[andy_06xi]

OK -- this thread had me worried, so I just went out and checked the bolt on my 2006 330xi with 126000 mi. 5/2016 production. Looked OK -- bolt head still present and I couldn't move it with my fingers. Just a data point.

[smass]

Originally Posted by andy_06xi

OK -- this thread had me worried, so I just went out and checked the bolt on my 2006 330xi with 126000 mi. 5/2016 production. Looked OK -- bolt head still present and I couldn't move it with my fingers. Just a data point.

I don't think they break on all N52s. When I was shopping for my daughters E90 I looked at 20 or so and all still had the bolt. Many did have broken valve cover bolts . My old E90 330i that a co-worker has still is on the original bolt at 120k miles.

Ultimately I purchased my daughter a project that had a broken bolt. I assume it had been broken for several years as the closest internal bolt was also broken. Probably due to the extra stress of the outside one being broken. Changing the outside one is super easy. The inside one was not.

[Germanbato17]

Originally Posted by smassey321

Most of the time only the one external bolt breaks. In my case one of the internal ones was broken also. The head was still sitting on top of shaft and I got it out before it fell into the pan. Even if it fell into the pan, there is no way the engine can suck it up. There is a screen over the oil intake.

I was able to change the 3 internal bolts by removing the timing chain sprockets to get access. I took pictures if you are interested.

If you are due for a valve cover gasket, go ahead pull the VC and take a look.
Check each one with a pry bar as they can be broken but look fine. Otherwise just pull the intake back an inch or so and replace your one external bolt.

I replaced the external bolt, removed the intake (partially) and and I drilled out the bolt, pretty easy, put a new bolt and torqued to 11 Ft plus 90 degrees.

My valve cover gasket was replaced by the previous owner so I hope they checked the other bolts, if not I will have to wait until the gasket stars leaking again and recheck the bolts, it is good to know that there is no way they can get sucked in by the engine thanks to the screen.

I wonder if the 3 internal bolts are broken, the head gasket will start leaking oil in front of the engine, close where the drive belt is.

Yeah if you have pics of that would be nice to check them out.

I also took my car for the airbag recall and I asked them about this issue, and they basically said BMW will not cover that, and gave a price of $1,900 for replacing the broken bolt and take the cover off to check the other three, and a new serpentine belt (mine is bad and soaked with oil).

crazy, BMW should be replacing and taking care of this issue free of charge.

[smass]

Originally Posted by Germanbato17

Yeah if you have pics of that would be nice to check them out.

I also took my car for the airbag recall and I asked them about this issue, and they basically said BMW will not cover that, and gave a price of $1,900 for replacing the broken bolt and take the cover off to check the other three, and a new serpentine belt (mine is bad and soaked with oil).

crazy, BMW should be replacing and taking care of this issue free of charge.

Pics can be seen here. http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...844&highlight=

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by Germanbato17

I also took my car for the airbag recall and I asked them about this issue, and they basically said BMW will not cover that, and gave a price of $1,900 for replacing the broken bolt and take the cover off to check the other three, and a new serpentine belt (mine is bad and soaked with oil).

crazy, BMW should be replacing and taking care of this issue free of charge.

You definitely want to replace the serpentine belt if it is soaked with oil. It can slip off, shred, and get pulled behind the crank pulley into the engine.

[Meeni]

The story goes that the valve cover bolts were over torqued from factory. I got 2 broken ones on mine, replaced under CPO thankfully. The bottom bolt on the OFH is also known to be prone to snap.

[Germanbato17]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

You definitely want to replace the serpentine belt if it is soaked with oil. It can slip off, shred, and get pulled behind the crank pulley into the engine.

Yes, I replaced the serpentine belt, it was soaked with oil and coolant. After I replaced the outside broken bolt my MPG went from 24 to 29!! and car feels a little bit better on performance (maybe is just me). and of course no more annoying oil all over my engine and everywhere.

[mp04]

Had my car in for an oil change last week and had this identified in my car. 2008 328 xit wagon with 103,000.

Dealer quoted 4600 to replace gasket and fix bolt. This job will also fix the oil filter gasket and valve gasket. Not sure why they didn't provide an option to just replace the bolt. It's the common one by the oil filter. Obviously, I'll get an indy quote, but the presence of good indy's keeps the dealer more honest than others.

I'm disappointed to learn that this issue it pretty common based on google searching and BMW isn't acknowledging it AND the service advisor said the cause is engine vibration

[Fritzer]

This happened to me recently, see my previous threads. 2011 328i with the N51 motor.

Indy tech quoted me $110-$165 for the external bolt, that is the only known issue at this time. I would imagine the external one is more prone to shearing off. BMWNA should really compensate people for this. Huge, huge issue that simply should not happen in these cars. I can't believe this wasn't a recall, actually.

[Qor246]

Hi. Can anyone help me major oil leak? I have a 2011 BMW 328i sedan.

