Quote:
Originally Posted by MattZ135is
My 2011 E90's oil pan started leaking in November. Had the car since 9k and the odometer just rolled over to 114k. I bought all the parts from the dealer and am looking to do the job myself. I'm just waiting to find the right weekend to get it done. The only thing that bothers me is the steering rack as I don't want to mess with it.
KrashFinatik or Efthreeoh, did you guys have to unbolt the rack from the subframe or did you leave it in place? What about the lower and upper steering column joints? Did you have to unbolt them?
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I just finished yesterday. I unbolted the steering rack, but it was not necessary. The rack is held in place by two thru-bolts with nuts on the top side. The rack is held in place between tabs on the subframe, so it doesn't move once you remove the mounting bolts, so leave it bolted in. I was concerned about the steering column. It has two u-joints in it that allow for a great deal of movement once the subframe is dropped.
Here's some added tips to KrasFinatik's excellent DIY.
1) CLEAN around the lower engine block BEFORE you unbolt and remove the oil pan. I'm a dumbass sometimes.
2) On the 325i models with an oil return line, all you need to do to remove the line from the oil pan tube is hit it upwards with a large flat-blade screwdriver. I placed the blade on the lip of the connector and hit the end of the screwdriver with a swift hit of a ball peen hammer.
3) To ease the removal of the oil pan you need to raise the front of the engine about 2 - 3 inches. Doing it over again, at the start, I would unbolt the engine mounts, then raise the engine the 2 to 3 inches, then set the engine bar in place with the engine in the lifted position.
4) On the manual transmission cars, there are three (3) E-12 torx bolts that hold the transmission to the engine backing plate. They are not structural and are steel (i.e. reusable). Back out these three bolts to give room to remove the oil pan. They get in the way trying to drop the pan at the rear of the engine. Two of the bolts affix a bracket to the transmission. The bracket holds the connectors for the O2 sensors. Remove the bracket and pull it backwards out of the way.
5) I like the idea of grinding down the diameter of the tow hook so it seats farther into the threaded hole in the head.
6) There is a plastic coolant line that runs across the front of the subframe. It is a heater hose that goes to the heater core. It is screwed to the subframe at three (3) locations by torx screws. I recommend that this hose be freed from the subframe because it allows the subframe to drop another few inches and takes the stress off the hoses.
7) Don't be afraid to drastically pull and tug on the subframe once it is loose. It can be moved around quite a bit.
8) The gasket is made of rubber and metal. It will be stuck to the pan when you remove the pan. Pry up the metal gasket at the back of the pan and it will start to peel away. The rubber part of the gasket will be hard and brittle and stuck to the pan. I used a heat gun to soften it up. I recommend using a gasket removal tool (available at most auto parts stores) to remove the gasket. A good gasket removal tool is made of metal and looks like a small paint scraper.
9) No one brought it up, but I was wondering... I used Permatex Black gasket maker when I reinstalled the gasket. I don't think it is necessary and the gasket looks like it has some sort of glue on the surface that probably sets over time once the engine heats it up. That said, I don't plan on going in to replace the gasket again (my car will probably die before it leaks again), so I used a good deal of P-tex on the gasket.
10) Retorquing the bolts. I bought a 1/4 drive torque wrench just for this job. I found that after I snugged down the new pan bolts using a 1/4-drive ratchet, then putting the torque wrench to it, the bolts had already hit the 8 ft./lb. point. The specs call for torquing to 8 ft./lb. then another 90 deg. I ended up just torquing them by feel. They are aluminum bolts, so don't over torque them.
Some observations:
So my pan started leaking round 190,000 miles or so. It started leaking at the right rear corner near the bell housing. It seems this is where they all start to leak. I think I know why, which is why I decided to P-tex the new gasket. The oil windage tray on the bottom of the engine (you'll see it once the pan is out) spans almost the entire width of the bottom of the engine block. Being that the engine is slanted in position in the car, the windage tray lets oil drip right on to the gap between the bottom of the block and the oil pan. It's at an angle, so the oil just sits on the gap and eventually seeps through the gasket once the gasket hardens up. That's my thought anyway.
If your gasket is leaking, don't let it go as long as I did (100,000 miles). The problem is (and I discovered it when I just replaced my clutch a few weeks ago) the rear of the engine block where the pan gap is protrudes into the bell housing behind the flywheel. The clutch pressure plate has fan blades cut into it for cooling the clutch. Once the pan starts leaking, the fan action draws the leaking oil from the pan and spins it all over the inside of the bell housing and just makes a complete mess. Worst off the oil mess will lead you to think the rear crank seal is leaking. Mine was perfectly dry.
Hope this helps.