[nerovega]

So yeah looks like its cross threaded. Not able to get my tap on the original threads so don't think that will help.

[nerovega]

Finally was able to get the bolt in. I actually was using a thread restoration tap so not a true threading tap. Finally was able to get it to go in straight after giving up a few times. Crazy how one thing can make a job so much longer.

Back on topic, the job took a long time but wasn't really difficult. I spent more time messing with that damn bolt than anything else.

Thanks for the great write up

[F31cruisin]

Originally Posted by nerovega

Finally was able to get the bolt in. I actually was using a thread restoration tap so not a true threading tap. Finally was able to get it to go in straight after giving up a few times. Crazy how one thing can make a job so much longer.

Back on topic, the job took a long time but wasn't really difficult. I spent more time messing with that damn bolt than anything else.

Thanks for the great write up

So you did cross thread it, and just re-tapped it? What size tap did you use?

[nerovega]

Yeah it was cross threaded a little. I used a thread restoration tap. Size was a M12x1.5.
I used the tap, a brass wire wheel and a some cleaner to clear out debris.

[RuskiE39]

Sorry if this was already mentioned, but how different is this DIY to a turbo model 335? I plan on tackling this next weekend and it looks fairly simple enough.

[F80Mmm]

I just replaced the oil pan gasket on an 08 328i AT, put oil in and it’s still leaking in the drivers side rear corner by the transmission. Is the oil pan warped? Should I try putting more gasket material there to keep it sealed?

[KrashFinatik]

Originally Posted by E90Crack

I just replaced the oil pan gasket on an 08 328i AT, put oil in and itÂ’s still leaking in the drivers side rear corner by the transmission. Is the oil pan warped? Should I try putting more gasket material there to keep it sealed?

You don't want to use too much sealant if you used it. I never used any on mine & so far no leaks. Has your pan been dropped or hit in any way?

[F31cruisin]

Just tackled this job this weekend, and it really wasn't too bad. Just takes a lot of time with how much you have to take apart. Slowly but surely everything came apart and went back together.

Instead of unbolting the engine mounts from the subframe, I unbolted the engine from the mounts. I think this is much easier to do. I then supported the engine and raised it. Trying to get as much space as possible. Every small amount makes a big difference to easily get the pan off. I also used the Harbor Freight engine support, which you can continue to tighten and the engine raises. That was extremely helpful in getting more clearance. I used a 20% coupon for it too, well worth the money, and ROCK solid. Just gotta make sure the bar itself is as tight as possible on the side supports. I used a supplied washer to insert in the space between the bar's mounting point to the side supports, and then tightened. This made it much stronger. You'll see when I mean if you buy it. If you dont do this the bar moves too much and you cant get as much clearance.

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-l...bar-96524.html

I also opted to install some supersprint headers at the same time. A TON of room was made when the subframe came off to easily get these right in. Theres just so much you can do while in there if you needed to. Obviously engine mounts, headers, Water pump, thermostat. All these become extremely simple to reach.

Anyone thinking about it should just go for it. Its really not bad at all, just takes time. Grab some beers and go at it.

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by KrashFinatik

You don't want to use too much sealant if you used it. I never used any on mine & so far no leaks. Has your pan been dropped or hit in any way?

It could be residual oil trapped in the transmission bell housing still coming down. It may take a few days to clear.

[Pohsib]

A mechanic recently posted a time lapse video of this job being performed.

2010 BMW 328i Oil Pan Time Lapse (1)

2010 BMW 328i Oil Pan Time Lapse (2)

2010 BMW 328i Oil Pan Time Lapse (3)

Everyone on here seems pretty smart but I'm going to go ahead and point out that you can play the video at 1/4 speed so that you can see what he's doing.

Hoping to do this job myself a month from now.

[Rodarbal]

Originally Posted by E90cruisin

...A TON of room was made when the subframe came off to easily get these right in. Theres just so much you can do while in there if you needed to. Obviously engine mounts, headers, Water pump, thermostat. All these become extremely simple to reach.

