do i need a new oil filter? or just loosen and re-tighten
 

Had an oil change and filter change last week, noticed after about 30miles of mixed driving...highway, urban etc, that around the lip of the the oil filter cover and housing when i ran my finger around it a thin film of oil was present when i looked at my finger, basically the width of a needle.....no idea if at last oil n filter change this happened....? i never checked

Guy who changed filter did oil the new 0 ring and put it in the correcct groove on the housing....and seems to be tightened to the correct torque...is there anything i need to do?, should i monitor see if the oil loss gets worse? or should i loosen the oil filter cap perhaps in case it was overightened...not too keen on tightening it more bcos i hear these plastic caps break...any ideas much appreciated....or should i just go buiy another filter?

would the same as here apply for the X5

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...o-ring-leaking

Did the guy put the o-ring in the proper spot?

It wouldn't cost much to buy a $10 oil filter and remove the other one and change it out with a new o-ring yourself.

Monitor, and if seeping continues around the edge of the cap, I would certainly open the fill vent, put a pan under for the leakage, loosen the cap and replace the o-ring, at a minimum. Depending on cap condition, you may need to replace it, as well, tighten to the proper torque [from memory only, 25nm?]. Sounds like an ill-fitted o-ring.

rickybobdy riggodeaux thanks for quick replies, guy at garage put the New O - ring in the right place for sure, it goes in the groove basically where the old 'flattened' compressed ring was and oiled it also...the cap is in great condition to be honest....

I did a little test also, loosened the cap a little, drove for 10mins and result the same, then did another 10mins of driving and seemed to improve, not sure if engine temp related.Also when i say leak ,I don't mean the type of catastrophic leak you would get if you didn't put the o-ring in the groove of the filter, this is just enough to dampen your finger tip as you run it round the edge where the filter cover mates with the metal housing....I'll monitor attach pics if needed and like ricky bobby said will get a new filter if need be ......

PS it was a mann filter, and old filter needed a fair bit of tugging to remove as it was attached to cap, is this normal?
pss wife is going nuts, last weekend was the cv boot clip loose on x5 saga, and this weekend seeping o ring hmmmm

Hmmm seems bmw do the o-ring on its own

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 3.0d Lubricat.syst.-oil filter,heat exchanger



05 O-ring 21,0X3,01

11427788458 $0.31

Yes...the oil filter should be attached to the cap. When replacing the oil filter...the correct procedure is to push the filter up into the "teeth" of the cap...then once the filter is attached to the cap...the cap & filter are inserted into the reservoir and screwed in. :)

This should help (under normal circumstances) when removing the filter on the next oil change. I'd rather have to fiddle with removing the oil filter from the cap rather than have the filter stuck to the bottom of the reservoir where the drain valve that allows the oil in the reservoir to flow back to the oil pan is located. If the oil filter is stuck inside the reservoir...you have to be careful that no small pieces break off and either clog or get stuck and disrupt the draining of the reservoir.

Having the filter stuck to the lid...once the old filter is pulled out...the lid becomes a "clean handle" to hold while sticking the old filter in a disposable plastic bag or old newspaper and separating the two. This makes for a clean disposal. :D

thanks again q7silver, appreciate all ur input on battery query i had too....as for my minisclue leak will either buy a whole new filter so i can get the o-ring or see if BMW out here does sell the o-ring sepately, looking at oem again dont think it comes separate

another good link on the tightness of cap

DIY: E39 Changing engine oil made simple (how to do it in 30 minutes and not crying!) - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I'd degrease it and check it in a weeks time. Start with a clean surface, go from there. If the o ring is installed correctly and the housing and cap are not damaged, then no oil leakage should occur.

A common mistake for young players is to clean the cap and the housing till they are basically spotless, then install the new filter and o ring. A dry surface does not allow an o ring to seal properly, as it binds on the surfaces when the cap is installed. Needs a coating of oil.

ta antz oz, ok I did the following
1.undid the oil filter cap,removed the cap with filter still attached
2.checked the 0-ring was in correct groove and it was not damaged, slowly removed it and degreased the cap, insepcted cap all ok
3.Put a layer of Oil on the filter cap threads and the o-ring and where the o-ring sits in the 'groove'
4. Also oiled with finger tip oil filter housing
5. I manually by hand only screwed the cap/filter onto the housing until i felt resistance, this seemed too loose as could see the cover was not sitting close enough to the housing so went to step 6
6.Picked up the socket shown (didnt have a torque wrench)and started to tighten slowly...as soon as i felt resistance, i gave socket a small nudge only..nothing major and stopped tightening.

