[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Being this thread is 2 years old and the OP had his car repaired a long time ago, your comments to the OP are a bit ill-timed, but it is good advice for the new BMW owner contemplating ownership of a high-mileage BMW. So for new people reading this thread and this post in particular, it is true that owning a BMW part 100,000 miles is best if you can DIY. However...

Like the OP, who admitted he doesn't really DIY, repairing a BMW as a novice home mechanic can be disastrous. I've been wrenching on cars since before I was old enough to drive. I've been wrenching on BMWs for over 30 years. And I have a dedicated automotive shop in my garage, a building I purposefully built to wrench on vehicles. Working on BMWs is not for the novice, and especially something as complex as an oil pan gasket or valve cover change on an E90. There are a lot of specialized tools that are needed that your general 150-piece Sears Craftsman tool set doesn't have. And you need a good floor jack and 4 jack stands, or a lift, as basic tools to own to do any repair under the car. Some people are not mechanically inclined, working on and breaking a BMW can get expensive, which makes it far less expensive to have a shop perform the repair. The price you pay for a shop, over a DIY job, is their experience, training, and expertise, their tool set, and their business expenses. You have all the same expenses, you just don't count them into the cost of the DIY (especially your labor). If you did count all your expenses, the shop cost is really not that bad.

Food for thought.

Well, you know what is funny I did a brake job twice because the first time I somehow fucked something up and my front rotors warped.. It will still MUCH cheaper than paying for an Indy to do it who wants 1000 dollars + for 4 rotors and pads

[Caricia]

Originally Posted by catcher22

Add me to the list. At my last oil change my Indy told me my Oil pan gasket was leaking pretty bad. It's probably been leaking for a while, because it's completely obvious there is a bad oil leak due the amount of spotting there is on the floor of my apartment garage. It's almost embarrassing - "there's that guy who parks his BMW that leaks a crazy amount of oil in that spot. Just another BMW, lol...."

My Indy quoted me a couple of G's to do the fix, and then highly recommended I obtain an aftermarket warranty, wait a few months, and get the repair done under warranty.

I'm an '08 335XI, so it's next to impossible to get to the OPG on my car.

Honestly, I'm probably going to just top off the oil for a while and try to upgrade the car in a year or so. I don't drive much at all, the car only has 85,000 miles and it 9 1/2 years old.

Damn BMW and their shitty water pumps and oil gaskets. Valve cover gasket replaced, oil filter housing gasket replaced, and the oil pan gasket will probably never be replaced.

I'm with u on this. My 07 335 with only 56k miles has leaks everywhere, just replaced VCG and valve cover and OFHG for $2000 and told there's still a OPG leak..not happy. Think I'll probably let that leak ride for now...

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by Caricia

I'm with u on this. My 07 335 with only 56k miles has leaks everywhere, just replaced VCG and valve cover and OFHG for $2000 and told there's still a OPG leak..not happy. Think I'll probably let that leak ride for now...

For most people, the 335 is not a car you want to own unless you can wrench on it.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

For most people, the 335 is not a car you want to own unless you can wrench on it.

One or two large repair bills plus a new set of tires/brakes can wipe out whatever equity you have in an N54 based model - unless you do your own work. What one decides to do is about the opportunity cost of buying a more current version vs. maintaining what you have. If you can fix it on your own, you can probably avoid a car loan payment for years and years.

If you love what you drive, money is no longer the overriding factor to consider. I had that relationship with my old Boxster until I got tired of not having a back seat or usable trunk. Those issues, and not maintenance cost, forced me to sell, and move back to a BMW. I still miss its buttery smooth manual transmission, though.

[mehrlovin]

Originally Posted by GuitarDTO

Are you stalking me, and pretending to be the owner of my car?

Sorry for the problems with your car. I literally signed on to start a thread about similar topic. I have a 2008 E92 with 94k miles on it. My car recently had a service check back in February, and the following items were recommended along with the pricing the dealer gave me:
-Valve Cover Gasket leak - $1120
-Oil Filter Housing Leak - $550
-Oil Pan Gasket Leak - $1230
-Control Arm Bushings - $805

$1800 is too high for the oil pan gasket. Again, my dealer quoted me $1230 for whatever it's worth. I am debating dropping my car off and seeing if they'll give me some kind of discount if I Have all of the above work done.

It brings me to the same predicament we all likely go through, how much are we willing to pay for repairs in time, money and annoyance vs. the peace of mind of just ridding ourselves and getting a new car. I'm really struggling with this decision now because I love this car, I don't really love anything new out there right now and I think everything is overpriced. I'm debating anything from buying to leasing a new BMW, GMC Sierra Trucks and Ford F150's lol. I'm all over the map.

It's interesting to hear how others work through these decisions.

My E90 XI had the same issues. At 90-100k and 10 years of age, basically, all of those are going to go. My strategy was to do the work myself and/or bring a mechanic to my garage to do it. I had the VCG done for $500, the Oil Filter Housing Gasket for $75. The spark plugs and coils I just totally swapped out because it was only $250 in parts and its not hard work so I did it myself.