Anyone thinking about it should just go for it. Its really not bad at all, just takes time. Grab some beers and go at it.

I did my oil pan gasket on my N55 just a few weeks ago, too. While I was there I did the water pump, thermostat and coolant hose p/n 11537588880. A few weeks before that I did the oil filter housing gasket and another hose and few o-rings, too. IMO, it was really good to get hands on, elbows deep with this thing. This thread has really helped out a lot. Now that it's done, I feel even more passionate about my E90. I had confidence to flog my car again with all the new plumbing I just installed. All was going great since then... until last Thursday. POW! I blew apart my intake charge pipe. In went an aftermarket aluminum piece!

Oh, I will mention that I did get the car aligned after I got everything together. Glad I did. Front toe and camber was off. Can't say whether or not my alignment was off before I dropped the subframe (it's a good bet that it was), but it never hurts to throw it on the rack after a job like this is done to be certain.

[KrashFinatik]

Originally Posted by Rodarbal

I did my oil pan gasket on my N55 just a few weeks ago, too. While I was there I did the water pump, thermostat and coolant hose p/n 11537588880. A few weeks before that I did the oil filter housing gasket and another hose and few o-rings, too. IMO, it was really good to get hands on, elbows deep with this thing. This thread has really helped out a lot. Now that it's done, I feel even more passionate about my E90. I had confidence to flog my car again with all the new plumbing I just installed. All was going great since then... until last Thursday. POW! I blew apart my intake charge pipe. In went an aftermarket aluminum piece!

Oh, I will mention that I did get the car aligned after I got everything together. Glad I did. Front toe and camber was off. Can't say whether or not my alignment was off before I dropped the subframe (it's a good bet that it was), but it never hurts to throw it on the rack after a job like this is done to be certain.

Checking the alignment is a very good idea after doing this job imo.
I thought about but never mentioned it when I started this thread.

[Pohsib]

I have a 2006 e90 330i manual transmission with the N52 engine. How much can I do the night before while I’m waiting for the oil to drain? I ask because I have found with other repairs that inevitable stopping points turn up anyway – not having the right kind of socket extension or needing to use liquid wrench, etc.

[F31cruisin]

Originally Posted by Pohsib

I have a 2006 e90 330i manual transmission with the N52 engine. How much can I do the night before while I’m waiting for the oil to drain? I ask because I have found with other repairs that inevitable stopping points turn up anyway – not having the right kind of socket extension or needing to use liquid wrench, etc.

You can do a ton down there. Waterpump if needed, coolant hoses, thermostat, engine mounts, headers, 02 sensors, theres a ton you can do down there while the subframe is dropped.

[Pohsib]

I tackled this project this weekend and did one of the things you're not supposed to - I broke one of the yellow tabs on the crankcase return pipe. This happened despite using a lot of care trying to unhook it. I think the plastic was brittle to begin with. In the process of actually disconnecting the oil pan from that pipe, the remaining yellow parts of the connector fell out.

I ordered two crankcase return pipes online today. My current plan to see if I can disassemble one of them using a Dremel tool so that I can recover an intact yellow insert. I am hoping that I can snap that into the existing crankcase return pipe and not have to replace the entire crankcase return pipe. I figure it's worth a shot - in part because of how that connector is designed. It seems like it might work anyway.

I don't have much room even with the subframe dropped so I might proceed with detaching the strut on the driver's side. Otherwise I don't know if I'll be able to get the pan back in without messing up the gasket or having something fall in the pan.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I was right. Breaking the super fragile yellow connector imside the crankcase return pipe was no big deal at all. It took me maybe 30 seconds (no Dremel tool needed) to pop the yellow connector out of a crankcase return I purchased online. Incidentally I spoke to my mechanic and he said it actually it isn’t a big deal to replace that pipe anyway. Regardless I’m pleased it was such an easy fix with the connector itself.

