[kkasson]

Originally Posted by BMAX

I have a 2008 335i sedan (n54) and I appear to have an extra part in front of the oil filter housing. I believe it is an oil cooler thermostat housing. Can anyone give me info for removing that. It appears there are two bolts on top that will disconnect the two hoses underneath then three e 10 torx bolts to remove the part. Then proceed as per info in this thread. Thanks in advance and I will take pics of this extra step unless someone already posted it and I missed it
Todd

Try this thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=938455

[BMAX]

Thanks for the link. I learned it is an e10 bolt that comes out from the bottom. Dealer was closed today so getting ready to do it tomorrow.

[BMAX]

Ok, so I'm in the middle of doing this thing. I get the engine cover and air box off( haven't lost or broken anything so all is good). Just wanted to take a quick look at the dreaded bolt under the intake manifold and call it a night but of course there has to be a glitch and here is my question.
I have a 2008 335i (n54). It appears to be impossible to get to the bolt without at least loosening the intake manifold. Can someone tell me if this is correct and if I do loosen/remove the manifold do I need to replace that gasket. I kinda feel like i should replace it even if I'm just loosening it but I just don't want to if I don't have to. Here is a pic of the bolt under the gasket. Can you tell me if I'm looking at the correct one. The one that is closest to the oil filter housing not the 12mm one all the way to the left of the pic
Thanks

[BMAX]

Having trouble posting pic

[JM98]

Originally Posted by BMAX

Ok, so I'm in the middle of doing this thing. I get the engine cover and air box off( haven't lost or broken anything so all is good). Just wanted to take a quick look at the dreaded bolt under the intake manifold and call it a night but of course there has to be a glitch and here is my question.
I have a 2008 335i (n54). It appears to be impossible to get to the bolt without at least loosening the intake manifold. Can someone tell me if this is correct and if I do loosen/remove the manifold do I need to replace that gasket. I kinda feel like i should replace it even if I'm just loosening it but I just don't want to if I don't have to. Here is a pic of the bolt under the gasket. Can you tell me if I'm looking at the correct one. The one that is closest to the oil filter housing not the 12mm one all the way to the left of the pic
Thanks

Yes, the intake manifold needs to be moved out of the way. I reused the original IM gaskets with no issues, just be sure its lined up correctly.

[badblackcoupe]

sorry guys dumb question but the underside of my housing is getting moist and i am going to do this job soon, but are we replacing this gasket with an improved one, or will we have to do this job occasionally?

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by badblackcoupe

sorry guys dumb question but the underside of my housing is getting moist and i am going to do this job soon, but are we replacing this gasket with an improved one, or will we have to do this job occasionally?

Every 60-80k most likely.

[GEOS07335i]

Guys,
Anyone comment on this youtube video. Gees looks like it takes him less than 30 minutes to do swap out the OFHG with out having to touch the intake manifold.

Apparently his trick is a 8mm socket on a swivel with on 1/4" extension bar. They make it seem so easy. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this with out having to remove or loosen the intake? This is on my list to do and would like to hear input if anyone has tried this.

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by GEOS07335i

Apparently his trick is a 8mm socket on a swivel with on 1/4" extension bar. They make it seem so easy. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this with out having to remove or loosen the intake? This is on my list to do and would like to hear input if anyone has tried this.

Works on the N52 but does not work on the N54, as far as I know.

[triax37]

Originally Posted by GEOS07335i

Guys,
Anyone comment on this youtube video. Gees looks like it takes him less than 30 minutes to do swap out the OFHG with out having to touch the intake manifold.

Apparently his trick is a 8mm socket on a swivel with on 1/4" extension bar. They make it seem so easy. Just wondering if anyone else has tried this with out having to remove or loosen the intake? This is on my list to do and would like to hear input if anyone has tried this.

I can confirm that an 8mm socket on a swivel, used with a 1/4" extension bar works very well on the N52 engine. Took me 2 minutes to remove that bolt -
if your engine is cool, wrap your left hand around the manifold closest to the OFGH.

Also, if anyone is looking for an inexpensive 8mm ratcheting box wrench, Home Depot has one for $6:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-8-m...W8MM/204759320

Between this thread and the thread linked below, I completed the project in about 3 hours with MUCH less mess than I typically make :
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=632565

[praveenkrs]

Just did this on my 06 330i with n52. got in done in an hr. Din't remove anything except the oil pressure sensor. Lost some coolant ( very little) Should I do a coolant bleed? ( the 12 min pump cycle with bleeding screw open)?

[avin83]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

This is the same setup I used (a 6-inch Craftsman 1/4-drive extension bar) and a 1/4-drive u-joint swivel. However, a few weeks ago I found an even better tool at a hardware store. I found a 1/4-drive flex-cable extension, which is perfect for this job. The one I found has a fully encased flex cable that let's you get right square on the bolt head. It doesn't wind up like the flex cables that are not encased.

