2010 BMW X6 40d E71

X6's come with a 21mm rear anti-roll bar.

Same is used on the E70 X5, but the sport-suspension models get a 23mm one (as does the F16 X6 as well).

Access is fairly easy, just four bolts. Normally would swap the bushes and drop-links etc but my wallet still stings a bit and the ones on the bar I bought were better than what I already had fitted.

Working outside because the garage has a different immobile car for a change



Access is good but everything is crusty



Some penetrant later and the links came off without issue, was amazed



Slightly awkward getting the bar out - mostly because it's a metre long and the cars not that high off the ground, struggled to get the stands stable on gravel.

You can visually see the bottom one is a little thicker.

Unfortunately this was not the main problem - after swapping, even before I got it back on the road, there was visible oil on the bottom of the engine.

The tell tale is oil leaks off and onto the exhaust flexi, which burns off when hot causing smoke (and obviously an unpleasant smell).

The rocker cover gasket is a common problem on the N57, but also so is the rocker cover itself - it's plastic sections, glued together from the factory which can crack or warp.

I watched some videos on replacement and read TIS but it seemed like a lot of work, inlet manifold and scuttle trims needed removing etc. When I started I got even more confused - the TIS instructions didn't map to the car, and it seems like the ancillaries on N57 cars are very different, changing what needs to be removed etc so I just ended up guessing most of it.

Airbox, inlet piping, injectors, pipework and fuel rail removed



The injectors came out very easily (I got the engine hot in advance), which was good as they are known for being problematic.

The injectors were looking a bit of a state however



There's a receipt a couple of years ago for a new rocker gasket and injector seals, someone's definitely been in here before.

I've removed injectors on an M47 before and just put them back in many times without issue, but this time I thought I'd do it "properly" - injector bores cleaned, seats recut etc

Cleaned the injectors up and gave them an ultrasonic bath as well, they still aren't pretty but much cleaner. New copper washers and leak off o-rings.



When I removed the injector clamp bolts (which go through the valve cover) they were all covered in oil, which isn't right



Quite a bit of fighting later and the cover was off



There's a wiring loom that circles around 3/4 of the engine, and then all the pressure converters with it's vacuum lines on the other side. So you need to disconnect a lot of stuff to get slack to free it up. But all done without removing inlet or scuttle panel.

Old vs new cover



It's an aftermarket part and although advertised for my car, the N57 had two different variations of cover - the later one is a slightly different design, which is what this actually is, and I had the earlier one. Different shape gasket (not an issue now obviously) and has a separate part to mount the engine cover is, which wasn't included annoyingly so I've ordered one separately.

Closer inspection and the old rocker cover looked ok, but the gasket (which is 6 years old) looks like it's melted





Cleaned up the mating faces and put it all back together - I was a bit worried with all the cleaning I'd contaminated the oil with fluids etc so I gave it a change as well, and fitted a magnetic sump plug.

Because the fuel system was drained down, I bled it on ISTA before starting - it would've started eventually, but this apparently makes things easier on the high-pressure fuel pump.

All back together and... nothings exploded. Which is good going, as this was one of the more complex jobs I've tackled. Whether it's fixed the leak, we'll see!