Valve Cover Gasket Change and Flex-disc Question

["Frank & Kirsten" <FranKirsten@xxxxxxx>]

Hello, my 1995 M3 with 79K miles is in need of a valve cover gasket
change and I wanted to make sure I've got all the parts identified
before I make an order. I have the following identified to do the job:
. Valve cover gasket part #11 12 1 738 701
. Valve cover spark plug hole gasket (2 qty) part #11 12 1 735 721
. Valve cover mount (2 qty)
. Valve cover seal washer (15 qty)
. Valve stem seal kit (2qty)
Please let me know if I am missing something here or if there are any
surprises I should know about.

Additionally, I have the 4/95 build date and am a little concerned about
the valve keeper failures I have read about. When I bought the car, the
previous owner put a JC chip that has the limiter removed, so I don't
know how much over-rev this car may have had. How much more difficult of
a job is it to replace these keepers while the cover is pulled? Do I
need special valve spring depression tools that are BMW specific? Also,
I have read of using a rope in the cylinder to keep the valves from
dropping, is that as straight forward as it seems? 

On the Flex-disc question, I have noticed that it is has quite a few
cracks in the rubber, and since I have to drop the exhaust from the cats
back to weld up a hole that appeared at the front of the muffler, I
figured it's a good time to change that out too. What else is
recommended to change out with the flex-disc? Should I also swap out the
Center support bearing assembly at the rear for a new one with the
flex-disc? Is the center support bearing a total replacement, or just
the bearing inside?

Thanks for your advice, Frank

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