It sounded a great idea, so I bought a 1/4-drive flex-cable extension to access the inner bolt near intake manifold... It allows me easily access the bolt but it just twists itself and does not give enough torque to loose the bolt.

[Pohsib]

Originally Posted by BonnieT100

4) - Rather than drain the radiator (unless you needed to change it anyway), I threaded a plastic trash bag under the oil filter housing to catch the leaking fluid. The top hose doesn't hold that much fluid so I didn't lose more than half a quart.

I tried using a bag and it worked well. However, I disconnected the top hose at the filter housing to catch the fluid that way. Worked very well.

[Needbmwpartzz]

Followed this DIY.....worked great and this job was a breeze.....and yup 8mm box was a great help.
I removed air ducting just so I could clean up the mess of residual oil that seeped out.
Not sure op is still around but
and to all other contributors on this forum.....love not paying others to fix my cars.

[Rupes]

Thanks for this write up. Can anyone confirm if an oil change is required after replacing the gasket?

[Meeni]

Originally Posted by Rupes

Thanks for this write up. Can anyone confirm if an oil change is required after replacing the gasket?

Depends if you spilled coolant in the oil or not. If you contaminated the oil with water you're better off removing it before it turns into mayo.

[orion_squall]

Thanks for this write up. My car is at 135,000km and there is a leak.

Can someone confirm that we need to drain the coolant before opening up the oil filter housing?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by orion_squall

Thanks for this write up. My car is at 135,000km and there is a leak.

Can someone confirm that we need to drain the coolant before opening up the oil filter housing?

I've done my OFHG twice now. My advice is to drain the coolant and do the replacement at an oil change. It just makes the whole repair easier and much cleaner. You don't need to do a complete coolant drain, just drain the radiator because it drops the coolant level below the hoses that connect to the housing. Remove the hoses (some people don't) because it allows you to properly seat the new gasket. Draining the coolant is a simple task with the N52/54/55 since the refill and bleeding procedure is done cold with the electric water pump.

[orion_squall]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I've done my OFHG twice now. My advice is to drain the coolant and do the replacement at an oil change. It just makes the whole repair easier and much cleaner. You don't need to do a complete coolant drain, just drain the radiator because it drops the coolant level below the hoses that connect to the housing. Remove the hoses (some people don't) because it allows you to properly seat the new gasket. Draining the coolant is a simple task with the N52/54/55 since the refill and bleeding procedure is done cold with the electric water pump.

Appreciated.

I am still having difficulty releasing the 3 Torx E10 screws and I am starting to order proper E10 socket and wrench. So far I have found out that using a 8mm socket/wrench is a very bad idea, at least for me.

I will probably post some additional photo and information to enhence this helpful DIY.

[m20e3087]

1/4 E10 and 8" extension is the way to go. Just did it this morning, and had to loosen intake manifold for 07 N54.

[kep]

Anyone in the Colorado area that's willing to replace my oil filter stand gasket?? Name your price!

[profenx]

Hey guys!

I did this two weeks ago. In case anyone wanted to know I’ve never done much car repairs. Once I replaced a brake pad and I replaced spark plugs on 2 Toyota’s. This took me 5 hours. I used E10 ratcheting wrench. The bolts came loose easy. But taking that one near the intake out took forever cuz I was wrenching one click at a time. I would go for E10 1/4 socket and extension next time to speed things up. Also I drained the coolant but when adding it back I added 4 cups of water cuz the instructions said to add coolant until air came out, which never happened. After bleeding the coolant indicator shot up really high so I had to drain until It was at max, which was 4 cups. I ended up diluting the overall coolant by 4 cups water! If this is an issue let me know!

It also took forever to clean the gasket off the metal and the grooves. I used brake cleaner and Scott’s blue shop towels. This stuff rips apart from the rough edges so not recommended. Also, it was dark, cold (for NorCal), and raining. I think if I could do it again it would take 1-2 hours. I used a torque wrench and 8mm socket to feel for how tight to tighten the 2 others.

I also have an oil pan leak found in February. Oil never leaked to the garage I park in before this DIY. So ... two weeks later I found a small pool(1-2oz) of oil coming from my passenger side front. I checked the gasket and the area around looked clean. Wiping it with shop towel I could see dirt but I also see dirt wiping an area I know I cleaned. Can’t say for sure it’s oil. Looks all clean to me. Since I had zero oil leaking before, logic tells me I F’d up. If it was the oil pan leak it would be far behind the passenger tire right? I’m not sure exactly where the leak drips to but I’ll monitor it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone for all the pointers for this DIY

Edit: been checking for oil leak but haven’t seen any. I took out the undercarriage and can see that my oil pan is leaking more. The OFHG I did looks fine. In case those who aren’t mechanically inclined want to do this.