Oil Filter Housing Leak
 

BMW of Manhattan recently gave me a "Complimentary Inspection", which I appreciated a lot being that it was FREE and under their inspection they found that I have an oil leak coming from the Oil Filter Housing. I recently purchased a new gasket but have not found a DIY. If anyone has had any experience in replacing this gasket, please share your input on how the project went and what to expect.

Thanks in advance!

I don't know if there is a specific X5 DIY, but here's one from the E46Fanatics forum:
Oil Filter Housing Gasket DIY - E46Fanatics
What engine do you have? If it's 3.0, then this DIY will work. If not, you may want to look for a DIY more applicable to the larger engine. Good luck!

This job was a pain in the ars. I couldn't do it myself, so I took it to a friend of mine that works at an audi/vw indie in NYC and literally we lasted about 2.5 hours. Funny thing is how the "stealership" wanted to charge me for the full oil housing replace when all I needed was a $8 gasket. Also crazy was the amount of oil that leaked out of this part. I had to degrease and power wash the lower part of the engine. X is back and running smooth.

Did mine yesterday, 3.0i. Biggest issue--could NOT get the fan off! Wasted much time trying. I completed the job with the fan and shroud left attached. Alternator wasn't too bad, but getting the belt back on was a pain. I had my sons help with that and getting the alternator lined back up. I did lose a couple of the wire bails on connectors, since I didn't know you just pushed them in to release. I pried them off and they went flying. The dealer had some old harnesses that I was able to salvage the spring wires off of, so all's well. I did have to take the bottom tray off to access the alternator bolt and belt tensioner.
BTW, I HATE the torx belt tensioner bolt. The torx socket has a tendency to rock and come out right when you're pushing it the hardest.
Got 'er done, but don't really want to do 'er again. Good for another 87K.
Bill

Question for you guys who've got this done - were you experiencing any loss in oil pressure prior to the repair? Was there any moisture build up in the oil cap and/or dipstick? I too have a gasket leak (yet to be repaired) but I've been noticing a bit of sludge and was wondering if it was related. I already had the separator and hoses replaced a couple of months back and have had a few oil changes since but trying to track down whether the sludge could be caused by the gasket leak or something else. any information is appreciated.

I did not experience loss in oil pressure, but more like loss of oil. In one week I had to add 2 qts.

Thanks Cisc0. That is pretty much what I'm experiencing as well in addition to the bit of sludge.

cisco i am suffering from the same diagnosis from the stealership as you. Refusal to be robbed has left me to do the work myself but I have to replace my alt. since its in the same process i will try to kill 2 birds w/one stone. im abot 1qt a week.

Just take your time and do it yourself if you have the ability. I am thankful for the stealerships diagnosis, but I refused to pay the amount of money they wanted to charge me. You do have to remove the alternator in order to reach the oil filter housing so its a win win for you. Good luck with the repair.

Just got through replacing the transfer case chain so hope it's easier than that!