Oil Filter Housing Gasket - '02 530i

Started tackling the oil filter housing gasket replacement this weekend, and just wanted to share a few observations. This is not an attempt at creating a detailed DIY, as the existing ones are great, but just a few extra notes.

Existing DIY's found here:
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=414315
http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/oil/housing.htm

COMMENTS

1) When disconneting the battery, isn't it safer (and maybe simpler?) to disconnect the negative terminal rather than the positive as suggested previously? Either way the battery ends up being isolated from being part of a circuit. By working on the negative terminal, you, the tools, the car body, and the battery terminal are all at the same electrical potential.

2) The two bolts at the very bottom of the housing (at least on an '02 530) are the only thing holding the power steering pump in place. This may be overkill, but I used a scrap of wood to support the dangling pump from below, and then removed the other six bolts and the housing itself.

3) It was not as messy as I expected. The amount of oil that spills out once you actually remove the housing is realatively small, and it was all contained by the various ridges along the side of the engine block.



4) As noted in other threads, later versions of the housing do not have the "freeze plug" issue, and appear to be more like threaded plugs. Mine looked fine, so I didn't want to mess with them, and I didn't have a torx bit that large anyhow.



QUESTION:
Is looking at the insides of the oil filter housing (pic below) and what little you can see in the engine block (1st pic above) a reasonable indication of the condition of the rest of the engine? as far as sludge goes? It looks pretty good to me for 129,000 miles, but I'm no expert.



I stopped half way through, since I decided I might as well replace the belt tensioner and idler pulley while I'm at it. Picked those up today, and hopefully will finish one night this week.

Looks clean for a 129K miles. You should do the CCV and VCG while you're at it, oh yes and the plugs too and your car should be as good as new

Originally Posted by 16valex

You should do the CCV and VCG while you're at it..

Six cylinder mantra....

Good Job ElwoodBlues. Some comments.

1. D/C battery ground or red: in this case it does not matter that much because you are remote from the battery.
In contrast, the long-standing recommendation of D/C ground cable (you are correct) applies for battery that is located in the engine compartment: to prevent arcing.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...o/4213127.html

2. My PS Pump is the earlier model PN 32 41 1 094 098, IIRC there are 3 bolts holding it.
But anyway, your idea of supporting the PS Pump is excellent: a small bucket or a whole bunch of bricks or whatever underneath the PS Pump should be fine.

3. And you are partially correct re sludge.
The Oil Housing is such a high flow area: gallons of oil flow through there per minute.
So when the engine is shut off, oil collects in the:
- Oil Sump
- Engine Valve Train area
- Oil Filter area.

So if you want to look for sludge, look in those areas.
But you brought up some excellent points.

Congrats on a job well-done! You just spent $5 (oil housing gasket) and save $200 of labor charge!

Originally Posted by cn90

Good Job ElwoodBlues. Some comments.
...
3. And you are partially correct re sludge.
The Oil Housing is such a high flow area: gallons of oil flow through there per minute.
So when the engine is shut off, oil collects in the:
- Oil Sump
- Engine Valve Train area
- Oil Filter area.

So if you want to look for sludge, look in those areas.
But you brought up some excellent points.

Congrats on a job well-done! You just spent $5 (oil housing gasket) and save $200 of labor charge!

Don't congratulate me yet.... I still have to get it all back together.

So regarding your sludge comments, I should go ahead and open the filter cap and look in there for a better idea? But wouldn't that still be a high flow area also? As for inspecting valve train, I assume only do this if it is being opened up for some other service, like maybe the vanos deal?

Originally Posted by 16valex

... You should do the CCV and VCG while you're at it, oh yes and the plugs too and your car should be as good as new

CCV? VCG? Sounds like I've got more searching and reading ahead of me!

Originally Posted by ElwoodBlues

CCV? VCG? Sounds like I've got more searching and reading ahead of me!

CCV is crankcase ventilation or we called it PCV and VCG is valve cover gasket. All M54 I6 engine has a bit of design flaw problem with CCV. The CCV can get partial clog and thus will cause high pressure build up in your crank case causing valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket to leak.

Don't forget the Vanos seals---best mod you can do for your car--and since you have it down that far--heck it's a no brainer

One part I didn't like about this job was putting back the alternator. The bracket that the alternator is mounted to provides little tolerance, so you'll want to give it some elbow grease and shove the alternator in. But once you do, you'll have to wiggle the alternator around to line up the hole for the bolt. Wasn't hard, but it took some time. Take a few breathers or you'll get a cramped back.

^^^Precisely, and very observant

Ok, I read up a little on the CCV (DIY here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=409240) and I went out in the garage and studied things for a bit, and I see how this would be convenient to do while the oil filter housing is already out of the way.

On the other hand, am I correct that going after the VANOS has nothing in common with doing the CCV other than the removing the plastic fuel rail cover?

If I keep adding on additional repairs, I'll never get to drive.

