M42 from E36 into E30

[Gloff]

Lifters quieted down, runs great now, the 2-3k rpm hesitation I used to have is now gone as well. Front covers do leak though, which is a bummer. the seal between the two halves of the rubber seal between the two front covers looks to be the culprit. I did use some hylomar blue on the two ends, but alas, she still leaks.

[bmwman91]

Yeah, I too have leaky front covers despite recently replacing the upper cover gaskets & profile gasket when doing the thermostat. My leak, however, seems to come from about 1" below the joint where the timing cover/head/valve cover all come together (that joint was sealed with a little grey RTV). I am not sure how or why it is leaking, so maybe the paper gasket got pinched or something. It leaves drips in my driveway, so I am going to have to go back in there again.

[Gloff]

Yeah, I too have leaky front covers despite recently replacing the upper cover gaskets & profile gasket when doing the thermostat. My leak, however, seems to come from about 1" below the joint where the timing cover/head/valve cover all come together (that joint was sealed with a little grey RTV). I am not sure how or why it is leaking, so maybe the paper gasket got pinched or something. It leaves drips in my driveway, so I am going to have to go back in there again.

FWIW I used DreiBond 1209 on the thermostat housing, and it's dry as a bone. I think I'm going to try that on the joint.

[Gloff]

Quick update at 175 miles on the mild rebuild/top end replacement. Coolant level has steadied, and looks like it's not consuming anything. The oil leak is consistent, and only appears to be coming from the profile gasket joints on the passenger side. I may have inadvertently re-used the timing cover profile gasket that was compressed once already, so I'm going to run it for about 500 miles to confirm the coolant level is staying constant then replace that gasket again with some dreibond 1209 as recommended by BMW.