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...

Okay thanks, I was just going to drain as much coolant as possible and refill with new coolant. going to do this on saturday. got my gasket from ECS tuning! woot

Bumping this up so i know i can find the DIY on my phone-app. (No search on app) A friend and are going to do the valve cover gasket and i can see this will have to be done too. Thank you for write up

I went to do this today, All was going good until I noticed my 8mm wrench slipped right of the #2 bolt, It seems to be stripped , any ideas how to remove it? I am not able to get vise grips in that area.


Attachment 519426

They sell a socket to removed stripped ones. I am still doing my valve gasket and got stuck for awhile removing one of mine.

Edit: they have it at sutozone

I had to buy an actual set of female torx bits to get the job done, for the same reasons. With a bit of hammering, the real torx bit fits better and does not slip.

yeah, I bought a set of perfect fitting bits. Im not sure how the lower one is stripped though. Is that tube next to the bolt a coolant tube? I was going to remove it, and the Fan to have better access to the worn bolt.

Great thread to fix the problem. . but how did everyone clean up the mess left behind from the leak?

Just did this procedure this weekend.
What is the best method to clean the mess left behind by the oil housing leak?

So far the only thing i was able to clean is the plastic undercarriage with lots of Krud Kutter Degreaser.

Front of the engine and lots of parts, cables, switches remain soaked in oil from the leak.

I used one of these spray can of engine degreaser. Just avoid spraying electrical connectors as much as possible.

Cover the alternator with tinfoil or a plastic bag, I used tinfoil then a bag for extra safety. Then spray engine degreaser all over (avoid the belts if possible). let it sit for a few minutes. then spray a gentle stream of water to rinse it all away.

I'm not sure what hose that is. I did remove it however to gain better access to that bolt.

However, when removing it, I ended up cracking it
So now I need to find that part number to try and replace it!

Does anyone have insight in terms of what that tube is? Any part numbers or DIY for fixing?

Thanks

Its coolant, I broke the O ring on it. You cracked the actual Tube? Maybe a parts store can match it up. Orielly is pretty good.

Thanks for this write up! Did this along with a oil change this past weekend and doing plugs this friday! you guys are awesome on here

My bimmer is a 2006 330i N52 (non turbo)

Thanks so much for this. I just completed it and saved almost $774 (dealer quote). I bought a gasket for $15, gallon of coolant, and a 8mm box ratchet wrench $15.

I have a few suggestions to add to the DIY that will make the job easier. I listed the steps in order.

1) - Definitely get the 8mm ratcheting box wrench. The job would have been difficult if not impossible without it because there is so little space to turn the bolt behind the exhaust manifold. Only $15 at Autozone.

2) - Try to loosen the bolt behind the manifold first. It is the most difficult and if you can't break that one loose, then there's not point in loosening the others and causing a leak. Only break the bolt free for now, don't remove it at this time.

3) - once you have established you can loosen that bolt, empty the oil filter housing of as much oil as possible, this will minimize any leaking when you unbolt the housing. I took out the filter and used paper towels to soak up the oil. I kept the filter in a plastic bag so I could reuse it. Leave the lid off and it will give you more room to move the ratchet for the bolt behind the manifold.

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.

5) - Remove all the bolts. Use a second wrench for additional leverage. This also reduces the risk of stripping the bolt because when you use a longer lever, the force is directed more toward a circular motion rather than into the bolt.

6) - As you remove them the fluid will leak into the plastic bag you prepositioned. The hole for the radiator fluid is the bottom one of the housing so you don't have to worry about it leaking into your oil. If you removed the oil (step 3), very little will leak when you remove the housing.

7) - Remove and clean the gasket from the housing. Brake cleaning fluid helps. I recommend using a scouring pad (like for dishes) to buff off the residue.

8) - Tighten the bolts gradually, alternating turns among the three bolts (like tightening a valve cover). I just tightened them until I met resistance and gave it a little more.

9) - Vent the radiator and fill per DIY instructions.

10) Spray water to wash away any coolant that didn't make it into the plastic bag.

The job took me an hour because I was careful and didn't know what to expect. I can repeat the process in less than 30 minutes. It's easy enough that I plan to replace it at the first sign of a new leak.

Good luck and enjoy the $700 you saved.

Cover the alternator before you spray water or leak coolant in the area.

i was at the dealer today and they said that cpo covers it? there doing it on friday for me.

Do I HAVE to drain the coolant to do this? I just got my coolant bled/re-filled an hour ago while I got my waterpump/t-stat done. I'm not really very knowledgeable about rads/oil sumps so forgive me for my retarded questions:

Why do I need to drain the coolant if this is just an oil issue.. what do they have to do with each other and why will the coolant leak out of the oil filter housing gasket?

Thanks

If you read the previous instruction, you'll see you don't have to drain the coolant. You'll lose some but catch it with a plastic bag so you don't get it over the alternator and the belts. Afterwards, run the venting procedure and refill the fluid.

The reason you have to worry about the coolant is because the coolant hose connects to the oil filter housing. If you look at the gasket you'll see oil filter housing has different chambers for the oil and coolant.

Considering attempting this procedure this weekend for my 335i. Just to summarize it is recommended that I drain the coolant (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hlight=coolant) and change the oil (http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4768) in addition to following this DIY. The N54 follows the same procedure for the coolant draining but has a more involved gasket change due to the manifold differences from the N52 (Correct?). As a result I should go ahead and change the manifold gasket as well.

Parts:
Oil Gasket (part 11427537293)
Oil Filter (includes orings)
7 Quarts of BWM synthetic (or Mobil 1) 5W30
BMW Coolant (2 Gallons)
Manifold Gasket (Part ????)

Is there any gasket needed in the coolant draining procedure? What is the part number of the manifold gasket? I want do this right so please if there is something I need to be aware of for my car please let me know. I am not interested in the short way but rather the correct way.

Also my oil leak is quite substantial so what are the trouble shooting procedures to ensure successful completion? Just clean everything up and see if it leaks again? There was mention of applying grease to particular locations in an effort to eliminate possible sources of leaks. Can someone be more specific as to those locations?

The correct M1 oil is 0w40.

Don't grease, just clean very well (without scoring the surface of course). Also torque to spec (too much will damage the new gasket).

Special thanks to the OP for helping me get this job done this weekend. I removed, cleaned and replaced the gaskets for both the main oil filter housing listed here as well as the gasket for the attached oil cooler part on the front side of the main housing. Both gaskets were worn only a bit after 70k plus miles and seeping oil around their areas. Everything is nice and clean now with no leaking.

I removed the radiator fan for easier access to front side bolts and removed the intake manifold for access to that inside bolt. I also did a manual intake valve cleaning with gun brushes and various intake cleaner solvents while I was at it. It was a two day process all together, but I'm very happy with the results. The gaskets were only $12 each at my local dealership parts department.

I topped off and bled the radiator fluid according so some other simple DIY instructions I found on here. I would feel very comfortable doing it again. Thanks a lot!

Good write-up!

You have vastly improved this thread with your observations. I tried to send you a direct message but since I'm not very active here I don't seem to have been given such privileges.

It's a bit frustrating reading through so many posts where engines are not identified. (maybe it makes no difference) Do you have the N54 engine? I don't want to jack the thread so send me a message if you can.