DOOR OPEN madness, valve cover gaskets...

[wengenstein]

Hello all. I have a couple questions;

First, once in a while I get the DOOR OPEN message for seemingly no reason. (The doors are closed, once I even went around the car beforehand, opening and closing each one :) ) This morning it got worse, during my half hour commute it just kept on ding'ing evey couple minutes or so... Has anyone else had this problem? I've searched around for info here and elsewhere and haven't found much...

Second, my '95 540i has some leaky valve cover gaskets and this weekend I was planning on changing them (and prolly the spark plugs too). I've read everything I can find regarding this project (stuff on this board, the bentley manual, etc.) and I was wondering, do any of you guys have a particular gasket sealant preference? I've seen some recommend Permatex (sp?) and I think the bentley manual recommends hylomar (IIRC). Does it really make much difference? :) Also, this will be my first "serious" project on my e34 but from what I've read it seems like a relatively easy job. Is it really as straightforward as it sounds? What should I watch out for?

Any info is apreciated!
Dennis

[Robin-535im]

Sound familiar? :)

My first e34 did that all the time. The door sensor is part of the striker plate on the car, if you look closely you'll see a little nub that gets depressed when the door is closed.

That is, if the door catch is properly aligned and the parts aren't worn out!

The professional fix in my case would have been to buy a new drivers door striker plate assembly, as that was the one that was worn out and causing the system to think the door was open.

The real fix was to swap the driver door striker plate with the rear passenger side plate, the least worn one on the car. That fixed my Door Open chime for good.




HTH

[Dick Schneiders]

3 years ago. I simply wrapped some duct tape around the door catch where the sensor is to build up the area so there was more pressure when the door was shut. Haven't had any more problems for over 3 ytears.

Dick Schneiders
]

Sound familiar? :)

My first e34 did that all the time. The door sensor is part of the striker plate on the car, if you look closely you'll see a little nub that gets depressed when the door is closed.

That is, if the door catch is properly aligned and the parts aren't worn out!

The professional fix in my case would have been to buy a new drivers door striker plate assembly, as that was the one that was worn out and causing the system to think the door was open.

The real fix was to swap the driver door striker plate with the rear passenger side plate, the least worn one on the car. That fixed my Door Open chime for good.




HTH

[wengenstein]

3 years ago. I simply wrapped some duct tape around the door catch where the sensor is to build up the area so there was more pressure when the door was shut. Haven't had any more problems for over 3 ytears.


I tried duct tape a while back but I abandoned the idea when I realized how difficult it was to actually hold down the button with the tape.. I can't believe I didnt think to just leave it there to eliminate the gap when the door is closed, thanks Dick! :) The strategically placed tape works well to end the noise :)

Dennis M.

[Bob in San Jose]

On the valve cover gaskets, I didn't use any sealer. I can't remember (did this 2 years ago) if there was any recommendation to not use a sealant or not.
The only problem you will run into is the clearance on the passenger side when removing the valve cover. The A/C lines were interfering with the cover removal so I released a clamp and was able to move the A/C lines out of the way just enought to clear. Also I believe the Bentley states to remove the harness for the coilpacks. I just folded the connectors back out of the way and taped them there.
Here's a picture.
http://www.webshots.com/search?new=1&source=mdocsheader&words=BMW+540iA+Head

[Bob in San Jose]

If you press "View Slideshow" on the pic link there are a few other pics of the covers..
http://community.webshots.com/photo/59942237/65623840soNfVI

[wengenstein]

Thanks! :)