[bimmertt]

**UPDATE**
To all those that PM'd me, this turned out to be the thermostat housing gasket. I replaced both the oil filter housing and thermostat housing gaskets this past weekend. The oil filter housing gasket looked fine while the thermostat gasket looked a little melted in spots. Hopefully this helps someone considering all of the DIYs do not even mention replacing the thermostat housing gasket. I had to disconnect the oil cooler lines in order to get to the bottom bolt on the thermostat housing. Remember to replace the o-rings on these lines if you do the same.

Be prepared because this is a very messy job. There's no real clean way of doing this. Just have a bunch of towels on hand and line the floor underneath the engine with a lot of newspaper.

There is also no way to remove the oil filter housing without pulling the intake manifold out a little. I did not have to remove the throttle body, charge pipe, or the electrical box on the bottom. I just removed the 6 nuts and 1 bolt and pulled the manifold out slightly. This gave me enough room to stick in a socket (w/ extension) and loosen the bolt.

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Just trying to see if anyone can quickly identify what is going on here. It looks like oil is pooling in this crevice and then is leaking over down into the engine. Is this the oil filter housing leak or is my filter not on tight enough? It is turned a little past the green marker. Or could the O ring have torn?

[BMWsky]

Did you change the oil yourself? If so (even if not), the O-ring that sits on the cap looks like it may have been improperly seated. If it isn't in the correct groove, it can leak.

[tofu-]

common. just replace it

[Transport3r]

Is there oil on the front turbo inlet pipe? (the rectangular plastic pipe)

If it's just by the filter cap, I'd say check your filter O-rings (don't forget the little green one!)

[acdHQK713K]

I would say that's from a sloppy oil change, not the gasket.

[s2kman]

I had the oil filter housing leak. It doesn't look like it. As others said checked the cap o-ring.

[GB///M]

That's exactly what it is. I literally just got my car back from service today for this. They changed the gasket and so far so good.

[bimmertt]

I changed the oil myself about 3k miles ago. The leak is pretty much confined to the area in the picture. I checked the front turbo inlet pipe and it was clean. The o-ring also looks fine...is this the correct location?

[blisstik]

o-ring is suppose to be one notch higher by looking at the pic.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

Originally Posted by blisstik

o-ring is suppose to be one notch higher by looking at the pic.

Yea I think so too. Not 100% as its been a while since I did the oil change. I remember I put that o ring on the wrong notch and it made QUITE the mess!

Should be like this:

[bimmertt]

So I cleaned up the oil that night and re-tightened the oil filter cap. I checked today and there is already a pool of oil in that same spot. I checked the filter O ring and it appears to be in the same spot as the pic above. This is kind of a strange area for the oil to pool if it is the housing gasket, but I can't think of anything else that would cause this. Any other ideas?

[roadkillrob]

Take the o-ring off and check it for nicks or rough spots. Also check the cap for cracks, they have been known to crack in the past, otherwise clean everything good and replace the o-ring.

[jzchen]

Originally Posted by bimmertt

So I cleaned up the oil that night and re-tightened the oil filter cap. I checked today and there is already a pool of oil in that same spot. I checked the filter O ring and it appears to be in the same spot as the pic above. This is kind of a strange area for the oil to pool if it is the housing gasket, but I can't think of anything else that would cause this. Any other ideas?

I personally use a torque wrench to spec. Maybe it's not tightened enough.

[DJJG-KWSW]

i have the same issue

[R1000K3]

Originally Posted by jzchen

I personally use a torque wrench to spec. Maybe it's not tightened enough.

The O-ring will seal when the cap contacts the housing even if the torque is minimal. There is no need for a torque wrench for this except for avoiding over-torque by people using too much force. Just tight it until it bottoms with light wrist-power and do not use excessive force.

[JamesM3M5]

Crappy oil filter kit with low quality o-ring?

[R1000K3]

Originally Posted by JamesM3M5

Crappy oil filter kit with low quality o-ring?

Recycled

[bimmertt]

Originally Posted by JamesM3M5

Crappy oil filter kit with low quality o-ring?

Nope. Oil filter kit purchased from BMW.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

I would get a new o ring. It appears to be placed the notch below the inner lip.

[jzchen]

Originally Posted by R1000K3

The O-ring will seal when the cap contacts the housing even if the torque is minimal. There is no need for a torque wrench for this except for avoiding over-torque by people using too much force. Just tight it until it bottoms with light wrist-power and do not use excessive force.

I still think you should torque to spec. In this case, set torque wrench to 25Nm and torque, then set to 30Nm and torque to that. There's a reason why the BMW engineers put it that way, that is "25 + 5Nm", instead of just 30Nm. I'm not sure why, but there must be.

[4DR Assassin]

Had the same issue. Oil filter housing gasket was the source. I noticed it leaking when I started the engine cold w/ the hood up. Didn't leak when it was warm. Dealer replaced it as well as a couple other parts that are required by BMW for this repair under warranty.

[BMWsky]

As was mentioned earlier, if it isn't the O-ring then the cap could have a crack in it. As for torque settings, you can also line up the green dots which assures you don't over tighten the cap (and thereby cracking it).