Valve Job necessary??

Hi All, It's been a while since I posted. My 2004 M3 vert manual now has 58,500 miles on it and the local BMW dealership says it is more than ready for a valve job. So, I am putting it out to the experts -you- whether it is really necessary. The car runs great. Is there a range, say, to 70K until it might need to be done. If it is necessary, what is a fair price for the job by a non-BMW shop? Thanks!

You do mean valve adjustment, correct? Its part of the inspection 2 and I believe its around 700 bucks. Do a search on valve adjustments and you should have plenty of reading.

Thanks, I did a search and it's all somewhat confusing. Is a valve adjustment really necessary? What would happen if it wasn't done? This is all specific to an e46 M3 motor.

So the "experts" are the people on the forums huh?? Like said above, valve adjustments are done at every inspection 2 and it is included in the service ( although it is more expensive because of the valve adjustment). Honestly, if the valvetrain is quiet and is not any louder than it has ever been, you don't necessarily "need" an adjustment. It is of course recommended and is preventative matinance.

So what's the verdict??? You going for the valve adjustment???

I'm waiting for an estimate from a local shop. Then I'll decide.
The motor is somewhat raucous but, from what I read, this motor always is even in proper tune. I don't have anything to compare it to. Thanks.

Originally Posted by MasterTechBMW

So the "experts" are the people on the forums huh?? Like said above, valve adjustments are done at every inspection 2 and it is included in the service ( although it is more expensive because of the valve adjustment). Honestly, if the valvetrain is quiet and is not any louder than it has ever been, you don't necessarily "need" an adjustment. It is of course recommended and is preventative matinance.

I suppose you could say that preventative maintenance is never "needed"; you can run a machine until failure, then fix whatever fails.

This makes more sense and is much more common when discussing a Toyota or a Hyundai than it does when talking about an E46 M3. You've spent a lot more money on buying a complex and high-performing machine; logically you should protect that investment.

Is it needed?

Not really, if you don't mind possibly having to replace valves and valves seats when you burn some valves. Or cause a valve to overheat and fail, taking out a piston and the head. Or losing power. Or any number of things that may go wrong.

Non-hydraulic lifter setups require valve adjustment. Failure to adjust the valves can lead to MUCH more damage.

You also don't HAVE to change the oil. Or air filter. Or the tires or brakes or any number of things.

It's funny, your saying that because the valves aren't adjusted, the engine will drop a valve and destroy the engine. The fact is, if the valves are quiet and the engine is running strong, it really doesn't need an adjustment. Of course it is reccomended at every inspection 2 so technically it should be done.

To sum it up, your engine will not blow up if your valves are not adjusted. Should it be done as reccomended by BMW, of course it should.

Valves can be quiet because there it too little clearance.

Too little clearance can cause them to not fully seat, seriously over heating them, causing them to fail.

Engines DO blow up because of improper valve clearance both too tight or too lose.

And BTW, when mine were done a couple were too tight, IIRC.