u/Geass-Affect

Looking for someone with BMW or European car experience to assist with a valve cover gasket replacement on my 2010 BMW 528xi (N52 engine).

We see smoke from the engine bay shortly after startup, I've replaced the oil confirming it wasn't the crush gasket or confirmed the filter is torqued correctly as well. Observed some oil around the bolts and under the bolt area of the valve cover — consistent with an oil leak onto the exhaust manifold.

I have amateur-level maintenance experience (oil changes, spark plugs) and a solid set of tools (maybe not all the Tx ones needed), but this is my first valve cover job. The N52 has some specific quirks based on some youtube videos I've seen — plastic valve cover, integrated PCV system, several connectors and vacuum lines to manage — so hands-on familiarity with this engine or a similar BMW would be particularly helpful.

If you know this engine and work inside/out and want to just hold tools and observe and ask questions, that can be like $100/h. If you're sort of familiar with the engines and plastic valve cover gaskets and can together get the work done, that can be like $50/h - Ideally aiming to get the work done in 2-3hours.

Happy to discuss timing. All parts will be on hand before we start. Please DM if you can help.