CRITICAL INFO: There is a plastic spacer sandwiched between two rubber o rings in the bell of the crankcase return pipe. I found the spacer and one of the o rings in the floor on my garage having no clue where they came from. After a few minutes it occurred to me to check the end of the new crankcase return pipe that I’d taken the yellow connector out of. That’s how I figured out where it came from. I used a 3” deep 10 mm socket with a T55 bit stuck in the end of it to position the o rings and spacers inside the bell of the connector before slipping the yellow connector insert in to hold it all together.

I took pictures of of the crankcase return pipe and the spacer and washers. If I can figure out how to upload pictures, I'd will do so.

[Pohsib]

Do I have to have a way to compress the springs if I unbolt the struts? OR do I use a jack to push the strut back into place?

EDIT: Looks like I won’t need to disconnect the struts b/c disconnecting that lower heater return line cleared up enough space for me to slide the pan in. Here’s how I do it: I lie under and parallel to the front of the subframe w my head on the drivers side. I hold the deep part of the pan in my right hand and thread the front of the pan between the back of the subframe and the front of the transmission. I gently slide the pan in past the transmission (oil condition sensor plug and ground cable tied out of way) while reaching over the heater return and front of the subframe with my left arm. I grab the front of the pan w my left hand. I keep moving the pan forwards until the deep part of the pan hits the subframe. Then I use my left thigh to raise the front on the subframe while using my left hand to snap the front lip of the pan over the a/c line while lifting the pan into place and pushing the front of the subframe up more with my left thigh. With some practice the pan barely touches anything.

Currently I took on a side project to repaint the bottom of the pan. I found some rust around the bolts where the oil condition sensor is held. If you have the N52 with the steel pan, I strongly recommend you change the oil sensor gasket and check for rust around the welds that hold the bolts in place.

[egybimmerdiy]

Hello,
Glad to see that this thread is still alive. Its been super helpful and I need some urgent help!

Last week I changed my oil pan gasket. I followed all instructions including replacing all bolts with new ones. I also changed the 3 horizontal bolts that go between the transmission and oil pan with new ones. I tightened everything to spec (6fl-lbs +90 for all short bolts, 6ft-lbs+180 for medium and long bolts, and 14ft-lbs for the 3 horizontal bolts).

After installing the new gasket I filled the car back with oil (around 6 quartz) and left it for a few hours to monitor for leaking. I noticed a very minor leaking/sweating happening at the connection between the transmission and oil pan (see pic). I wiped it off and left the car over night without reinstalling the underbelly shield to see if the leaking would re-appear and if it would start dropping on the ground. However, the next day I didn’t find a single drop of oil on the floor and the leaking location was dry. So I decided that it was just a minor sweating and just double checked the torque of the bolts in this area (the 2 long and 3 medium oil pan bolts) and gave them all another 10-15 degrees with my torque wrench.

I kept the car parked for the next week only using it for small 10 min trips to the grocery store to test for leaking. I didn’t see any leaking anywhere in the driveways or at any of the parking spots. So I decided to take it on the highway for a 60min round trip. Half way through the trip I checked the oil level on the dashboard and it showed less than 50% which I thought was strange given that I put in 6 quartz of oil which usually puts me at around 75% capacity. So I decided to keep an eye on the oil level. By the time I got back home the Check Oil Level Error Sign was on and the oil level was reading less than one quart of oil left. I got out and looked under the car and saw a very small oil puddle. Damn!

So the next day I jack up the car and remove the underbelly expecting to find a huge oil mess but to my surprise everything was super clean. The underbelly didn’t have a drop of oil on it (I had cleaned it very well when I changed the oil pan gasket so I can monitor for leaks). All around the perimeter of the oil pan was bone dry and the new gasket looked in very good condition. The only part where I saw some oil wetness/residue was in the same location I referenced earlier at the intersection between the oil pan and transmission. I find this very perplexing as I expected to find a big mess given that I just leaked out a full 6 quartz of oil.

