[MSimeon]

are they serious? or are they dicking with me? isnt that just the gasket on the top part of the engine where the plastic oil filter cap meets the oil filter housing? that part is like .50 cents. this is BS right?

[John 070]

not sure but cousins diy'd on an E46. From what they explained it wasn't just the cap/housing, it was more than than...

[fenixxishot]

965? They must be trying to charge u to replace the oil filter housing and the oil cool gaskets separately. But you have to take the oil cooler gasket off to get to the oil filter housing. In terms of labor it should take a bmw tech no longer than 2 hours to do. It should take someone who has never done this before 4-6 hours. It's not impossible but if you can't do a brake job you can't do this.

[sovende96]

Originally Posted by MSimeon

are they serious? or are they dicking with me? isnt that just the gasket on the top part of the engine where the plastic oil filter cap meets the oil filter housing? that part is like .50 cents. this is BS right?

Yes that is BS... The gasket price is around 30 bucks from the dealership... There are plenty of DIY's for it... 900 bucks for the repair is ridiculous... If you don't go the diy option, check with your local mechanic for an estimate...

here is a helpful diy ... Pretty simple job if you are mechanically inclined.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=476419

[Amini77]

I got it done for $260 and yea its pretty serious unless you want oil all over the place. Here's a good way to figure out the prices yourself: See how much the item you need to repair is (in the case $50 for the gasket) then add the number of hours it'll take to fix it (usually around $100 an hour) I got it done for $260 but that's a really good price. And if your going to the dealer ....

[CUTigers]

Of course they are serious. It's a BMW stealership... It will be the most expensive quote out of any shop to fix a problem. Just take it somewhere else or DIY.

[9352e90]

Originally Posted by MSimeon

are they serious? or are they dicking with me? isnt that just the gasket on the top part of the engine where the plastic oil filter cap meets the oil filter housing? that part is like .50 cents. this is BS right?

I paid around $500 from the dealer, $965 is way to high.

[SwissCheeseHead]

Oil filter gaskets have been an an issue since the 80s and they STILL haven't figured it out?? Same with water pumps!!

Mind = BLOWN

[Cbozz]

Originally Posted by MSimeon

are they serious? or are they dicking with me? isnt that just the gasket on the top part of the engine where the plastic oil filter cap meets the oil filter housing? that part is like .50 cents. this is BS right?

Do it yourself! I just replaced mine and it was super easy! and it took an hour and cost only $40... gaskets from dealer price!

[fenixxishot]

Originally Posted by Cbozz

Do it yourself! I just replaced mine and it was super easy! and it took an hour and cost only $40... gaskets from dealer price!

335i takes way longer than 1hour.

[Lifted07Duramax]

Originally Posted by Cbozz

Do it yourself! I just replaced mine and it was super easy! and it took an hour and cost only $40... gaskets from dealer price!

I was quoted $450 from an indy because the book called for 4.5hrs

When you say it was SUPER EASY, what kind of tools and jack were at your disposale?
Did you have a floor lift cause that would make it super easy to drain everything.

[fenixxishot]

Originally Posted by Lifted07Duramax

I was quoted $450 from an indy because the book called for 4.5hrs

When you say it was SUPER EASY, what kind of tools and jack were at your disposale?
Did you have a floor lift cause that would make it super easy to drain everything.

It is NOT super easy. I would put it a step or two above a brake change. Its not impossible but it probably will take someone who has never done it around 4 hours. It should take a BMW tech 2.

[Cbozz]

Originally Posted by fenixxishot

It is NOT super easy. I would put it a step or two above a brake change. Its not impossible but it probably will take someone who has never done it around 4 hours. It should take a BMW tech 2.

are we talking about oil housing gasket and oil cooler gasket replacement...? if so it is really easy.... and it takes about an hour.... if you are mechanically inclined, sorry but I just replaced mine and that's how long it took... I don't know how long you spent on it! You're right though, not everyone will work at the same pace!!


