V8 valve stem seals

[Quavers]

Anybody had the job done on the N62 engine? How much did it cost?
Looking at a very nice 04 plate 545 with 85k. Obviously you need to do your homework first ie somebody willing to work on the car when the time comes - my local indi has already stated he no longer does the repair on this engine. Which is not a good sign.

[parabolica]

Seals on my 645 started to go; was quoted £3k by a specialist who knew what he was doing, and £4.5k by the local garage who said they'd have to strip the engine and £4.5 was the starting point, it could be higher. There is a kit you can buy yourself for ~£1.5 I think - someone on here did it and it was quite a job, but he managed it. If you do a search on valve stem oil seals you should find the thread - there have been 1 or 2.

[Philv8s]

PMP cars in Nuneaton do them for about £800. Not used them myself but seen plenty of posts on owners groups who have without issue. Might be worth a call.

[eliot]

My diy change of the seals using a specialist tool that people now rent out: http://www.mez.co.uk/page128.html

Last page shows some links to people who will rent the tool or do the job.

PH thread
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[iSore]

Quavers said:

Anybody had the job done on the N62 engine? How much did it cost?
Looking at a very nice 04 plate 545 with 85k. Obviously you need to do your homework first ie somebody willing to work on the car when the time comes - my local indi has already stated he no longer does the repair on this engine. Which is not a good sign.

I think these are cars you buy cheap now (who really wants them?) and run until a very big bill comes along - then f*ck it off. Dunno - they were great cars but they'll just keep depreciating down to £1200 and as soon as you spend £1500 on stem seals, the autobox will st itself and on it goes. I buy old cars on the basis that I could well be the last owner. Nobody wants ti work on the N62 as it's just a bloody awful thing - p*ss*ng oil out, Valvetronic levers, Vanos issues etc etc etc etc. A 535d might be a better idea tbh!

[trickywoo]

iSore said:

I think these are cars you buy cheap now (who really wants them?) and run until a very big bill comes along - then f*ck it off. Dunno - they were great cars but they'll just keep depreciating down to £1200 and as soon as you spend £1500 on stem seals, the autobox will st itself and on it goes. I buy old cars on the basis that I could well be the last owner. Nobody wants ti work on the N62 as it's just a bloody awful thing - p*ss*ng oil out, Valvetronic levers, Vanos issues etc etc etc etc. A 535d might be a better idea tbh!

What a strange post.

One the one hand you say they were great cars and on the other nobody wants the car or the V8.

You can get a nice 545i for less than £5k and I'd argue that its way more than a 10th of the car it was. The quality of the interior (leather) is up there with anything new at the moment in the same segment.

You get a 330bhp naturally aspirated V8 that loves to revs and can give 30+mpg on an 80mph motorway run. I did a door to door 300 mile run at an average speed of 63mph and 33mpg. I enjoyed the drive and arrived relaxed.

With the dynamic drive option you can also throw it down some twisties with only the physical size of the car limiting what you can do with it.

What else can you buy that does remotely the same for the money?

Of course its going to depreciate and it'll need money to keep going but a new car is going to depreciate too, and I'd say the cost over three years would be a fair bit higher than one of these, even if you got unlucky with repairs.

Someone above has already pointed out you can get the valve seals done for £800. Not at all bad.

[iSore]

trickywoo said:

What a strange post.

One the one hand you say they were great cars and on the other nobody wants the car or the V8.

You can get a nice 545i for less than £5k and I'd argue that its way more than a 10th of the car it was. The quality of the interior (leather) is up there with anything new at the moment in the same segment.

You get a 330bhp naturally aspirated V8 that loves to revs and can give 30+mpg on an 80mph motorway run. I did a door to door 300 mile run at an average speed of 63mph and 33mpg. I enjoyed the drive and arrived relaxed.

With the dynamic drive option you can also throw it down some twisties with only the physical size of the car limiting what you can do with it.

What else can you buy that does remotely the same for the money?

Of course its going to depreciate and it'll need money to keep going but a new car is going to depreciate too, and I'd say the cost over three years would be a fair bit higher than one of these, even if you got unlucky with repairs.

Someone above has already pointed out you can get the valve seals done for £800. Not at all bad.

\
Not strange at all Dear.

There are lots of low value old cars that were lovely once, but which are worthless now. The 545i is just one. The word 'were' may be a clue.

Dynamic drive is absolutely dandy when the motor in the ARB isn't leaking. You try finding a good used one when it does. A new one is, I believe, £1500.

Cars like this are worthless because the cost of repairs is a significant proportion of it's value. That's why there are so few Mark II Jags left. They were new, they got old, they got scrapped.

33 on a run? WooHoo. What does it do around town? 25? Exactly. That's why, compared to the E39 there were so few V8 petrols in these things. The 535d came along and made them virtually obsolete.