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Thread: Is BMW having engine problems after replacing oil filter housing?

  1. #1
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    Is BMW having engine problems after replacing oil filter housing?

    I noticed the oil filter housing gaskets are leaking on my 2012 X3 with the N55. I called a independent shop for a price quote. They told me that they currenting aren't performing the gasket replacement, because BMW has lost a few engine because of oil pressure problems or an air pocket in the system. Has anyone else heard of this yet?

  2. #2
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    Not I. Nor can I think how this would be possible. I do these at least once every few weeks.

    Chris Powell
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    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  3. #3
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    Thanks. After replacing the gasket, do you do anything to prime the oil system?

  4. #4
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    Nope. If your car has an oil cooler, attached to the oil filter housing, you need to change those gaskets too. You do NOT need to remove the manifold, per the directions. Do NOT, under any circumstances, removed the plastic flanged coolant pipe at the front of the cylinder head. You need an E10 or E12 UNIVERSAL socket; 1/4" drive, from one of the pro tool trucks. SnapOn has this, Mac and Matco probably do too. This tool will enable you to just back tha intake manifold off, an inch or so, and remove the OFHG bolt that's hidden there....instead of removing the manifold entirely, which is two more hours of work. For the OFHG bolt which comes from the opposite direction, next to that coolant hose flang, if you have an E10/12 (sorry I forget) GearWrench ratcheting wrench, you can back that bolt off gradually, pulling the oil filter housing away as you go, and never mess with that plastic flange. If you undo that flange, it will break, and you'll need a new hose.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  5. #5
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    what on earth is that shop talking about

  6. #6
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    Oh, there's always someone with their head up their .....
    Attached Images Attached Images

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  7. #7
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    The worst that might happen is vanos faults from an air pocket at start up after replacing the gasket. I've had this happen twice, but revving the engine solved the issue, but the faults might need to be cleared.

  8. #8
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    I've done more OFH gaskets than I could ever count. The only issue I ever had was a VANOS fault afterwards. I cleaned the solenoids and put them back in. Maybe a piece of grit or dirt got into the oil passage. And this has only ever happened once or twice in hundreds of OFH jobs.
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  9. #9
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    OP, try www.bimrs.org to find a shop that specializes in bimmers.

  10. #10
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    Interestingly, I did an OFHG job on a Mini today. I've done bunches on these cars, along with bunches of timing chains, etc. The car sucks. At the end of this job, I started it, and the car ran like crap, then died. Quick check of all the intake hoses (it's a turbo), all good. Fuel hadn't been disconnected, all sensors plugged in. Huh?

    Started it again; because some codes take two or 3 tries to set.....nothing. Car still ran like crap. Checked codes again.....nothing

    This is a time-consuming job, but not rocket science....really, nothing that I could have done to cause this.

    Started it again.....and it ran perfectly. Drove it hard, ran perfectly. Sometimes there's no explaining.

    All that said, rightseater, you should know that ptarditi and White94Rx are two of the guys I trust the most, for the very highest level of recent factory-trained experience. jclaussen's damned good too, and I'm half decent myself. In other words, your shop is exuding bovine excrement.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  11. #11
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    Thanks for the compliment!!!

    Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
    ASE and BMW Master Certified Technician

  12. #12
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    Thanks for all the info. I called a local BMW dealer and they weren't aware of this problem either

  13. #13
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    Nope, two master BMW factory techs and two master BMW indy techs told you here that your shop is full of,,,,ahem, we can't say that here.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  14. #14
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    Just a follow up to replacing the oil filter housing gaskets. I was at the BMW dealer today, so I asked a tech about this. He said they do prime the oil system, the procedure is to disconnect the coil wire harness from the dme and crank engine for a few seconds.

  15. #15
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    Sure they do. Just like we all prime the oil system after each oil change. Look, I disconnect fuel delivery after rebuilding an engine, to prime the oil system. You don't disconnect spark, you disconnect fuel. If you disconnect spark, without disconnecting fuel, you flood the cylinders, which washes away compression. Someone lied to you; he was trying to make it sound good. No big deal, but that's not how it happens.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by bmwdirtracer View Post
    Sure they do. Just like we all prime the oil system after each oil change. Look, I disconnect fuel delivery after rebuilding an engine, to prime the oil system. You don't disconnect spark, you disconnect fuel. If you disconnect spark, without disconnecting fuel, you flood the cylinders, which washes away compression. Someone lied to you; he was trying to make it sound good. No big deal, but that's not how it happens.
    Quote Originally Posted by bmwdirtracer View Post
    Sure they do. Just like we all prime the oil system after each oil change. Look, I disconnect fuel delivery after rebuilding an engine, to prime the oil system. You don't disconnect spark, you disconnect fuel. If you disconnect spark, without disconnecting fuel, you flood the cylinders, which washes away compression. Someone lied to you; he was trying to make it sound good. No big deal, but that's not how it happens.
    So priming the engine prevents engine seizures after an oil change and after an OFHG job? What happens to N55 BMWs that get oil changes at the local gas station or jiffylube? We would see many abandoned N55 cars discarded like road kill on the sides of every major highway and road in America.

    I've been reading a lot of threads and postings on these N55 Engine Seizures after OFHG (primarily 2011 and 2012 and primarily on E9x cars) and while I do believe BMW primes the system after oil work I have a strong feeling that there is something else BMW does that prevents engine death after the OFHG. I also think it maybe something most DIYers and shops do unknowingly that prevents engine seizure after OFHG work whether it be something as simple as cleaning off unplugged sensors or replacing bolts back in a certain order. When others fail to do the same the engine dies after the OFHG.

    Also on my service invoice my BMW dealership bills for a lot of more hours to do the OFHG, more so than Waterpump or valve cover gasket work. So at BMW there must be some extra steps involved whether it be washing the engine bay first or replacing intake gaskets and cleaning sensor plugs....



    Last edited by delmarco; 03-21-2019 at 09:23 AM.


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  17. #17
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    What is so special about this engine that it cannot prime itself? This is a myth, right?

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  18. #18
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    Jeez. No, there's no priming. Priming is for when you've got a dry engine. Just watch the oil pressure light, you'll see it go off within about a second.

    Here is a link to the actual BMW factory directions:

    https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...nes/1VnYQjobW0

    No priming.

    Now, if the dealer did an OFHG, and the engine seized as the tech pulled the car out, there would be a lot of questions. If a generic shop, or the owner did the job, and maybe left the center of the oil filter cap in the old filter, then sure, the engine would have oil pressure failure. Generic places do this fairly frequently.

    The OFHG job pays 4.6 hours, the valve cover 6.5, so I have no idea why the quote posted would show such an absurd labor cost.

    Chris Powell
    Racer and Instructor since, well. decades, ok?
    Master Auto Tech, owner of German Motors of Aberdeen
    BMWCCA 274412
    German Motors is hiring ! https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...1#post30831471

  19. #19
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    Just to follow up on this, I replaced the housing gaskets myself in the garage almost a year. I've had no problems with the engine after doing this repair.

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