Oil Filter Housing Gasket DIY w/ some pics

Originally Posted by trig

Glad to see you got it done yourself. Nice write-up.

hey man, thanks to you for pointing me in the right direction and with the instructions in my other thread about looking for the leak.

thought I help out other fanatics with this write-up and pictures since I was in the process of doing it anyways.

Originally Posted by ssm1991

My own tips:

- It is critical that you disconnect the negative of the battery first before messing with the alternator. So just start off with that.
- You do not have to remove any coolant hoses
- It's much easier to just remove the banjo bolt of the VANOS oil hose on the VANOS unit side (front) than on the oil filter housing side (down and back).
- Clean, clean, clean, clean everything you can ....

oh yeah, good tips. Yea, you don't need to remove the upper radiator hose, I did it because it gave me more room to work with.

I'll go back and edit my original post. thanks.

Nice writeup.. I'll be doing this soon!

Quick question, is it possible to change this out, without removing the fan (auto)?

Originally Posted by Joeysauce

Quick question, is it possible to change this out, without removing the fan (auto)?

My DIY was based on an auto and it will be pretty cramped if you don't remove the fan.. I mean you need to remove the alternator and the belt, the fan is definitely in the way. You will need a special tool 34mm to remove the mechanical fan, that's the downside.

Originally Posted by kyle808

My DIY was based on an auto and it will be pretty cramped if you don't remove the fan.. I mean you need to remove the alternator and the belt, the fan is definitely in the way. You will need a special tool 34mm to remove the mechanical fan, that's the downside.

I see. No problem I guess. I am doing this finally on Sat. I already have the special tool needed as I just had to change the T-stat. Thanks!!

How important is it to get some new washers for the Vanos oil hose? If important can I get some at any local auto store?

Sweet DIY.. In the middle of it now, got everything cleaned up and ready to put the housing back on.. anyone know the correct torque for the 6 bolts on the housing?

Ok.. here's the best I could find from another thread (24ft/lbs).

Tighten
just snug with a ratchet. Using a torque wrench, tighten to 10 ft.lbs.
In a crossing pattern first. Then I tighten them to 24 ft.lbs., doing
the bottom left, then the top right (remember the alignment pins?) and
then continued in a crossing pattern. NOTE: The best spec. I could find
for these bolts was 16 ft.lbs. But it still leaked. My BMW Mechanic
friend said M8 bolts could go only as high as 26 ft.lbs. Also depending
on the length of the socket extension you use could also affect the
torque wrench settings. I would investigate this completely and use a
setting particular to your setup.

Hello everyone. This is an excellent DIY write up Kyle808! Thank you!

One question. Can someone please tell/show me the VANOS banjo and where the washers are that I may need to replace when doing this?

Also, a bit more detail on how to remove the fan and shroud and alternator belt would be great for me.

Thanks,

Tom

Originally Posted by thfrazer

Hello everyone. This is an excellent DIY write up Kyle808! Thank you!

One question. Can someone please tell/show me the VANOS banjo and where the washers are that I may need to replace when doing this?

Also, a bit more detail on how to remove the fan and shroud and alternator belt would be great for me.

Thanks,

Tom

You can see the Vanos banjo in this picture. it's circled in yellow in the far left. I think it's an 18mm or 19mm socket. It's pretty big.



You you have an automatic, you will need a special 36mm BMW tool. You will need to turn it clockwise to loosen the 36MM fan bolt. The shroud is just a couple of 25 torx screws on the left and right. Something like this:



Alternator belt, just turn the belt tensioner clockwise to release the tension and then slip the belt off.

cid anyone completely pull out the housing or just move it to the side. And any tips on seating the gasket???

Originally Posted by giver13

cid anyone completely pull out the housing or just move it to the side. And any tips on seating the gasket???

No reason to remove it completely, just push it off to the side. The gasket will probably get stuck in the housing itself, in which case you can pry it out carefully, probably in several pieces. Once it's removed, clean both mating surfaces. The gasket sits in a channel in the housing, so seating the gasket is not an issue. Just put some oil on it, push it in the channel, and reattach the housing to the engine.

Great write-up. Subscribed!

sweet write up. i just fixed my leak yesterday. i had not problem with the fan. i did not need to remove it. everything went smoothly.

Any tips on removing the housing? I have the six bolts off, undid the oil pipe going to the vanos, all electrical connections are off but this thing won't budge. Also, those dowel pins are not listed anywhere, anyone have part numbers in case I bend mine?

edit: Never mind, got it with a few taps with a rubber mallet. Now if I can only undo this power steering pump. Already have two bolts off but it is still sticking to the housing. Does anyone know how many bolts is holding the P/S pump to the housing?

edit edit: Got it! Stupid bolt under neath in the back.

Originally Posted by genuity

Any tips on removing the housing? I have the six bolts off, undid the oil pipe going to the vanos, all electrical connections are off but this thing won't budge. Also, those dowel pins are not listed anywhere, anyone have part numbers in case I bend mine?

edit: Never mind, got it with a few taps with a rubber mallet. Now if I can only undo this power steering pump. Already have two bolts off but it is still sticking to the housing. Does anyone know how many bolts is holding the P/S pump to the housing?

edit edit: Got it! Stupid bolt under neath in the back.

glad to hear you got it out.

Thanks for the DIY. Did mine today, along with both hoses to the power steering reservoir and the belts. About 8 hours total and between taking it out and putting in back, I probably spent 30-40 minutes wrestling with the alternator. A quick couple of tips -- a pry bar helps immensely taking it out, and a rubber mallet for putting it back in.

I hate the quick release connector used on the reservoir return line. The plastic release ring just disintegrated on me. I ended up getting out the Dremel to get it off. Works well, just make sure not to nick the power steering radiator line.

Perhaps I celebrated a bit too early, or perhaps I'm just unlucky. The check engine light came on driving around town today. Cam shaft position codes. Not a faulty sensor, but one code for over advanced, and one for under advanced. Car doesn't appear to be running or idling rough, but since I had to undo the VANOS line and the electrical connections to the VANOS solenoid, I'm wondering what I screwed up.

I've cleared the codes and I'm about to run some errands so we will see if they come back.

Great DIY, thank you. I really need to do this soon, I have a few questions, What exactly do we have to replace for the Vanos bolt?? Do i really have to remove the fan (auto)?, Can i rent the tool at pepboys?. Thank you. Also i assume we need to drain the oil first, no one mentioned it.