[luckyJ]

gents...noticed this in the engine bay this morning...car has 60k miles...when I purchased it 2 months ago, the engine bay was clean until today...

if it is the gasket...shud I go with BMW, Victor Reinz, or Erling Klinger?

gasket is cheap but anyone have any experience with the others?

thanks

[ChuckThomas]

Are you losing any coolant or oil? Are you finding coolant in your oil, or oil in your coolant? Is oil appearing to be leaking from/along your head gasket on the drivers side? Is oil leaking from your oil filter housing(yes)? A bad oil filter housing gasket can cause all of these problems simultaneously.

[ctuna]

You have to worry about it leaking on to your belt.
If the belt goes bad it can take out your Engine.

[robthewrench]

Do you need to replace - yes, but not urgently. As it gets worse, it will cause other problems as mentioned by others. So do get it fixed, but it doesn't have to be this month.

[Boland01]

I'd clean it up and then watch it. As others have said if it starts leaking on to your serpentine belt or mixing with your coolant is not good. Good news it's a DIY job if you're handy.

[ChuckThomas]

I know they say its not a urgent job, but you probably should do it as soon as you have time. I did mine at 80k so i guess you still have time, but Its not hard at all, and it can save your belt and belt tensioner. I believe the belt slipping off and going into your engine is only on the n54 so you may not have to worry about it "destroying your engine" but it will paint your engine, (leaking oil/coolant with assistance of radiator fan). As far as gasket type, I'd go with BMW over elring. The profile of the two gaskets are nearly identical but the BMW has more notches on it making it a tighter fit. Have a look at the two here https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...h/11428637821/

[Needbmwpartzz]

That's looks to be early stage gasket failure.
Easy fix!

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by ChuckThomas

I believe the belt slipping off and going into your engine is only on the n54

Nope,

Happens on the N51, N52, N54 and I believe also on the N55 but not 100% on the last one.

[The Nightman]

Replace the gasket sooner rather than later. As mentioned already, make sure you use the latest revision with part number 11428637821 (with the additional ridges).

You'll need a 1/4" drive E10 socket for the bolt behind the intake manifold and a ratcheting wrench for the lower bolt.

[desertman123]

Mine was barely leaking externally but it was crumbling apart on the inside -- there were some small rubber bits in my coolant.

[luckyJ]

thanks everyone for giving insight...I purchased an Elring gasket but I am going to return it and get the geniuine BMW part....

also, I used to use a smidgen of Dow corning 111 sealant when changing gaskets on air-cooled Porsches and it helped with oil leak prone areas...a small coating on the gasket seemed to prolong the integrity of the rubber...so will try it on the OFHG gasket as well...

[tlow98]

Likely you didn't see it when you first bought the car because they washed the engine bay very thoroughly. Pretty typical.

Sounds like you're on the right path.

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by luckyJ

thanks everyone for giving insight...I purchased an Elring gasket but I am going to return it and get the geniuine BMW part....

also, I used to use a smidgen of Dow corning 111 sealant when changing gaskets on air-cooled Porsches and it helped with oil leak prone areas...a small coating on the gasket seemed to prolong the integrity of the rubber...so will try it on the OFHG gasket as well...

Good idea.

https://www.amazon.com/Molykote-Lubr...t_sims?ie=UTF8

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Nope,

Happens on the N51, N52, N54 and I believe also on the N55 but not 100% on the last one.

Oh yeah it happens on the N55!

I'm going thru this now and my engine barely has 50k miles on it.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by delmarco

Oh yeah it happens on the N55!

I'm going thru this now and my engine barely has 50k miles on it.

Yeah they all leak at the OFHG. I was referring to the belt ingestion part. I wasn't sure if the N55 had a different design to prevent that, but it seems like it doesn't.

[delmarco]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Yeah they all leak at the OFHG. I was referring to the belt ingestion part. I wasn't sure if the N55 had a different design to prevent that, but it seems like it doesn't.

yeah the belt is right below the drip point

[catcher22]

I'm sure you'll get mixed opinions on this here, but I would use gasket maker during the repair process unless you want to be replacing it again in another 40-60k miles.

The oem gaskets and the " bmw recommended repair process" is crap. Gasket maker the heck out of it, create a real seal, and don't look back.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by catcher22

I'm sure you'll get mixed opinions on this here, but I would use gasket maker during the repair process unless you want to be replacing it again in another 40-60k miles.

The oem gaskets and the " bmw recommended repair process" is crap. Gasket maker the heck out of it, create a real seal, and don't look back.

@95k and 3rd replacement. Tried all gaskets manufactures. Last time tried Permanex gasket maker. Lasted 1y on the dot. I don't recommend going that route.

[DS3IAM]

same boat with others .. Doing my this weekend .. I am at 84K.