[Engineer3D]

Well late replies are better than none.
Unfortunately the high winds we had here in NWI did some damage to my roof, so the car still sits on stands while I deal with this issue.
Meaning I am going on week 3 into week 4 of having my 328 up on jack stands.....

And only 5 bolts to go to pull the oil pan.

Also going the way Bendy22 went as far as disconnecting items around the Sub-Frame.

But here is a good reference question/comment.

Does anyone else have the Sports Package?
Could this be the reason or minute difference in the height and space issues that are necessary to get to the oil pan?

And would the suspension both front and rear be different from the base sedan without the extra sports package and premium package and cold weather package?

[Engineer3D]

And here's my spotty driveway from over time.
2 more days on the roof, 1 more bolt from pan removed and exhaustion has set in.
Plus the temperature is dropping here in NWI again.

[Kingishmael]

Has anyone dropped the subframe and what's the easiest and fastest way ?

[seccsc]

Originally Posted by Kingishmael

Has anyone dropped the subframe and what's the easiest and fastest way ?

335i Oil Pan Gasket http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1275202

I used this DIY. With the engine supported, 6 subframe fasteners, and unbolting the top of the struts will drop the subframe. This takes 15 minutes with an impact wrench. However, realigning the strut assembly with assistance yielded a couple hours.
In aggregate, this DIY was at least 18 hours of work with no breaks.

[Engineer3D]

Got one more bolt out, now 3 to go.
Disconnecting the struts isn't a bad idea. I'll support them with the jack stands at a certain distance, then use the jack to push them back up.

I am going back out right now so I'll see if this will work without having to remove any other items, like brake lines and the sort......

[seccsc]

Originally Posted by Engineer3D

Got one more bolt out, now 3 to go.
Disconnecting the struts isn't a bad idea. I'll support them with the jack stands at a certain distance, then use the jack to push them back up.

I am going back out right now so I'll see if this will work without having to remove any other items, like brake lines and the sort......

Good luck!

[Engineer3D]

Well for starters there is no oil separator return tube going from the pan to ?? .

I stripped one of the right rear subframe bolts, at about 11 last night. We had O.K. weather, but a storm was coming, so I rushed. It's half way in right now.

I undid the struts temporarily onto jacks placed under the rotors heads which worked out painlessly and allowed me to just pull the old pan out. Which had broken bits of the gasket at the rear of the pan all broken and large chunks just falling off from being cooked.

I'll update with my pictures in a few, have to go to dentist appointment for a cleaning.

[PhaseP]

Your 328 doesn't have an oil return line outside. It is done inside the valve cover internally.

[Engineer3D]

Once I looked at it, I figured that was what the black internal funnel tube thing was.

I am going to fill it with 2 more quarts and wait to see if any leaks since the 1 quart last night.

Then another 2 in a hour, before I start the engine. Should get the low oil message at that time.

If all goes well I'll add the last quart and let her run for an hour, just to be sure.


Then I'll look into the stripped subframe bolt and see if I can salvage it before I have to repair the hole and get a new bolt. Do not want to risk swapping the other one out and end up with two damaged.

[Engineer3D]

But here is the space I had extra of after loosening/disconnecting the struts from the body and catching them on the stands. It worked out and was a great idea.

So thank you all for your posts and ideas around problems we all may encounter.
Will probably bleed and exchange the Coolant since I ave 4 gallons of the BMW Blue in the garage, and while she's on the jack stands.

[ATLIEN]

Good luck with your repairs!

[2002]

Thanks for all who have written about their experiences with this repair.

I did this repair on my 2009 E92 328i N51 engine with 6spMT during parts of three days and was able to finish the job without any issues. The car has less than 59,000 miles, BTW.

I applied Permatex oil resistant gasket maker to the oil pan gasket before assembly, let it cure for 24 hours after the recommended fastener torque and angle spec. before adding oil, and so far have no leaks!

One tool set that was extremely helpful was a Harbor Freight wobble extension set (Item#67971).

A few other things I did while on the floor and under the hood was replace the motor mounts, front torsion bar bushing, and changing the manual transmission oil with RedLine D4 ATF as recommend by Red Line.

All is well with my Bimmer!!!

[Engineer3D]

All was well but now after a week of driving, I am now getting CLUNKING from the steering.
More predominant when turning LEFT then on RIGHT turns.
Also loud... Very LOUD when moving at 1-5 MPH before going faster.....

Ah well,, With my luck had to be something new again..
And still cannot find the Active Steering Unit ????

[Donutz]

Check to see that your steering rack bolts are tight. Also make sure you didn't leave any tools in there somewhere. Once after an alignment I heard terrible rattling, then a loud crunch. Pulled over and found the alignment tech left me a nice wrench that got wedged in my suspension.

[seccsc]

Originally Posted by Engineer3D

All was well but now after a week of driving, I am now getting CLUNKING from the steering.
More predominant when turning LEFT then on RIGHT turns.
Also loud... Very LOUD when moving at 1-5 MPH before going faster.....

Ah well,, With my luck had to be something new again..
And still cannot find the Active Steering Unit ????

The subframe fasteners are loose. Same thing happened to me a couple weeks after I completed the job.

[Engineer3D]

If oil is still showing up and the oil pan is sealed as it seems to be coming from above/going around the bell housing, where could it be coming from up there???? Head Gasket??
Transmission fluid??? I am clueless right now.

I'll have to get back in there and ensure everything is torqued and just replace the bolts on the steering column when I do.

[Engineer3D]

And as I decided to take a walk away from the car to give it time to rethink why it doesn't want to act right, 10 miles later and a round trip, this happens....


Welcome to the family......

[Donutz]

Could be the valve cover or vc gasket, but when mine were leaking the oil would burn off before dripping down that far. Are your sure the oil isn't coming from deep in the bell housing? I'd suspect the rear main seal if you can trace the oil to a leak from inside the bell housing.

[Hodgepodge]

Hi, First off, thanks for the great write up! My mechanic quoted me $1500 to replace my oil pan gasket and now I can completely see why!

One thing I want to mention, though. BMW recommends replacing any of the torque-head aluminum bolts when doing a job like this. (Which my mechanic and the quote above includes) The logic is that the bolts were already stretched a little when initially installed. BMW uses aluminum nuts so that if one strips, it is the nut that strips and not the block. These bolts are not cheap, but buying new ones pretty much guarantees that these often-stretched bolts won't snap off when tightening them.

[Hodgepodge]

If you are getting burning oil smell, it is probably the valve cover gasket. I had one leak enough to burn and still drip a little. Head gasket would be giving you many more symptoms than just oil. Oil filter housing gasket (also a problem sometimes) is on the other side and usually doesn't result in burning oil, just a leak. Rear main seal is something I hear people talking about all the time but I've never had one fail in any of my BMWs.

[PhaseP]

For the first year magnesium valve cover N52 owner's, I have found it is possible to remove the oil return line without any tool usage, just by hand.
I have an extra oil return line and the line that goes into it from the oil pan lying around left over from my CCV replacement. I have taken another look at it recently, and noticed it is made to be removable by hand. Though requires a good amount of tight holding force.

You just need to first push the head down of the oil return line which pushes the locking ring inside upwards and disengage. Then grab the locking ring parts on the two sides very tightly, so that locking ring will not go down and engage again. Then pull up holding tight that way and it comes off. It still needs quite some force to remove because there are two parallel O-rings inside that provide a good amount of friction.

A 90 degree plier can be used instead of fingers same way.

[KrashFinatik]

Thanks for the updated & much appreciated info & steps PhaseP.