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Originally Posted by SoCalE90i
Thanks for this very helpful thread. I did the job on my 2007 328i this weekend. A few things that may help others in the future:
11. The factory didn't use any sealant (that I could see) on the gasket. I went back an forth on whether to use it. On the one hand, the factory didn't use it. But on the other hand, the factory job started leaking in 50K miles. I decided to use a thin layer of Dirko (a German RTV sealant used by BMW and MB) on both sides of the gasket. We'll see if that was a good decision in the long run.
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I think the gasket is not a very good design (at least the one for the steel oil pan). It has a metal center with a 3-ribbed rubber seal on the inside lip, and a flat rubber seal on the outer lip. The 3-rib rubber seal just hardens over time and looses its compression. I think adding RTV gasket sealer is worth the extra step. The factory doesn't use it because it probably adds a few minutes of time to the engine build and the original seal without RTV gets through the warranty period.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."