I guess in retrospect, I should have planned this out better to organize related repairs. I just jumped on the obvious stuff. Definite oil leak, cheap gasket, simple repair procedure that is well documented, seemed like a quick win.

So is this a better grouping:
1) Oil filter housing & CCV
2) VANOS, VCG, spark plugs (& whatever else is called for in the VANOS diy)
3) Cooling system components (or does some of this have to come off for VANOS?)

Only thing on the cooling system that needs to be removed for the Vanos diy--is the fan shroud.
This mod is the best out there for your model car.

Elwoodblues,

Your list of groups is very good for a new guy on the forum.
Why don't you just knock out number one on your list, take a break enjoy your car. You need a break after doing the CCV anyways.

Originally Posted by ElwoodBlues

...So is this a better grouping:
1) Oil filter housing & CCV
2) VANOS, VCG, spark plugs (& whatever else is called for in the VANOS diy)
3) Cooling system components (or does some of this have to come off for VANOS?)

Elwood,

You hit it right on the head!
I did these 3 things separately and ended up costing me more time.
It is better to do this whole major surgery than bits and pieces!

Good thoughts!

yes, no need for anything done to this kind of housing in regard to freeze plugs.

Ok, I think I've convinced myself to not replace the CCV, but only the bottom hose going to the dipstick tube. Follow my logic here...

1) Researching the various forums, it would seem that colder weather makes the 'mayonaise' issue much worse. This car (prior to me owning it) was registered in TN or GA. Not too many days below freezing really.

2) By partially following the M54 CCV DIY, I managed to remove the dipstick tube w/ lower hose, and the upper hose that connect from the CCV to the front of the valve cover. (Sorry, couldn't find the right diagram on realoem.) Both hoses looked good, and the bottom of the dipstick tube looked good as well. From what I could see inside the CCV (still installed), it looked reasonably clean for 129K miles.

3) I'm not experiencing any of the typical symptoms normally attributed to the CCV. (Although I have no reference for oil consumption since I haven't owned it long enough.)

I'm thinking I'll just replace the rubber hose that connects the CCV to the dipstick tube since it felt a little spongey in a couple of places. I'm assuming I can remove the outer shield and the 90deg connector, and just replace the actual rubber hose portion. (...and then get back to the original task of re-assembling the Oil Filter Housing. )

Am I missing anything here? If none of the plumbing is anywhere near being clogged, and the engine runs fine (at least before I took it apart ), can I assume the CCV itself is in good shape?

Bad logic ha!
Sludge forms when you drive less than 7 miles, even in the middle of the summer.
Change the CCV.

Originally Posted by cn90

Bad logic ha!
Sludge forms when you drive less than 7 miles, even in the middle of the summer.
Change the CCV.

Ok, yes, sludge anytime, especially short trips, but why change the CCV if everything around it looks fairly clean? Is it that the internals of the CCV could look worse? Is it more the fact that its old enough that it is likely to fail soon even though it seems fine today?

Or is this the point where someone tells me to stop being such a cheap a$$ and just change it out?

Originally Posted by ElwoodBlues

...Or is this the point where someone tells me to stop being such a cheap a$$ and just change it out?

Cheap a$$ does not drive BMW ha!
It does not matter what car you drive, at 80-100K the PCV is basically clogging up.
It is not a serviceable part, the only option is replace it.

This is what it looks like internally:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1148239

Or is this the point where someone tells me to stop being such a cheap a$$ and just change it out?

Yes

With the oil filter housing off ... access is great for the CVV (crankcase vent valve) and related hoses.

Just order the parts and knock it out. (...including throttle body gasket and idle control valve seal/gasket - one that goes from idle control valve into the intake manifold).

You'll have addressed some heat/age related known failures and won't have to go back in there chasing vacuum leaks.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by cn90

Cheap a$$ does not drive BMW ha!
It does not matter what car you drive, at 80-100K the PCV is basically clogging up.
It is not a serviceable part, the only option is replace it.

This is what it looks like internally:
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1148239

I changed my CCV valve at 100K while I was doing the valve cover gasket, plugs, belts and tentioners. The CCV was completely clean and fully functional however. I found no sludge after taking it appart. I now have 120K on the car. I should have done the filter housing gasket at the same time. It is now starting to show some drips. (I have always used synthetic motor oil)

Regards

Chet

We are supposed to run syn oil in our cars as the design from BMW. The gasket thats used on the oil filter
housing is not compatable with syn oil---go figure--same as for the Vanos seals

Originally Posted by poolman

We are supposed to run syn oil in our cars as the design from BMW. The gasket thats used on the oil filter
housing is not compatable with syn oil---go figure--same as for the Vanos seals

Poolman, I like your joke hehe!

Originally Posted by poolman

We are supposed to run syn oil in our cars as the design from BMW. The gasket thats used on the oil filter
housing is not compatable with syn oil---go figure--same as for the Vanos seals

Good thing I got mine from www.DrOilFilterHousingGasket.com. Guaranteed compatible with all engines and all motor oils.

Wish I had known that such a gasket was available when i replaced mine.