3.0i oil filter housing seal

[lo_jack]

Has anyone done this replacement personally? There is no walkthrough, though it is a pretty common project.

I took a look last night and it looks like there is a ton of junk bolted to the housing, like a belt idler and an alternator bracket. It looks like a terror to remove.

I had the power steering reservoir off, the top radiator hose off, most of the electronics disconnected, and two of the mounting bolts out, but that just looked like the tip of the iceberg, so I reinstalled everything.

There has to be a trick to this, because if there isn't, it's looking like off with the clutch fan, off with the main drive belt, off with the alternator mounting bracket and the idler pulley. That's just to get the housing off - I am sure you have to remove the oil feed lines in the rear of the housing to get it clear of the block to replace the seal.

Does anyone have any pointers, or am I going to have to reverse engineer more of this car?

[tomgtv]

I just did mine with the help of a friend. I should have documented
it. You essentially have to unbolt everything connected to the oil
filter housing. Then there is 6 bolts holding it to the motor. My
gasket was fried.....bits were stuck to motor. Chip it out of its
grooves and cleaned up where it mates to motor. I also switched
out the vanos oil line, $110, it connects oil filter housing to top of
motor. put it on with housing off car. was recommended to be
done by BMW master tech.
Not too bad a job......tedious.....maybe 3/4 hours poking along. IF
you had done one, maybe 1.5 hours........

BTW stopped leak completely. Prior to this repair I did the oil separator,
now thats a real pain in the ass. I had to break it up getting it out
of car. Then its contortionist time to put it back in. the bottom hose
that goes to oil dip stick had completely rotten off! I was dumping
oil, a qt a week.........

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by tomgtv

I just did mine with the help of a friend. I should have documented
it. You essentially have to unbolt everything connected to the oil
filter housing. Then there is 6 bolts holding it to the motor. My
gasket was fried.....bits were stuck to motor. Chip it out of its
grooves and cleaned up where it mates to motor. I also switched
out the vanos oil line, $110, it connects oil filter housing to top of
motor. put it on with housing off car. was recommended to be
done by BMW master tech.
Not too bad a job......tedious.....maybe 3/4 hours poking along. IF
you had done one, maybe 1.5 hours........

BTW stopped leak completely. Prior to this repair I did the oil separator,
now thats a real pain in the ass. I had to break it up getting it out
of car. Then its contortionist time to put it back in. the bottom hose
that goes to oil dip stick had completely rotten off! I was dumping
oil, a qt a week.........

Thanks for the info. I am going to be doing this hopefully this weekend. Can you give us any more info on the VANOS oil line? Why did the tech suggest replacing it?

[tomgtv]

It looked pretty sturdy to me. It's flexible with banjo type fittings on each
end. It sits close to the hot motor. After my experience with any other
hose on this car seeming to get brittle and failing.......why take a chance.
The time and trouble to get to the ofh made me err on side of caution.
If this hose started leaking it would be a pain. I also got new washers
to complete the retrofit.

[lo_jack]

True, that would be a pain.

Are we talking about #15 in this diagram:




I believe the same hose is here, as it obviously attaches to the filter housing with a banjo bolt and crush washers, but it has no number:

[lo_jack]

I got this seal replaced, and as far as I can tell, no leaks. The block below the seal area was covered in oil.

On the downside, I am getting p0198 (oil temp high) and my alternator is snow throwing the battery light, and it is squeaking a bit, so I still have to troubleshoot those two things.

[lo_jack]

Well I got everything worked out. This is not actually a difficult procedure, but it is tedious and time consuming. If you have done a thermostat, or an alternator, this will just be like going a few steps farther.

I did somewhat break my oil temp sensor or the plug, so I get P0198 every time I start the car, from the last time it was on. In other words, it does not through the code when I am going, while the car is running. Apparently it only loads the code from the last time it was on, and throws it at start up the next time. It does it even when the car is stone cold, so that is what makes me think I mangled the plug.

My seal was super hard and completely mashed, and there was oil all down the block and in the skid plate. Hopefully this is the last oil leak I have to fix, because I'm out of seals I know about.

[jbimmer24]

Originally Posted by lo_jack

True, that would be a pain.

Are we talking about #15 in this diagram:




I believe the same hose is here, as it obviously attaches to the filter housing with a banjo bolt and crush washers, but it has no number:

Hi All I just had a motor oil leak repaired,My first mechanic couldn't find it so took somewhere else,He says it turned out to be a rubber gasket that's between the oil filter housing and where the oil goes into the engine Called a (oil filter stand gasket),So far so good...Parts and labor $250 i think thats pretty good

[johnny-lightning]

Can anyone give me the name of a qualified mechanic in northern New Jersey who can do this repair? My mechanic wants $450 and it seems like too much money for this job.