My questions to the community:

1-Any ideas of what I can do besides redoing the whole job again and replacing with a new gasket? Im thinking that given the fact that all the perimeter of the oil pan is 100% bone dry except for where the transmission connects with the oil pan then I can just replace the bolts around the leaking area (essentially the 2 long bolts and the 3 medium ones) with new ones and re-torquing them to spec. It seems to me that there is no risk of cross threading as I will be pulling out and installing the new bolts one at a time i.e pull out one bolt, replace with new, torque to spec and then pull the next, …etc. What do you think? Any objections to this strategy? Any other ideas?

2- One thing I suspect that I could have messed up in this area is the locations of the long and medium bolts (although i imagine that the two long bolts would have not gone all the way in if I had put them in the wrong holes where the medium bolts should go). Can anyone explain/describe the location of the 2 long bolts vs the 3 medium ones?


3- Is it logical that I could have lost all 6 quartz of oil from just this small area in the pic that was sweating and in less than an hour of driving? And how come that for a full week I had the car parked in my driveway and didn’t see any leaking on the ground? Is it possible that the oil only leaks out while driving or when the oil gets warm? Is it possible that all this oil fell straight through the square opening in the underbelly (where center jacking point is located) and fell on the street without leaving any traces on the underbelly or creating a mess on the oil pan or the engine? Has this happened to anyone? Can anyone help me make sense of this?

[Bendy22]

Do you mean to say the E9X will only warn you of low oil when you down to less than a quart?

You don't think that maybe it meant you are about a quart low from full?

I thought the indication on the dash was just like an oil dipstick. Between the lines anywhere meant you were ok. Anything to the left of the left line and you should add some. I'll admit I've never received a low oil warning so I'm not sure what is says exactly, but I would make sure you truly were 5+ quarts low.

The only places oil can go that I can recall are:

1. Leaking out a seal to the outside of the engine
2. Burning in the combustion chamber
3. Head gasket issue causing it to mix with coolant

If number 2 was occurring, at the rate you describe, you would be leaving a massive smokescreen behind you at all times.

If number 3 was occurring, you would be mixing coolant and oil, and you would be seeing smoke out the tail pipe from burning coolant. Check the coolant reservoir. Look oily at all?

Also, if you had a less than a quart in your crankcase, you may be getting some serious engine damage due to lack of lubrication. But again, I hope our expensive luxury cars have the ability to warn you of low oil before they are basically empty.

[egybimmerdiy]

Hi Bendy22,

Thanks for quick reply.
Yes, Im pretty sure that the error message indicated that I had less than 1 quart left. Within minutes I went form being in the middle between the min and max points of the digital oil level range to being under the min point with the worlds (>1 qrt) appearing on the dashboard.

I didn't see any smoke coming form the back of the car and didn't hear any weird noises. The car drove just fine. I drove it for about 5 more min from the time the low oil level message came on to get home so hope I didn't f*&$ up the engine.

[Bendy22]

Maybe the oil level sensor is malfunctioning? Maybe check to see if it is plugged back in properly? Maybe it wasn't fully seated after your work and it came loose?

Regardless, you need to drain the oil and measure how much you have if you haven't done that already. That will verify if the error message you saw was valid.

[egybimmerdiy]

When I went under the car yesterday I double checked the oil sensor electrical cable. It was plugged in correctly. I pulled it out and put it back in again just to double check.

But I like the idea of draining and seeing how much comes out. Thanks for the advice.

[PichaDis11]

Originally Posted by egybimmerdiy

When I went under the car yesterday I double checked the oil sensor electrical cable. It was plugged in correctly. I pulled it out and put it back in again just to double check.

But I like the idea of draining and seeing how much comes out. Thanks for the advice.

You maybe reading the oil level wrong here. The oil level showing that the oil is low doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't any oil in the engine. If you had a situation of little to no oil in the engine, you'd be having a different conversation than this. Remember that it takes roughly 7.5 quartz to actually have max oil in a dry engine. You were able to get away with oil changes of 6 quartz before because as you could tell when you did this job that there were residual oil in the pan after you drained it at first.

It should be safe to add another quart and check the oil levels again.