OEM-Style Aluminum N54 Valve Cover

AshwinLB

Private
Oct 7, 2019
30
21
0
Toronto, Canada
Ride
2010 E82 135i
Long story short, I was on a classifieds website and found an N54 valve cover that looks very similar to OEM but is made out of cast aluminum. After the seller made me believe this was something that he came up with, I was able to find a listing for it on Alibaba which seems to be from the original manufacturer. I have stayed away from the other metal valve cover options due to them not having the cyclone oil separators for the PCV system, which would cause excessive buildup in catch cans. If the cyclonic separators in this cover work like stock, this would be the best of both worlds. Obviously I'm weary about purchasing due to china quality, but also because I don't want this to be another a case where the plastic unit is better/safer than a metal unit (like with the URO metal oil filter cap).

Since I have never saw anything about this offering before today, I wanted to hear people's opinions about it and why it's a bad idea to buy haha

EDIT: here’s the link for anyone interested

m(DOT)alibaba(DOT)com/product/1600605619957/264-936-aluminum-valve-cover-w(DOT)html

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rev210

Corporal
Feb 24, 2019
235
138
50
Ride
335i - 08 Coupe .
That is very good news. The metal option , if price competitive and working cyclonic elements is the way to go. The casting imperfections would be the key issue and are easy enough to inspect for. The market for it is very large ,so encouraging the manufacturer to get it right is worth everyone's time.
If the price is ok its worth stepping out to test it.. do you have the link to save us all looking ? I am sure I would be joined with a few others to undertake the experiment.
 

AshwinLB

Private
Oct 7, 2019
30
21
0
Toronto, Canada
Ride
2010 E82 135i
That is very good news. The metal option , if price competitive and working cyclonic elements is the way to go. The casting imperfections would be the key issue and are easy enough to inspect for. The market for it is very large ,so encouraging the manufacturer to get it right is worth everyone's time.
If the price is ok its worth stepping out to test it.. do you have the link to save us all looking ? I am sure I would be joined with a few others to undertake the experiment.
The price is actually not too bad so it’s worth a shot to try it out! I originally posted a link but it caused the thread to get locked for approval. I will PM you the link
 

Nosrok

Private
Jan 31, 2017
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Looks like the minimum order is 20. I'm interested but sitting on 19 other covers is gonna be rough. If we could get a group buy organized I'd be very interested. If not I might have 19 covers for sale in a few months.
 
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AshwinLB

Private
Oct 7, 2019
30
21
0
Toronto, Canada
Ride
2010 E82 135i
Looks like the minimum order is 20. I'm interested but sitting on 19 other covers is gonna be rough. If we could get a group buy organized I'd be very interested. If not I might have 19 covers for sale in a few months.

I believe there is a sample option that allows you to place an order for 1 unit, but for a higher price. But if someone wants to organize a group buy, I’d put my name down. Since I’m in canada, it add too much shipping cost from my end if I coordinate it since I’d assume most of the people would be from the US
 

TheObjectivist

Private
Jul 12, 2019
34
4
0
Ride
2008 BMW 535i
Is the aluminum cover considered better mainly because of the cheap price VS the BMW stocker?

Im about to replace mine and my understanding is that the gasket is the real prob. So if you always have to replace the gasket which means pulling the cover, does metal matter? If I buy from FCP, I can have the replacement covered so the efforts are the same and the new cover will have completely clean ports

Does the metal cover reduce heat or are there other benefits?
 
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AshwinLB

Private
Oct 7, 2019
30
21
0
Toronto, Canada
Ride
2010 E82 135i
Is the aluminum cover considered better mainly because of the cheap price VS the BMW stocker?

Im about to replace mine and my understanding is that the gasket is the real prob. So if you always have to replace the gasket which means pulling the cover, does metal matter? If I buy from FCP, I can have the replacement covered so the efforts are the same and the new cover will have completely clean ports

Does the metal cover reduce heat or are there other benefits?

The reason to get this over OE is the fact you eliminate the chance of cracking while still retaining the PCV cyclone separators.

You can also powdercoat to match any theme you may be going for. I did paint my oe cover from FCP but it would be a hassle to do that with each replacement.