7.Went for a long drive and i think this all did the trick no leak..so far

In the pic of the oil filter cover i marked with chalk the angle of the arrow before new filter was installed and thought it would make sense with new filter that the cap would have to be in same position...wrong, the new filter and 0-ring i put on is less tight and seems fine...bit odd but perhaps the OEM from bmw is slightly different to the mann filter i used,.either way thanks to all

Glad to hear you got a good result mate :)

Getting a diagnosis and fix sorted out is a very good feeling isn't it.

Something to keep in the back of your mind for the future. Oil is the devil's liquid. The tiniest amount will creep and appear as a much larger area than is possible from one or two drops. And it will work its way out of all but the most perfectly sealed fittings.

Cheers dude.

thanks ants oz, will check again in a weeks time for leaks, but there was no leak after a good long drive yesterday so engine went from stone cold to operating temp and no leak, compared to the tiny leak prior to the 'operation' mentioned earlier in my post....must have been the o - ring not adequately oiled....also the cv boot tactic worked...new clamp tight as a drum even more so after driving car seemed to have tightened it further,

thanks again

Well checked lip around oil filter cap after a week of driving and refitting and all clear, checked it today ie 2 weeks after and i could see on the curved side of the oil filter cap what I could only descibe as circular area 1cm in diameter of very thin film oil:dunno: beats me, like someone sprayed it on, could it be slow leaking out and heating up and somehow rising up the side of the oil filter cap and forming this little circle? weird...i cleaned cap dabbed some talculm powder over the cap and housing and will be going for a loooong drive tuesday to see if it leaks, should show with streaks in the talk where it has leaked.....it is real odd

Oil is "creepy" stuff. The smallest drop will spread out over time, defy gravity and creep uphill....the spot will spread out massively.

I wouldn't worry too much about the size mark you are talking about mate. Just keep an eye on it over time as you have said - make sure nothing terrible happens.

Thanks for the reply….Its driving me nuts , yesterday I tightened oil filter cap again just a notch went for 2 mile drive stopped checked if there was any sign of oil and there wasn’t…got back home 2miles the other way and there was a slight leak ….SO tightened it a tad further with engine still hot and running, further drove about 7 miles and NO leak….

I start her up from cold today and it leaked (I am not talking major leak but a leak as described in start of post) after it reached op temp I could see the oil film has spread out as the talcum powder I sprinkled on oil filter cap was disturbed….. tomorrow I am off on a long drive and will see how it behaves….could this sort of leak be an issue? Air get into oil as such or is that a stupid question?

Also I am actually thinking of getting perhaps 0.5 litres of oil sucked out of the car, as until last oil change my oil level was when cold at level shown in the pic…(when warm it was between the 2 levels so fine)

However after recent oil/filter change and putting in the 7.5 litres recommended this level is higher(but again within 2 bands when warm), dunno perhaps it doesn’t like this volume of oil…got nothing too lose I guess...

IF i get a new filter in case the o ring on the existing one is gone, do I oil the o ring and all all the threads on the oil filter cap?

that oil level looks low to me mate.

Ok well I chickened out of removing oil so oil level is fine, instead I removed the oil filter n cap and o-ring for the second time, cleaned it all, and the inside of the housing.

o –ring looked fine and still retained its shape, but if you look at the oil filter cap in pics you can see a slight imperfection where the garage guy must have scored the surface slightly with his screwdriver when taking off the old o-ring of the cap….I made a mistake of not rubbing this down with some fine sandpaper, but I just re-installed after well lubricating the o ring and all the threads of cap. So not sure if the o-ring will mate well enough over this imperfection to stop the leak….

Sitting in idle for 10mins I got no leak, main test is to test see what happens when the engine cools and I start from cold and then do some day to day driving…..kicking myself for not rubbing down that needle width scratch on the oil filter cap

O ring will seal over that mate, don't worry about it.

The best thing you can do at this point in time is drive the car. Forget about the spot mate, just keep an eye on it over time and see what happens.

thanks antz oz, will keep an eye on oil level it....with the amount that was 'lost' prior to all my intervening was like 2 drops of oil i guess in 2 weeks driving...I need to get a a life I reckon, I am pretty damn pedantic over these things, always have been regardless of what car I had.....