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Did this yesterday and I didn't have as easy a time as it sounds like some of you did. I have a 2007 328i with the N52 engine.
I was not able to get the bolt underneath the manifold with the 8mm ratcheting wrench (it stripped the bolt head almost instantly. I ended up taking off the oil pressure switch to try and get a little extra room, didn't help much, finally had to remove the intake manifold (along with all the covers on top of it) to finally get to the bolt and remove it.
I also had trouble with the lower bolt on the front side of the housing (the furthest towards the front of the engine, on the bottom with the head facing opposite the other two). I was able to break this one free with the 8mm wrench however the wrench ended up bottoming out on the mount for the hose going into the head just under this bolt. Being a ratcheting wrench I obviously couldn't just thread it back in so I ended up having to remove this hose in order to get that bolt out. Not a big deal but something I didn't see mentioned (maybe I missed it) and figured I'd mention for anyone else trying this.
Anyway, my gasket came out in one piece, didn't notice anything in the coolant which kinda surprised me (I'm at 133k miles, much more than some others in here). Saved a bunch of money and learned a lot so pretty happy with it. Thanks for the DIY.
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