[GSB]

Here's my terrible experience with that pathetic rubber gasket on the oil filter housing...

At about 87k miles, my 08 335i blew the plastic pipe above the radiator (coolant return to reservoir). I repaired the pipe, plus $30 of new coolant. A month later, it blew again. So I replaced the pipe with a custom stainless pipe, plus $30 of new coolant. Because I'd lost the coolant each time, I had not noticed that a gray sludge was developing in the coolant reservoir. There was no sign of it when I refilled the new coolant. Then the coolant level indicator fell off the float and disappeared into the reservoir. After a difficult retrieval, I found that it was all soft and crumbly. What the ?!? And that's when I noticed the sludge - not floating in the coolant, but hiding in gobs under the top of the reservoir. I had no idea where it was coming from, and I didn't have the time or the funds to deal with it right away. Later, I discovered external oil leakage below the oil filter housing and pure black oil now in the cooling system. That's when I found this forum and others who were experiencing this OFHG failure. I ordered the new gasket, but before it arrived, the serpentine belt suddenly shredded and wadded up in a rubbery bird's nest of threads under every one of the pulleys and the tensioner. EMERGENCY failure on the freeway, with no power steering or alternator. I was extremely fortunate that the shredded belt wasn't forced through the front crank seal and into the timing chain as has happened to many others!

I had to remove the radiator to replace the belt and that accursed oil filter housing gasket. I cleaned the engine and the mating surfaces meticulously and used Permatex Optimum Grey Gasket Maker as a dressing (Permatex claims "Maximum vibration resistance, with outstanding resistance to oils, cooling fluids, and shop fluids. 15% more flexible than Ultra Grey. Maximum temperature resistance: -65F to 700F intermittent"). There was no way in heck that I was going to do all of that work to replace the gasket without improving that seal. Just because some twit at BMW chose to use a skinny rubber gasket in that critical location, does NOT mean it was a good idea. My Hondas have NEVER had issues like this!

After that repair, I flushed the cooling system over and over again with plain distilled water, running it through the engine to full operating temp before draining, but it hardly touched the oil sludge inside. I looked into radiator flush products and chose one carefully to be compatible with the BMW cooling system. It did nothing. So, I tried flushing with "Super Clean" (Full Concentrate All Purpose Cleaner/Degreaser Biodegradable & Phosphate Free) mixed 50/50 with distilled water. The sludge started coming out in gobs with each flush and drain. It was packed in large gelatinous blobs throughout the engine, radiator, water pump, thermostat and fittings everywhere. I flushed again and again, with longer and longer run times (up to a week) until the system finally came clean. Then I flushed and drained one more time with pure distilled water, before adding the customary $30 of new coolant.

Then the crappy new "Gates" serpentine belt started squealing. Then the pulleys and tensioner started whirring and grinding. So I replaced the belt (again) with a "Continental" belt, plus new pulleys and tensioner... which require removal of the radiator, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then the plastic quick-connect hose coupling at the top of the radiator cracked and spewed all of the coolant. I contemplated a JB-Weld repair, but as I removed the plastic fitting, it broke clean off and literally crumbled, turning into a brown putty as I rubbed it between my fingers. It became clear that a serious chemical reaction had taken place. The plastic coolant fittings are impervious to oil or to coolant on their own, but when combined, the plastic simply dissolves. Not only that, but all of the rubber hoses and gaskets throughout the cooling system had softened and swelled really badly. So I replaced that plastic fitting and its hose, along with several other hoses and seals, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then the plastic water pump impellor housing cracked. $400 for a new pump and thermostat, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then the radiator cracked. So I replaced the radiator, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then the plastic "mickey mouse" flange on the front of the cylinder-head, bringing coolant from the thermostat, just crumbled and fell off, spewing all of the coolant. So I replaced that hose and upgraded the flange with an aluminum one, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then the brand-new water pump cracked again - after 2 months. So I replaced that one under warranty, plus $30 of new coolant.

In the meantime, all 6 injectors had begun to fail, sticking wide open, pumping raw gas through the exhaust system, smoking prolifically until a creamy sludge began dripping out of the tail pipes, and misfiring so badly that the car became undriveable, throwing hundreds of error codes. So I replaced the injectors, plugs and coils. The engine eventually ran well again, and the exhaust system slowly burned off the sludge, but the oxygen sensors couldn't take it and failed. So I replaced the O2 sensors.

By then, the valve cover gasket had begun leaking oil all over the exhaust manifold and turbos, causing choking white smoke to pour out of the fenders and through the ventilation system into the cabin. When pulling up at a traffic light, people would roll down their windows to yell, "Your car's on fire!!" My windows were already open as I gasped for fresh air, so I replied, "Yeah, thanks, it's been burning for several months... precision German engineering!" The worst part of THAT problem is that oil from the valve cover leaks down the back of the engine, where it gets into the rear turbo coolant line, destroying the rubber hose, and BAM, there went another $30 of coolant and one of the most difficult repair jobs I've ever attempted without removing the engine!

Then the water pump cracked again (out of warranty this time). So, I installed the 4th water pump, plus $30 of new coolant.

A couple of months later, the plastic coolant reservoir cracked and spewed all of the coolant in an impressive geyser at a shopping mall. So I replaced the reservoir, plus $30 of coolant.

Less than a year later, the radiator cracked again and lost all of the coolant. So I replaced the radiator, plus $30 of coolant.

Then the water pump cracked again. At that point, I'd tried two BMW genuine pumps, one Continental/VDO OE pump and one aftermarket pump. At last, FCP Euro began stocking the all-aluminum Pierberg pump for the first time, so I installed one of those, plus $30 of new coolant.

Then my heater slowly went cold, so I did a heater core flush, and in the process, I must have over-diluted the coolant with distilled water because, in the winter freeze, the core of the new radiator froze and split. So I replaced the radiator again, plus $30 of new coolant.

So I'm now on my 5th water pump, 4th radiator, 2nd coolant reservoir, and second set of plastic parts and rubber cooling hoses. Every single one has failed.

Never in my LIFE have I experienced so many catastrophic failures, each of which have left me stranded at the side of the road. MAN, how I hate my BMW... and the twit who designs those plastic parts and plastic water pumps and flimsy rubber gaskets that cause thousands of dollars of collateral damage... plus the monthly $30 of new coolant, of course!