Valve cover gasket for M20B27

[M20]

I just recently purchased a 1986 325e that is weeping oil pretty heavily near cylinder 1 and am planning to replace the valve cover gasket.

rmeuropean has gaskets with and without silicone.



I'm quite new at this and am assuming that ones that come with the silicone bead wouldn't require you to apply it yourself - then there's also soft v/s hard waffle finish

Are there any recommendations for which one I should choose?

[jeffnhiscars]

You should not need to apply silicon to any gasket. get the Goetz or elring which are either OEM or damn close

[M20]

Thanks Jeff. Sorry for the trivial question. Parts spend and list is growing, for something simple like this - without a dedicated garage, I'd like to get it right the first time around.

[george graves]

You should not need to apply silicon to any gasket.

Ditto - but they are saying it's "built in" - meh, I don't really know if it's better or not. Usually when I have an question like that, I just email blunttech.com and ask them for the best one they have.

The most common problem is over torquing the nuts. It seems to distort the valve cover and cause weeping. Heck, I've reused cover gaskets that I new were 5 year old or more, as long as they are not falling apart, and tq'ed properly, you should be good. But a new one can't hurt!