[VehementCrom]

Guys, I'm new here. Im having trouble finding the info I need.

I have a 2006 330i. There's an oil leak coming from the front of the motor somewhere. It looks look some of it came out of the oil filter cap, but I think there's another leak as well. The whole front of my motor is crusty with oil. Some of it is getting on/into my alternator which is concerning as well. My accessory belt sounds like a weak supercharger.

I heard it may be the oil filter housing gasket, I picked up one of those. I see that the coolant hose goes into this housing. When I remove said housing, do I need to worry about getting oil in my coolant, or vice versa? Also, how much coolant am I going to lose, and after I top off the coolant system does it need to be bled?

Are there any other places or things I should look for while I'm taking this thing apart?

This is my first BMW and its been nothing but problems so far. I like the car but the day I drove it home the window regulator died. I replaced it but the window still gets stuck in the full down position. I read maybe I need to reset the pinch pressure or something. Haven't tried that yet.

My door locks actuators or something is sketchy, the door handles stick out and the doors don't shut sometimes. Not really sure whats going on with that.

I replaced a coil, I had a misfire after going through a car wash (Probably unrelated.) It's running smoothly right now, so at least I have that going for me.

Any help would be appreciated.

[VehementCrom]

Oh yeah, and one more thing. Why is there no engine temp anywhere in the gauge cluster? Really BMW? The previous owner told me he already replaced the electric water pump, but is there no way to monitor temps on this thing? It seems like it runs kinda hot, my center console gets hot. I noticed the little rubber stopper melted a bit that the hood sits on. It's been like 90 degrees here and it's a black car but still, I'm unsure if I should be worried there.

[Efthreeoh]

Not trying to be offensive here, but none of the issues you write about are unknown. Take some time reading the DIY subforum and the mechanical/maintenance subforum.

Your engine most likely has the OFHG leak and maybe someone changed the oil and improperly fitted the large o-ring on the OFH cap, which spews oil on the front of the engine.

What you have now is a ticking time bomb with an oil soaked serpentine belt. It can easily slip off the tensioner and get wrapped behind the crankshaft pully/harmonic balancer, which will break through the crankshaft seal and get ingested into the engine leaving shards of belt in the timing chain and oil pump/oil pan. My advice to you is immediately correct that situation by replacing the OFHG and installing a new Conti kit for the serp belt. By this time, I'd check the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket. Almost every N52 leak oil in those 3 places.

As far as the WP goes, check to see if the thermostat is brown plastic or aluminum. It is is brown plastic, then most likely the pervious owner(s) replaced the water pump and t-stat as some point. If the t-stat is aluminum, then it is original, which means the WP is probably original as well. The alternative to not having a water temp gauge is scan the car with a BMW scan tool periodically to check for water pump codes. There is also a test routine that can show the coolant temp in the gauge cluster.

[VehementCrom]

At what point did I say no one ran into any of these issues on a 14 year old car? Also, thanks for the reply.

[E92William]

Let me give you a run down of what's going to happen. Oil gets on belt and belt slips and shreds, belt get caught between the crank pulley and front main seal and gets pushed through it into the inside of the engine.
$2000 repair bill to take off valve cover and oil pan to clean belt material from inside the engine.
Repair done, take the car for a drive the alternator goes out because it's full of oil.
$300 bucks or so just in parts.
I say this because it was my experience with my first BMW 335i just like you, seems you bought someone's throw away car.

Get yourself a couple cans of brake cleaner and spray down the front of the engine to clean it, then you can spot where oil is leaking from. Get a new contitech belt and pulleys and tensioner and oil filter housing gasket with the 3 bolts. Save yourself the money in repairs that will inevitably come if you don't fix it.

Tip, when replacing the oil filter housing gasket take off the cap for the oil filter, this will open a drain for the filter housing into the oil pan ensuring you dont mix much of the fluids when you take it apart, do this job before you replace the belt.

All the rubber in these cars will deteriorate over time like all cars. If the car was getting hot it would automatically warn you on the dash so don't stress it. These engines are pretty warm.

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by E92William

Let me give you a run down of what's going to happen. Oil gets on belt and belt slips and shreds, belt get caught between the crank pulley and front main seal and gets pushed through it into the inside of the engine.
$2000 repair bill to take off valve cover and oil pan to clean belt material from inside the engine.
Repair done, take the car for a drive the alternator goes out because it's full of oil.
$300 bucks or so just in parts.
I say this because it was my experience with my first BMW 335i just like you, seems you bought someone's throw away car.

Get yourself a couple cans of brake cleaner and spray down the front of the engine to clean it, then you can spot where oil is leaking from. Get a new contitech belt and pulleys and tensioner and oil filter housing gasket with the 3 bolts. Save yourself the money in repairs that will inevitably come if you don't fix it.