BMW said I had two oil leaks. One from oil pan gasket and other from oil filter housing gasket. They replaced both, However, major oil leak didn’t go away. I’m losing about a quart of oil per day. After replacing OFH, Dealer said leak is coming from behind the oil filter housing, from front head bolts. They are aluminum bolts and either stretched or cracked. Dealer said to fix issue they would have to remove valve cover to get to the head bolts under the intake and remove vano gears to get to replace these bolts. They are quoting 2000 for repair. Can anyone provide guidance?

[AlphaBimmer27]

Originally Posted by Qor246

Hi. Can anyone help me major oil leak? I have a 2011 BMW 328i sedan.

BMW said I had two oil leaks. One from oil pan gasket and other from oil filter housing gasket. They replaced both, However, major oil leak didn’t go away. I’m losing about a quart of oil per day. After replacing OFH, Dealer said leak is coming from behind the oil filter housing, from front head bolts. They are aluminum bolts and either stretched or cracked. Dealer said to fix issue they would have to remove valve cover to get to the head bolts under the intake and remove vano gears to get to replace these bolts. They are quoting 2000 for repair. Can anyone provide guidance?

Oil pan/oil filter housing leaks are very common.

That said, this post leaves a lot of questions. Are they replacing the head gasket? Or are they just going to replace the bolts (that's how it reads)? If they're replacing the head gasket, $2000 isn't unheard of (but still is high). If they're replacing bolts and that's it, you're getting screwed.

Look at the engine yourself and see where the oil is coming from. It is far more likely that you have a bad valve cover gasket than a bad head gasket.

[smass]

Originally Posted by Qor246

Hi. Can anyone help me major oil leak? I have a 2011 BMW 328i sedan.

BMW said I had two oil leaks. One from oil pan gasket and other from oil filter housing gasket. They replaced both, However, major oil leak didn’t go away. I’m losing about a quart of oil per day. After replacing OFH, Dealer said leak is coming from behind the oil filter housing, from front head bolts. They are aluminum bolts and either stretched or cracked. Dealer said to fix issue they would have to remove valve cover to get to the head bolts under the intake and remove vano gears to get to replace these bolts. They are quoting 2000 for repair. Can anyone provide guidance?

I think they are talking about the 4 head bolts that go into the timing chain cover area. 3 are under the valve cover and vanos gear but they don't break often. The 4th is exterior and visible under the intake and can be changed by loosening a few bolts and pulling the intake back an inch. The old broken bolt easily spins out with a pick.

There is no harm in replacing only the external bolt to see if that fixes the leak. The bolts are only sold as a set of 4 and the dealer way is to change all 4 which probably is not necessary.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/11120392547/

When the external bolt head breaks off, oil travels up the threads when under pressure. Compare yours to the Figure 1 picture in the link below and report back.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec...lt_Testing.htm

Changing the internal 3 bolts is much more effort as you need special tools to hold the cams in place while the sprockets and chain are removed. I had 2 broken bolts on my 06 however I have not seen anyone else that had more than the outside bolt broken.

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=958844

[smass]

Here is a video of what I think you will need to do.

[porshapower]

I also had this bolt replaced on my 2006 325i and this should have been a recall. I can't believe Bmw got away with this. I have owned 16 bmw's in my lifetime and this will be the last. Traded my 550i in last year on a Camry and the 325i will be next. I have my bolts at my shop and anyone asks me about bmw...I show them the bolts and other unengineered parts from these cars. Bmw was top dog from around 84 to 94 and then they just could not leave well enough alone...nikisil nightmare...v8 timing guide disaater...sealed "lifetime transmission"...magnesium and aluminum coalition...and worse to come...in 10 years they will reveal a plastic engine block lol

[mecheng77]

Originally Posted by porshapower

I also had this bolt replaced on my 2006 325i and this should have been a recall. I can't believe Bmw got away with this. I have owned 16 bmw's in my lifetime and this will be the last. Traded my 550i in last year on a Camry and the 325i will be next. I have my bolts at my shop and anyone asks me about bmw...I show them the bolts and other unengineered parts from these cars. Bmw was top dog from around 84 to 94 and then they just could not leave well enough alone...nikisil nightmare...v8 timing guide disaater...sealed "lifetime transmission"...magnesium and aluminum coalition...and worse to come...in 10 years they will reveal a plastic engine block lol

Originally Posted by porshapower

I also had this bolt replaced on my 2006 325i and this should have been a recall. I can't believe Bmw got away with this. I have owned 16 bmw's in my lifetime and this will be the last. Traded my 550i in last year on a Camry and the 325i will be next. I have my bolts at my shop and anyone asks me about bmw...I show them the bolts and other unengineered parts from these cars. Bmw was top dog from around 84 to 94 and then they just could not leave well enough alone...nikisil nightmare...v8 timing guide disaater...sealed "lifetime transmission"...magnesium and aluminum coalition...and worse to come...in 10 years they will reveal a plastic engine block lol

Better than ims bearing issues haunting you in year after year of production. I can't believe they got away with it for so long

[dylim]

Here is the torque for the external head bolt (m9x70) closest to the oil filter housing, under the intake manifold:

11 12 4AZ from newtis:
10Nm+ 135degrees