Yes you would have to clean ports but you can probably soak the cover in some cleaning solution for a few hours and would be close to brand new.

Only caveat is that we still don’t know how good the quality is of the casting.

Side note, with the new FCP policy you would have to pay the difference in cost if the price goes up for your next replacement. Plus it’s only store credit now, not a cash refund.
 
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Nosrok

Private
Jan 31, 2017
48
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I ordered a sample. Today was the last day before they close for a month to celebrate the New Year. I ended up paying 272 for 1, whenever I get it I'll post pictures.


If we have a few people that for sure want some I'm down to place an order but it won't be till February when they open back up again. I'm also asking around in the local BMW groups to see who's interested.
 

Nosrok

Private
Jan 31, 2017
48
23
0

AshwinLB

Private
Oct 7, 2019
30
21
0
Toronto, Canada
Ride
2010 E82 135i
View attachment 77251



It arrived. Looks as pictured so far. Haven't installed it yet but might tear down the pcv and check that out before installing it.

Any questions?


Link to my Instagram with a video of the cover.



Looks really good! I doubt it but does it come with graded hardware? I’ve had an issue on my original cover where the bolt corroded to the head and snapped - had to time-sert it. I might try to find a source for grade 8.8 torx bolts since we can’t use bmw ones with the sleeves they have.
 

rbryant

Lurker
Jul 26, 2018
21
14
0
Ride
2008 e90 335i, 2007 e70 4.8i
Looks really good! I doubt it but does it come with graded hardware? I’ve had an issue on my original cover where the bolt corroded to the head and snapped - had to time-sert it. I might try to find a source for grade 8.8 torx bolts since we can’t use bmw ones with the sleeves they have.
What is the size/length on the bolts?

It should be easy to get some 10.9 zinc coated button cap bolts for it. I have bins full of various bolts in stainless and zinc for various products that I provide or have provided in the past.

A2 stainless should also be sufficient for the valve cover even though they are a little weaker than 8.8bolts (A270 stainless is 100,000psi vs 110,000psi tensile for the 8.8). Torque specs for them do seem to vary though so it is important to check the right ratings for a given bolt.

Tightening valve cover bolts to 7ft*lbs should work fine with ISO7380 rated A2-70 fasteners on the valve cover especially with this version being aluminum and having the same expansion as the head (where plastic probably shifts more). The torque spec is already below the max for a 8.8 rated bolt (probably due to the plastic valve cover and also not wanting to have the steel insert compress into the aluminum head making the stainless bolt sufficient..


-Rich
 
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Nosrok

Private
Jan 31, 2017
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Looks really good! I doubt it but does it come with graded hardware? I’ve had an issue on my original cover where the bolt corroded to the head and snapped - had to time-sert it. I might try to find a source for grade 8.8 torx bolts since we can’t use bmw ones with the sleeves they have.
They are graded, at least that's what's stamped on the head of the bolt, 8.8.
 
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Nosrok

Private
Jan 31, 2017
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Mine has none of those scratches. Posted a few more photos on my Instagram. Taking apart the pcv system I would agree that it would be prudent due diligence to take apart and clean out the pcv. I found very minor flakes possibly from when I removed the screws but no way to know since you have to take it apart to clean it.

When I was shopping around the Ali site you can see that there are several different companies selling the same product so it's not gonna be the same experience even though it's the same item.

My gasket was damaged, I was gonna run the one it came with to see how long it lasted but guess I'll be going OEM after all.
 

GnomeChild

Private
Sep 14, 2018
25
6
0
California
Ride
e90 335i LCI M-Sport
Saw this randomly on eBay last week, and subsequently saw people get flames on e90post for even asking about them lol

I want one. Has anyone done an instal yet and can vouch for fitment/quality?
 

rev210

Corporal
Feb 24, 2019
235
138
50
Ride
335i - 08 Coupe .
A friend in our local BMW group reported he has installed the n55 , going great after 10,000kms and just recently installed an n54 version. The quality was great and no leaks. He used original bolts/hardware but, actually did use the supplied gasket, with no issues to date.