Tip, when replacing the oil filter housing gasket take off the cap for the oil filter, this will open a drain for the filter housing into the oil pan ensuring you dont mix much of the fluids when you take it apart, do this job before you replace the belt.

All the rubber in these cars will deteriorate over time like all cars. If the car was getting hot it would automatically warn you on the dash so don't stress it. These engines are pretty warm.

Thanks for the reply. The kid I got the car from was cool, I have all the maintenance records and what not. From the amount of oil on the front of the motor, the leak was definitely there when I got the car, but recently I think the rubber o-ring for the filter went bad because instead of some seep now there's fresh oil, and I saw some coming out near the filter cap. I'm going to look at the car today.

[smass]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

Oh yeah, and one more thing. Why is there no engine temp anywhere in the gauge cluster? Really BMW? The previous owner told me he already replaced the electric water pump, but is there no way to monitor temps on this thing? It seems like it runs kinda hot, my center console gets hot. I noticed the little rubber stopper melted a bit that the hood sits on. It's been like 90 degrees here and it's a black car but still, I'm unsure if I should be worried there.

The engine is designed to run hotter than you expect. If there was an issue, you will get a warning on the dash. Your hood stop has a leak and the fluid came out. The early 2006s had 4 square hood stops and have been redesigned with a new part that uses 3 round stops. They use existing holes in the hood. Find the center one and the sides will be obvious.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...r/51237162448/

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by smass

The engine is designed to run hotter than you expect. If there was an issue, you will get a warning on the dash. Your hood stop has a leak and the fluid came out. The early 2006s had 4 square hood stops and have been redesigned with a new part that uses 3 round stops. They use existing holes in the hood. Find the center one and the sides will be obvious.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...r/51237162448/

Thanks, I had no idea there was liquid inside of it, and I thought the heat had melted it. I guess I need to buy a new set. I used to buy parts from ECS for my 240 so thanks for the link, I love them.

[E92William]

Replace that o ring on the filter it probably wasn't changed on the last oil change. You can just buy it for very cheap at the dealer or just buy a new oil filter and the o rings come with it. I've had that leak before too and it just pours fresh oil out

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

Thanks for the reply. The kid I got the car from was cool, I have all the maintenance records and what not. From the amount of oil on the front of the motor, the leak was definitely there when I got the car, but recently I think the rubber o-ring for the filter went bad because instead of some seep now there's fresh oil, and I saw some coming out near the filter cap. I'm going to look at the car today.

Of the 60 or so oil changes I've done on my various BMWs since 1997, I've never ever seen an oil filter cap o-ring fail. That's literally over 800,000 total miles driven. If the large o-ring is mis-fitted to the cap (i.e. not in the correct groove, it will pretty much leak as soon as there is oil pressure in the OFH. It could be the cap was over torqued and cracked. The cap only needs 18 pound-foot of torque. Or the o-ring is not fitted correctly.

It sounds like the OFHG is leaking and needs to be replaced.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

At what point did I say no one ran into any of these issues on a 14 year old car? Also, thanks for the reply.

I didn't. It just we don't need to rehash discussions of E90 common problems for you now that you've become a new E90 owner. Good luck at getting the car sorted out. The previous owner didn't seem to open the hood very often.

I hope you enjoy your new E90. One of BMWs finest variations of the classic BMW sports sedan.

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I didn't. It just we don't need to rehash discussions of E90 common problems for you now that you've become a new E90 owner. Good luck at getting the car sorted out. The previous owner didn't seem to open the hood very often.

I hope you enjoy your new E90. One of BMWs finest variations of the classic BMW sports sedan.

Thanks, I spent a good long time reading the DIY section yesterday, which I somehow completely missed. I was trying to sift through threads in the general and was getting frustrated because I couldn't find solid answers. Turns out I'm just retarded.

[VehementCrom]

Guys, I pulled my drain plug and it has a rubber o-ring on it, is that normal? I thought the small rubber o-ring went on the plastic thing that sits inside the oil filter?

Edit: After searching for oem drain plug on google, it doesn't look oem. This car is going to be fun to sort.

[Mantraxalos]

If you're talking about the oil drain plug, then no, there isn't supposed to be a rubber O ring around it, just a crush washer.

The smaller o ring in an oil filter kit is used for the distal end of the oil filter cap.

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by Mantraxalos

If you're talking about the oil drain plug, then no, there isn't supposed to be a rubber O ring around it, just a crush washer.

The smaller o ring in an oil filter kit is used for the distal end of the oil filter cap.

Yea, that’s what I thought just wanted to confirm. The car must have an aftermarket drain plug. The drain plug has a groove for a rubber o-ring. I’ve never seen that before. Instead of using the small o-ring for what it is intended apparently someone used it for the plug, and the rubber o-ring on the plastic cage for the filter is hard as a rock!

Gonna get a different drain plug today.

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Not trying to be offensive here, but none of the issues you write about are unknown. Take some time reading the DIY subforum and the mechanical/maintenance subforum.