As for you Lifted07Duramax look up the DIY... I think this is the right one if you have N54 engine

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...housing+gasket

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...ing+Gasket+DIY

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=632565

[Lifted07Duramax]

Yea mines leaking but barely. Ive owned the car over 2 months and on my cover undearneath theres probably only a 1/10th of a quart on it.
But I'd still like to replace it, Ive worked on my vette and done a header install but I hate doing the work.
You guys think I should tackle this job with hand tools and not much room in the garage to manuever under the car?

Is draining coolant and oil completely necessary?

[MSimeon]

from the looks of it, it doesnt look like it's AT ALL leaking anywhere. it just looks like oil junk. i should take a picture of it. BMW even said that it was barely leaking any oil and that i shouldnt worry about it right now. but $965? thats ridiculous.

[Blue Streak]

Oh wow! I bought the 2 gaskets (oil filter housing and oil cooler attachment on the front part of that) for about $12 to $15 each from my dealership parts store. I replaced them using my own hand tools and a DIY in here in my garage while at the same time doing an intake valve cleaning. It took all day, but not very difficult... Especially the gaskets... That was easy and didn't take that much time. It was messy because of oil and coolant spilling out and then the need to top off the coolant and bleed the coolant system. But fairly easy overall. Just do your homework to prepare yourself first if you are thinking about doing it yourself for about $30.

I would drain a small amount of coolant, then just top it off to prevent it spilling all over the place and possibly into the oil system.

[Efthreeoh]

I did this repair on the N52, so I'm not familiar with the N54 job; but the engine oil filter housings are similar in design for both engines so I can offer some insight regarding the work. I'm assuming the oil cooler on the N54 makes the job a bit more difficult, but not impossible. The gaskets are not that expensive. You'll need a 1/4-drive ratchet, e-torx socket set, a 1/4-drive universal, and a 6" 1/4-drive extension bar (to get to one of the hold-down bolts under the intake manifold).

You should only do this job when at an oil change so the engine is drained of oil and the filter housing is empty also; the oil filter housing holds about 6 - 8 ounces of oil that needs to be siphoned out. You should also drain about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons of coolant from the system so that the coolant level is below the level of the oil filter housing. And you should also remove the coolant lines from the oil filter housing (you don't really have to) to make it easier to clean off the gasket material and reassemble the housing onto the head without influence from the hose being attached. Having the hose unattached will allow you to properly seat the new gasket by torquing down the bolts in an even sequence (like torquing down wheel bolts). You can reuse the coolant if it is not that old and if you strain it through a shop towel when refilling the system. The bleed procedure for the cooling system is super easy on these cars thanks to the electric water pump.

To do the job safely, the car should be on four (4) jackstands, so at can’t roll off just two of them. If you are going to work underneath of any car, it should always be completely off the ground; wheels that are not in contact with the ground cannot roll. Considering the price of this repair at the dealer or an Indy, you can buy a decent set of four jackstands and a long low-saddle floor jack and still save money in the long run and have the necessary tools to properly lift the car for future maintenance and repairs (and live to tell about it ).

Sorry for the Parent-rant, but there is no reason to die over a $15 oil gasket.

[Jeremy]

Dude on the N54 you have to pull the intake manifold to replace the gasket, $965 is all labor the gasket is pretty cheap.

[mundo74]

Originally Posted by Jeremy

Dude on the N54 you have to pull the intake manifold to replace the gasket, $965 is all labor the gasket is pretty cheap.

Correct. But The intake manifold does not need to be all the way off just a few inches so you can get the third filter housing bolt out. The only way I found to drain the coolant is to remove the intercooler to get to the radiator drain screw. Also don't forget the thermostat housing gasket.

Not hard if you are somewhat mechanically inclined and not easily intimidated. You will also need to run the coolant pump 12 min cycle to purge the air.

[BOBKUR]

Originally Posted by MSimeon

are they serious? or are they dicking with me? isnt that just the gasket on the top part of the engine where the plastic oil filter cap meets the oil filter housing? that part is like .50 cents. this is BS right?

Take it to an indy shop, should be far less cost.

[munu]

I paid around $700 for this. Most of it was labor and part was only $56. I know it was ripoff but my extended warranty company was covering it so I didn't care.