[CW]

So just found out my oil filter housing gasket is leaking a lot more then I originally thought after changing the oil less then 1000 miles ago. I would hate to pull the housing off and waste all that new oil plus its freezing out.

Anyone temporarily fix their OFHG leak with silicone or some type of high temp sealant?

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by CW

So just found out my oil filter housing gasket is leaking a lot more then I originally thought after changing the oil less then 1000 miles ago. I would hate to pull the housing off and waste all that new oil plus its freezing out.

Anyone temporarily fix their OFHG leak with silicone or some type of high temp sealant?

if you can find some sort of sealant like silicone which is resistant to high heat, I'm sure it will work as a temporary fix.. just be sure to give the crack where the gasket is a good scrub with some sort of cleaner before applying the sealant.

[Twoforty]

New gasket required.
The oil won't run out unless gravity is upwards in the north hemisphere.

[CW]

Originally Posted by N52B25

New gasket required.
The oil won't run out unless gravity is upwards in the north hemisphere.

Yea, I was more concerned with coolant mixing with the oil

[tlow98]

If your car is cold and you crack the oil filter to let air in the oil will drain into the block. The crossover is next to nothing.

You would have to seal around the entire unit to stop the leak externally and since there are places that you cannot access I believe you'll just push the leak in another direction.

[matteblue3er]

Not much oil is lost when you do the housing gasket. Just replace it. If oil drips from the housing gasket onto your belt, you risk the belt potentially getting sucked into the motor which will require oil pan and valve cover removal at the very least.

[NYAlpineM3]

x2 on not much oil being lost. I would lay out rags under the housing to prevent the fluid from hitting the belt. Crack open the filter lid first so a lot of the oil goes back down into the motor. You won't lose more than you burn in an oil change interval anyway.

The biggest loss is coolant which is still marginal. I just added a half gallon of distilled water and bled the system. I will change out the coolant when i do the water pump and thermo. I'm at 105k miles.

[matteblue3er]

If you use clamps, you don't loose too much coolant either.

[CW]

So the "cross contamination" between oil and coolant isn't a big issue with this job?

[hassmaschine]

Water doesn't pass throught there so i don't see how it could be.

[Terraphantm]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Water doesn't pass throught there so i don't see how it could be.

It does pass through there. Stupid design, but it does.



Big hole on the left is for coolant (and that disconnected coolant hose attaches to the OFH itself)

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by CW

So the "cross contamination" between oil and coolant isn't a big issue with this job?

It's incredibly minor. Plus due to the size and placement of the holes you're only likely to drop a little oil in the coolant, but would be hard to get coolant in the oil.

Just make sure you open up the oil filter compartment first, let it drain, then re-seal and remove the whole unit. 90% of the spillage that occurred when I did it was coolant that's bc the motor was warm. Oh wellz

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by Terraphantm

It does pass through there. Stupid design, but it does.
....

Big hole on the left is for coolant (and that disconnected coolant hose attaches to the OFH itself)

Yes, and the design allows for oil coolant to be attached to oil filter housing on high power N52's (E70 X5 N52 has) and N54 etc.
Mercedes uses very similar design I know from a friends car, and its gasket was leaking too.

[CW]

Just wanted to update and say I did the job it took about 30mins and there was no crossover and very minimal coolant loss. Thanks for the help!

[tlow98]

Nice!

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by Terraphantm

It does pass through there. Stupid design, but it does.



Big hole on the left is for coolant (and that disconnected coolant hose attaches to the OFH itself)

why does coolant need to go through the OFH..?

[Needbmwpartzz]

Originally Posted by 6IX-F10-N52

why does coolant need to go through the OFH..?

Cool the oil

[max_330i]

Originally Posted by CW

Just wanted to update and say I did the job it took about 30mins and there was no crossover and very minimal coolant loss. Thanks for the help!

Nice to see the resolution. I replaced my leaky OFHG a few weeks ago when the oil dripping onto the belt created a horrible "chirping" noise. Forget all the sealant/glue/whatever methods, replacing the gasket is really not so bad.