Your engine most likely has the OFHG leak and maybe someone changed the oil and improperly fitted the large o-ring on the OFH cap, which spews oil on the front of the engine.

What you have now is a ticking time bomb with an oil soaked serpentine belt. It can easily slip off the tensioner and get wrapped behind the crankshaft pully/harmonic balancer, which will break through the crankshaft seal and get ingested into the engine leaving shards of belt in the timing chain and oil pump/oil pan. My advice to you is immediately correct that situation by replacing the OFHG and installing a new Conti kit for the serp belt. By this time, I'd check the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket. Almost every N52 leak oil in those 3 places.

As far as the WP goes, check to see if the thermostat is brown plastic or aluminum. It is is brown plastic, then most likely the pervious owner(s) replaced the water pump and t-stat as some point. If the t-stat is aluminum, then it is original, which means the WP is probably original as well. The alternative to not having a water temp gauge is scan the car with a BMW scan tool periodically to check for water pump codes. There is also a test routine that can show the coolant temp in the gauge cluster.

I would just add that you could also have a leak from your Vanos actuator gasket. Don't just assume its a head gasket failure. The best way to check is just remove the fresh air intake cowl and engine cover and start looking. 330i's were common to have the head gasket bolts snap causing the leaks. Either way the best way to confirm is see your self. If you confirm these issues then either fix it yourself or buy all the parts and roll into a trusted shop to do the labour.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

Yea, that’s what I thought just wanted to confirm. The car must have an aftermarket drain plug. The drain plug has a groove for a rubber o-ring. I’ve never seen that before. Instead of using the small o-ring for what it is intended apparently someone used it for the plug, and the rubber o-ring on the plastic cage for the filter is hard as a rock!

Gonna get a different drain plug today.

Yeah, the correct drain bolt is black with a copper crush washer. BMW has been using them for over 40 years or so.

The N52 uses a large black o-ring for the oil filter cap and a small green o-ring on the stem for drain back valve. The green o-ring is a hard durometer rubber. It would never fit over the 12MM drain bolt. Just use a MANN HU-816x oil filter. It comes with both o-rings and the copper crush washer.

[Efthreeoh]

One more thing. About the door handles. If they stay stuck out after pulling open, they just need to be lubricated.

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

One more thing. About the door handles. If they stay stuck out after pulling open, they just need to be lubricated.

Good to know, I'll add it to my to do list, which I should have started earlier.

I've had the car for a while but Covid19, 2020, etc. My wife hit me with divorce right when Covid hit. I have a lot going on currently.

So far I'm liking this forum, although I can see there's a bit of pretentiousness. Maybe it comes along with owning theses high end expensive euro cars. The homely Nissan guys were generally pretty chill.

I got a new drain plug and drained the oil but I needed a 8mm 12 point to get the ofhg off, so I'm getting that from a friend today. Need to pick up a 3/8 swivel as well, and after that I'm going to change it out.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

Good to know, I'll add it to my to do list, which I should have started earlier.

I've had the car for a while but Covid19, 2020, etc. My wife hit me with divorce right when Covid hit. I have a lot going on currently.

So far I'm liking this forum, although I can see there's a bit of pretentiousness. Maybe it comes along with owning theses high end expensive euro cars. The homely Nissan guys were generally pretty chill.

I got a new drain plug and drained the oil but I needed a 8mm 12 point to get the ofhg off, so I'm getting that from a friend today. Need to pick up a 3/8 swivel as well, and after that I'm going to change it out.

Do yourself a favor and drain the radiator of coolant. You just need the get the coolant level below the cylinder head. It makes the job far more cleaner.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by VehementCrom

Good to know, I'll add it to my to do list, which I should have started earlier.

I've had the car for a while but Covid19, 2020, etc. My wife hit me with divorce right when Covid hit. I have a lot going on currently.

So far I'm liking this forum, although I can see there's a bit of pretentiousness. Maybe it comes along with owning theses high end expensive euro cars. The homely Nissan guys were generally pretty chill.

I got a new drain plug and drained the oil but I needed a 8mm 12 point to get the ofhg off, so I'm getting that from a friend today. Need to pick up a 3/8 swivel as well, and after that I'm going to change it out.

1/4” makes it easier from memory.

[VehementCrom]

Originally Posted by tlow98

1/4” makes it easier from memory.

Unfortunately I have a 3/8 one. It didn't feel like it was on the bolt more than halfway. I'm going to have to order the correct tool and then do it. I just changed the oil, filter, drain plug, and all the o-rings for now. I also cleaned up the oil as best I could with some brake clean and put some belt conditioner on the serpentine. I'm babying the car for now.

I think I should probably just order the pully kit and belt that someone mentioned and do it all in one crack.

I also got my led angel eye replacements today, so I can put those in soon, since one of mine is out.