[RayLivingston]

Today I started doing the oil pan gasket on my '07 335i. What a colossal PITA! I found two good How-To's, one being specifically for the 335i, but mine still required some additional disassembly to make it possible to get the oil pan out. I had to un-bolt the steering rack from the sub-frame. There was no way to get the sub-frame low enough to allow the front of the pan to clear the oil pump. Even then, I had to simultaneously pull down as hard as possible on the sub-frame, while maneuvering the pan out, and it was still a tight fit. I have no idea how I will get it back in without risking damaging the new gasket. It's gonna be a real bee-yatch for sure. As will getting the rack back in place. As will getting the sub-frame back in place.

Sadly, in the oil pan I found a few small pieces of what has to be chain guide. Not a lot of pieces, and the largest one by FAR was only about 3/8"x3/8", but I am going to pretend I did not see them. It's not making any unusual noises, and still runs great. If the guides blow up in the near future, so be it. I'm getting REALLY tired of working on this car, and it's really not worth $ much at this point. There is no way I'm putting in the extra time, money and effort to swap out the guides on top of this already very unpleasant job.

I hope to get it back together tomorrow (the parts just showed up a little while ago).

[mainbearing]

PITA for sure, while working I kept thinking I would gladly pay a shop $1000 for the job. And that was on a N51. I can do it much faster next time but certainly not something I would want to try again.

BMW really did a poor job sealing these engines. I would expect an iconic brand to do better than this especially with the oil pan gasket. They should fire those incompetent engineers and outsource the jobs to Japan. (Well, the OFHG was anyway.)

Looking at the first video below, besides additional front plumbing and PS pump, at least the video did not look too different from N51/N52. The guy left the rack and steering connection alone however.

BTW, try using a jack to lift up either the front or rear cross bar of the subframe (thus making the other tilt down). I found doing so (on N51) gave me more clearance either in the front or rear areas. And I pulled the oil pan from the rear by jacking up the front cross bar of the subframe a little. I also used Permatex Ultra Black RTV to coat the pan gasket. My notes: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showp...&postcount=327

Also, check the subframe mounting bolt holes' threads before lifting the subframe back up. Some members including myself had some damage with the rear ones (ones going slanted into the chassis).

Did you change the engine mounts? Thermostat and water pump would be a good time too.

[RayLivingston]

I'm not even looking at the motor mounts, for the same reason I'm not fixing the chain guides. We'll be getting a (much) new(er) car before long, and if this one dies, it will simply move up the schedule. The water pump is easy enough to remove with the subframe in place. I had it out once before, and never understood all the complaints.

Going back in, I suspect I will have a jack under the front of the subframe (with the subframe tied to it, to pull it down), and a trans jack under the rear. Between the two of them, I hope to find the magic angle that makes the pan go back in easier. I know, I'm dreaming. Coming out, I just had to pull down on the subframe, and wiggle, push
and pull the pan, and it eventually just fell out.

ALL of the bolts came out very nicely - no corrosion or wear at all on any of them.

The one thing that does baffle me, is how ANYONE could really torque the pan bolts. Quite a few were very hard to get AT ALL. NO chance at all there is enough room to actually torque more than about half of them. One I was ONLY able to get using a wrench, turning about 1/8 turn each time. I've got a pretty well calibrated hand, so I expect to just get the "feel" for the correct torque, and go for it.

[mainbearing]

LOL, if you can get to the water pump in its space constraints and stuck on hoses and couplers that is great.

Anyway, in my experience the subframe sort of pivots at the struts. Therefore I would NOT lift BOTH up, but rather just lift up one end (front or rear) and sort of let the other drop down was what I was trying to say.

All my bolts came out fine, but putting it back one of the rear threads was damaged. So you might just want to thread the bolts back in and try the threads out. If they are all fine, then great.

As far as torquing the pan bolts. I use a combination of 1/4" and 3/8" drive extensions, wobble extensions and u-joint. Some just a ratcheting combo wrench from the top where the air filter box was.

I HAND TIGHTENED all the bolts as another member did, and did not torque and angle-turn the bolts. I could do that with each and every one of the bolts using those combinations but did not, because my primary seal will be Permatex Ultra Black RTV.

And NO, I will not rely on the pan gasket itself to seal. Unless the gasket was designed by Honda or Toyota. We are thinking of getting another new CUV or car but will wait until the chip supply problems subside. There is no pressing need at the moment, and we will not get another BMW next time.

Originally Posted by RayLivingston

Going back in, I suspect I will have a jack under the front of the subframe (with the subframe tied to it, to pull it down), and a trans jack under the rear. Between the two of them, I hope to find the magic angle that makes the pan go back in easier.

ALL of the bolts came out very nicely - no corrosion or wear at all on any of them.

The one thing that does baffle me, is how ANYONE could really torque the pan bolts. Quite a few were very hard to get AT ALL. NO chance at all there is enough room to actually torque more than about half of them. One I was ONLY able to get using a wrench, turning about 1/8 turn each time. I've got a pretty well calibrated hand, so I expect to just get the "feel" for the correct torque, and go for it.

[Dave92N54]

: Didn't really find dropping the subframe all that bad. Dropped it two weeks ago to do my OPG, will drop it again in a few to do turbos.

[NGEE]

I just took my subframe all the way out. Made replacing the engine mounts a breeze. Cleaned it up real purdy too.

[RayLivingston]

Happy to say the oil pan is back in, the cross-member and motor mounts back in place and bolted up. Didn't have a lot of time to work on it today, but about two hours tomorrow should have it all back together. I had to use a ratcheting cargo strap to pull the cross-member forward, to make enough room to get the oil pan back in. Once I did that, it went back into place without too much bother. Getting the cross-member back in was surprisingly easy. I used a transmission jack under the back, my floor jack under the front, and got the middle holes lined up close enough to get the two middle bolts in. As those go straight up, just turning them in pulled the whole cross-member up the rest of the way, and the other four bolts went in very easily, just using my fingers. The top nut on the LH motor mount was loose, allowing it to rotate, so the holes did not line up on the first try. I just dropped the sub-frame about 1/2", rotated the mount into correct position, and those bolts also went in just using my fingers.

Now just need to re-attach the trans oil lines, the P/S pump, put the rack back in position, then re-install all the ancillary stuff removed to get access.

I will NEVER do this job again...

[whyzee125]

Totally agree with you on the water pump - I don't see why everyone thinks its so bad. It was a breeze when I had to do it.

Glad she's coming back together. IMO it makes the most sense to drop it all the way and do the mounts, etc. while you're in there but then again I don't like many new cars so it's worth it for me to make my e90 the best I possibly can as I plan to keep it forever. Good luck!