Identifying oil filter housing gasket leak; trust the dealer?

[msa6]

I recently purchased an '11 335xi. Pre buy inspection at out of town dealer indicated OFH leak, along with an oil fill cap leak (which I have replaced; there was clearly oil around the cap, and down the front). I negotiated cost of repair in the deal.

When I got the car home, I took it to my local non-dealer guy (super honest). He says no signs of an OFH leak; indeed, there does not look to be any indication of leaking oil around the gasket.

With conflicting opinions (I trust my local non-dealer guy), and an interest in selling this recently purchased car (decided I want to stay with my '03 330ci), I decided to get my local dealer to have a look. They came back with same issue: OFH gasket leak. I told the service adviser that I didn't see any oil around the gasket, but she said "we're pros, blah blah".

What should I be looking for in terms of indication that the gasket needs replacing, away from indications of oil?

(btw...my local dealer is asking for $800 on the repair; the out of town dealer wanted $1,200. ugh)

[mbanks21]

Might want to try posting in the E90 section

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[White94RX]

Without proper pictures, the forum won't be much help.


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[Bobrick]

Normally if it's a minor leak you will see oil covering the bottom part of the oil filter housing where the coolant hose meets the housing. Normally what we do is use a mirror to see if there is oil. If it's a major leak it should be really easy to notice because oil will start running down the face of the engine. The only other area to check would be under the air intake manifold. On those pre purchase inspections we are told to be very thorough due to the risk of the customer purchasing a vehicle thinking everything is good only to find out something is leaking later on down the road. Hope this helps!