approaching 70k miles and I think it is time to do some maintenance. I want to do the following, but have some questions....

Valve Cover Gasket- Pretty straightforward, will have gasket and sealant. Do I need gaskets for the valve cover bolts??

Spark Plugs- NGK. Anybody against?

Vanos seals-Havent done it, looked up some DIY, looks decently straightforward? Best place to get from?
Oil change

Cabin microfilter

Control arm bushings-Will be the 3rd set on the car. BMW replaced the originals just before CPO expired in 2009 about 30k miles ago. They are weakening though. Should I just do OE again? I was thinking of doing Powerflex, but am afraid I will ruin the quality of the ride like I did in my Jetta...anybody here?

RTABS?? -My indy looked it all over about 7k miles ago and said they were in EXCELLENT shape, which surprised me as they are original. Am I missing something here? :scratching head

CCV- Everything is fine, no oil consumption. The car is never driven in temps really below freezing. Oil changes every 3-4k with BMW synthetic. Should I bother with this?

I plan to do this all myself, and do it all before she goes away in November. I have put a ton of miles on it the past few months and I looked over it all and everything else looks good. Anything else I should plan on doing?

[danewilson77]

1. Yes....you need 15 grommets.

2. No....NGK bkr6equp are perfect.

3. www.beisansystems.com

You need other parts as well. Let me review your parts list prior to ordering.

4. Meyle HD...or Powerflex. The powerflex's were a little violent for me....but I'm lowered a bit...so that may have contributed.

5. Your call on CCV..IDK

[mikeyb74]

Stathi, your inbox is full...

[gr330zhp]

Thanks for the quick response Dane!

[gr330zhp]

Stathi, your inbox is full...

All taken care of

[S85FTW]

I just did my valve cover gasket and have a spare fs in the classifieds if interested.... I also put in NGK Iridium spark plugs, done at 93k miles

[gr330zhp]

I just did my valve cover gasket and have a spare fs in the classifieds if interested.... I also put in NGK Iridium spark plugs, done at 93k miles

Cool, I will check it out

[zj96sc]

NGK for sure.

You can get a completed vanos from Dr. VANOS as well, but the price is substantially higher than Beisan.

Vote Meyle on the FCABs.

3-4k is probably a tad over-ambitious. You can get a good 5-6-7 out of today's high quality synthetics. Changing too often will obviously never hurt anything, but given the price per quart this can save you a lot of money.

[mikeyb74]

I replaced the Bosch +4s to NGKs. I also just replaced the FCABs with Powerflex. No complaints so far with over a thousand miles on them and commuting 70+ a day. I'm curious to see if they are squeaky in the winter.

[aurelius]

VANOS:

Beisan is cheaper but you'll need tools you probably don't already have and you'll do more work.

Compare the DIY instructions on each site (Beisan vs DrV) and see what suits you.