[EwenMac]

Hi all, what’s the preferred, an alloy rocker cover or a plastic

I’m getting the parts together to attack the oil filter housing and the rocker cover gasket.

My n52 (323i) has a plastic cover, and rather than cleaning it etc, I thought I would get a new one.what the general opinion

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by EwenMac

Hi all, what’s the preferred, an alloy rocker cover or a plastic

I’m getting the parts together to attack the oil filter housing and the rocker cover gasket.

My n52 (323i) has a plastic cover, and rather than cleaning it etc, I thought I would get a new one.what the general opinion

I went with Elring plastic which was highly recommended, and zero issues. It was made in China, but 1/4 the price of a Austrain-made BMW branded one. The metal ones look cool, but more than a few reports of poor machining leaving metallic shavings in them. Plus the gaskets may or may not be hard to find on future replacement.

[EwenMac]

thanks, i haven't removed mine yet, just watched the YT videos, seems the plastic ones have a groove for the gasket where as the alloy don't, its just a flat mating surface

is that right??

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by EwenMac

thanks, i haven't removed mine yet, just watched the YT videos, seems the plastic ones have a groove for the gasket where as the alloy don't, its just a flat mating surface

is that right??

The plastic do have the gooves that sort of hold the gasket, yes. I'm not sure of the metal ones, I thought they just have the flat kind, but maybe grooves as well? I haven't looked that closely. Once I heard there were some problem, I just went with plastic. Would have liked to have gone with factory, but the price difference between that an Elring was just ridiculous.