Given that used car prices are high, I would either put in some liquid moly oil leak stopper and sell it now to someone that doesn't care or, I would find a mobile mechanic that can mount the car on jack stands and replace the gasket. It's only $40 in parts FYI. That will cost around $700.

If you have replaced the water pump and your fluids/belts/hoses are good, I would keep the car though. You are at the 100k "hump" and if you pass this hump, you have an easy 50-75k miles ahead of you most likely.

[FirstBMWLA]

Originally Posted by mehrlovin

My E90 XI had the same issues. At 90-100k and 10 years of age, basically, all of those are going to go. My strategy was to do the work myself and/or bring a mechanic to my garage to do it. I had the VCG done for $500, the Oil Filter Housing Gasket for $75. The spark plugs and coils I just totally swapped out because it was only $250 in parts and its not hard work so I did it myself.


Given that used car prices are high, I would either put in some liquid moly oil leak stopper and sell it now to someone that doesn't care or, I would find a mobile mechanic that can mount the car on jack stands and replace the gasket. It's only $40 in parts FYI. That will cost around $700.

If you have replaced the water pump and your fluids/belts/hoses are good, I would keep the car though. You are at the 100k "hump" and if you pass this hump, you have an easy 50-75k miles ahead of you most likely.

Just bought back an e92 335i 6mt I owned previously lol. It's at 85k miles and is in need of oil pan gasket and motor mounts.
Found an independent bmw specialist to do work.
Looking for recommendations for other repair items I should go ahead and do while undergoing this. Water pump and thermo was already recently changed.
Considering replacing all O2 sensors since I've had persistent fuel mixture codes as a precaution.
Also considered going for turbo inlet upgrades while car is all torn apart.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by FirstBMWLA

Just bought back an e92 335i 6mt I owned previously lol. It's at 85k miles and is in need of oil pan gasket and motor mounts.
Found an independent bmw specialist to do work.
Looking for recommendations for other repair items I should go ahead and do while undergoing this. Water pump and thermo was already recently changed.
Considering replacing all O2 sensors since I've had persistent fuel mixture codes as a precaution.
Also considered going for turbo inlet upgrades while car is all torn apart.

85k is not really high enough mileage to necessitate new motor mounts, unless the car has been driven hard, but rubber and polyurethane do wear with just age, so it probably wont hurt since you are down there anyway fixing the OPG. If you have any turbo rattle, now would be a good time to fix that, and replace seals.

[FirstBMWLA]

Originally Posted by E93Dude

85k is not really high enough mileage to necessitate new motor mounts, unless the car has been driven hard, but rubber and polyurethane do wear with just age, so it probably wont hurt since you are down there anyway fixing the OPG. If you have any turbo rattle, now would be a good time to fix that, and replace seals.

motor mounts are collapsed according to BMW tech

[carlover7]

Hello folks- another oil pan gasket leak issue
Pls assist …
So E90 -2011 328ixdrive
Only 89k miles
2021 - fall started to notice burning smell from exhaust area when parked in garage after
No oil was dripping the entire time just smell
2021- November took car for diagnostics to dealer
Says oil leak VCG / OFH

Had VCG done under 15 yr /150k mile SULEV Warranty after much haggling
W dealer ( thanks to this forum)
Had OFH done - paid a $$$ load to dealer $600+ after $150 coupon applied

Noticed same burnt oil smell after these repairs and I put a piece of longish cardboard under
Now I start to see drops of oil magically appear
( no oil drops in previous many years)
Called dealer says run it for a bit etc.

Fast forward to March 2022
Same Dealer diagnosis as Oil pan gasket leak
Quotes $3000
Says no leak from VCG / OFH
I asked if they even Checked /asked for video
Sends and says it's the Oil pan gasket

Video shows decent leak w oil stains front to back on the bottom of the vehicle
I did nothing had discussion w service manager
said car will be worth $10 mk and you want to charge $3k?
Could dealer they have damaged the oil pan in the last repair?

Anyway this week went to another dealer
Had routine front brakes new pads,rotors,sensors BMW Value service $460 w tax Coupon as advertised done.
They also diagnosed visually said Oil pan gasket leak
Did not get quote

I'm thinking leaving it alone for a bit ?
Oil level Seems fine in the dash menu

I ride mostly local a lot right now not much longer distance
I would like to do a few road trips this summer
200- 300 miles

Any advice?
Is the oil pan leak a fire hazard?

Car rides great on highway ! Kept up w all routine maintenance
Tires are good
Brakes are good
Battery could come up but reads fine now

Do I need to attend to oil pan gasket replacement immediately?
Shd I chk indie shops? Any in NJ north?
Approx Costs?

[Suvorovo]

I got a quote for $800 at a local Meineke on my X-drive e90 which is so much more work (workers seem to be BMW enthusiasts, one guy has an e46 325xi wagon). Try different shops.