Is that oil coming from my head gasket?

No, it's most likely not your head gasket leaking, it may just be your oil filter housing gasket. (an oil leak seen under your intake manifold following the head gasket going all the way around the front part of your block but stopping at the...

Great DIY. Should both the coolant and oil be drained to make it easier?

I've oil filter housing leak... dealer qouted me $30 for parts and $650 in labor (4.5 hrs)... does it take that long?

just got my water pump replaced -- including coolant flush.
is it necessary to drain the coolant again to replace the gasket?
thanks!

Is there any chance that if this gasket fails, you'd get coolant leaking into the oil?

Just did this,
For other, please try to suck up as much oil from the oil filter area as possible. When I took off the housing some oil fell into the coolant passage.

I cant really get a wrench on that one under the manifold, maybe try a smaller wrench....

Follow your instructions and it was butter! Thanks!

This solved my oil leak!

Thanks for posting this DIY! I was well written and explained the procedure perfectly. As a side note, the Bentley repair manual makes no mention of how to perform this procedure (I was looking for the bolt torque specs).

I just did this yesterday on my '06 325i. I was able to get the bolt near the manifold by using a 1/4-drive Craftsman 8MM socket on a universal joint with a 6" extension bar. I think the procedure is easier with removing the coolant hose, but it's not necessary. Also, Brake Clean did not get all the residue of the old gasket off the head-side of the interface (it wasn't as smooth as I thought it should be). I ended up using some mag wheel polish to get the surface almost back to new.

My coolant did have little black particles in it too. Since my coolant was only 6 months old I re used it. I found the particles when straining the coolant before adding it back in.

As far as the bolt torque goes, as the OP said, just tighten them down in a criss-cross patern until the stop. The purpose is to flaten-out the new gasket.

I'm having the same issue with my N52 87K miles.

I'm covered under MaxCare with a $100 deductible.

Should I pay the deductible or is it wise to do this DIY instead?

How long does this take approximately.

i am attempting this tomorrow.

To confirm you do not need to drain the oil or coolant.

How long did this take you guys?
thanks

ps. i will post pictures of entire process

Please post the pictures as I would like to attempt it as well.

Mine's out at 110k and the shop quoted me about the same price as you. The gasket was $29 at my local dealer and this really isn't hard to do.

Thanks for the great writeup and yea, leave the coolant hose connected it's far easier...also don't be retarded like me and lose the metal clip that holds on the oil pressure switch. Pry it off and it will fly somewhere if you aren't careful.

My new years resolution is not to spend any more blood money at the BMW mechanic. I've always worked on my older cars, and 6k in repairs later I am working on my wife's 2006 325i because that's just nuts for one year of ownership. (water pump, thermostat, oil pan gasket, coolant hoses, an oil change, serpentine belt and both VANOS solenoids).

Replacing this and the spark plugs would have been another 1k and I finally said no, enough is enough. I can work on cars, even ones as overly complicated as this.

Cheers,
David

53 Studebaker Champion
65 Dodge D300
80 Toyota Corolla
93 Toyota Supra TT
++my wife's old car
98 Mercury Villager
++my wife's new car
06 BMW 325i

Is removing the valve cover, cover required to this job?

just replaced mine over the weekend. I have an 09 335i and because I have the oil cooler I have to more stuff. I replaced the oil cooler gasket that's connected to the filter housing. Also, you will need to remove the intake manifold to get to the third bolt for the oil filter housing gasket. The entire process took about 4 hours.

That's because you push the clip down to release it, not pull it up. Most BMW electrical connectors are that way: push down on the clip.

Yup, push in on the clip. Do not remove the clip.

Is the coolant draining really needed? I need to replace my gasket and really do not want to have to drain and fill the coolant as well.

The OP who wrote this DIY did not drain the coolant, so it is not necessary to drain the coolant. I did drain the coolant because I was concerned that when the oil filter housing was off the head, residual coolant could spill from the housing into one of the oil passages. It wouldn't be a lot and not a big deal, but why get the coolant mixed up with the oil when it can be easily prevented (kind of why you are replacing the gasket anyway). Secondly, if you leave to cooling hose connected to the oil filter housing, you now have stress to overcome from flexing the hose to move the oil filter housing out of the way, which IMO makes it harder to get a good shot at cleaning the housing and head gasket surfaces and could make it more difficult to properly seat the new gasket when reinstalling the oil filter housing.

Draining and refilling the coolant is so easy on this car it is almost ridiculous. And for the oil filter housing gasket procedure, you only need to drain less than half the coolant (about a gallon) to get the level below that of the head (so it doesn't spill out). Partially draining, refilling and bleeding the coolant adds maybe 30 to 40 extra minutes to the job. I made sure everything was clean and reused my coolant since it was only a few months old; I strained it into an old coolant bottle using a blue paper shop towel.

Just my $.02.

I did not have to drain my coolant. However, make sure you have a bucket under the car to catch some that will spill out of the housing and coolant house. Also, it appears that I would have to remove the intercooler house/housing to get to the coolant drain plug on my car.

I tried to change the gaskets myself this morning but i couldnt get the intake manifold out of the way to get to the 3rd bolt, so after 2 hours of trying, i went to the dealer to have them fix it...on those 335i with oil cooler, did you also change the gasket, if so were they deteriorating also?