How to replace oil pan gasket? plz help!!!

[oleh]

Its for 1990 535I with an M30 3.5l engine

I need to replace my oil pan gasket, i went to the mechanic shop the guy said he cant do it, u have to lift all the engine up or take the whole front out lol, because the oil pump is in the oil pan. Is that true?. I can do the job my self but im not sure if u have to do all these things. Can i do it in my garage or i need a car lift? And the bolts on drivers side are pretty hard to get too.

[Bleeding_Knuckles]

look up the dimensions ont the realoem site to see what is the oil pumps

[Scott H]

your mechanic is correct about the difficulty of getting at the oil pan b/c of the shape and oil pump being in the way.

If you are at all skeptical about your own abilities, I would leave this up to a mechanic....at least until you build up ability/experience/knowledge.


Its for 1990 535I with an M30 3.5l engine

I need to replace my oil pan gasket, i went to the mechanic shop the guy said he cant do it, u have to lift all the engine up or take the whole front out lol, because the oil pump is in the oil pan. Is that true?. I can do the job my self but im not sure if u have to do all these things. Can i do it in my garage or i need a car lift? And the bolts on drivers side are pretty hard to get too.

[oleh]

your mechanic is correct about the difficulty of getting at the oil pan b/c of the shape and oil pump being in the way.

If you are at all skeptical about your own abilities, I would leave this up to a mechanic....at least until you build up ability/experience/knowledge.


How difficult is it what do you have to do? and remove?

[Scott H]

Then you have to jack or cherry pick the engine up enough to clear the subframe crossmembers in order to pull the pan out the front. Most of the time you need to remove the pump pickup while the pan is half hanging off so that you can drop it out of the way and then pull it all out together.

Thas is the general idea.


How difficult is it what do you have to do? and remove?

[Martin in Bellevue]

Small hands would help when dropping that pickup while the pan is in the way. The motor doesn't have to go up too high, loosen the coolant reservoir & pull away from the firewall for an idea of the clearance needed.
Also, avoid the damn cork gasket. Napa has a better gasket available, although, I guess the cork gasket on my 535 lasted 15 years before a corner gave.

[oleh]

Small hands would help when dropping that pickup while the pan is in the way. The motor doesn't have to go up too high, loosen the coolant reservoir & pull away from the firewall for an idea of the clearance needed.
Also, avoid the damn cork gasket. Napa has a better gasket available, although, I guess the cork gasket on my 535 lasted 15 years before a corner gave.

thats the same problem i have, the corner gave on my oil pan gasket. i can see the cork gasket ripped out on the passengers side on the front.

[Jeff N.]

You can get it thru NAPA. Waaaaay better than the stock cork gasket.



Small hands would help when dropping that pickup while the pan is in the way. The motor doesn't have to go up too high, loosen the coolant reservoir & pull away from the firewall for an idea of the clearance needed.
Also, avoid the damn cork gasket. Napa has a better gasket available, although, I guess the cork gasket on my 535 lasted 15 years before a corner gave.

[632 Regal]

put 2x4s under the mount pads when the engine is raised up to prevent mitten fingers vs gloves.


Small hands would help when dropping that pickup while the pan is in the way. The motor doesn't have to go up too high, loosen the coolant reservoir & pull away from the firewall for an idea of the clearance needed.
Also, avoid the damn cork gasket. Napa has a better gasket available, although, I guess the cork gasket on my 535 lasted 15 years before a corner gave.

[Rustam]

Its for 1990 535I with an M30 3.5l engine

I need to replace my oil pan gasket, i went to the mechanic shop the guy said he cant do it, u have to lift all the engine up or take the whole front out lol, because the oil pump is in the oil pan. Is that true?. I can do the job my self but im not sure if u have to do all these things. Can i do it in my garage or i need a car lift? And the bolts on drivers side are pretty hard to get too.

I put up a procedure on my website that takes you through the task - perhaps you can find it helpful. You will need jack stands...

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzerdcib/e34a/id5.html

Look at the bottom of the page.

[shogun]

Nice start with the website.
Thanks

[Rustam]

Nice start with the website.
Thanks

To me?
Actually, I meant it for the original poster, but you're welcome...

[oleh]

Thanx everybody now i have a better idea how to do the job :)

[Rustam]

Thanx everybody now i have a better idea how to do the job :)

be careful!

[Kalevera]

Here's what's happened:

http://www.bimmer.info/~lowell/m30pan.jpg

I find it's easier to lower the subframe than to fuss with the oil pump. Mainly because I believe there's a greater chance of doing damage to the car when messing with the oil pump versus the subframe. Either way, the procedure's basically the same as others have mentioned. Lift the engine slightly, work out how you're going to pull the pan (lower subframe), clean the heck out of the two mating surfaces (a new razor blade on the aluminum pan, scotch brite pad), use four TINY spots of silicon sealer -- one at each of the points where the front and rear main covers meet the block (the new gasket will have holes indicating generally where the RTV should go), torque the bolts. New M30 pan gaskets chronically leak because the bolts are overtorqued or the mating surfaces aren't clean enough.

The alternative gasket to the cork one is made of paper. Definitely use it.

I can say with almost certain confidence that the guy at that mechanic shop shouldn't be allowed to touch your bmw again.



best, whit

[Rustam]

The alternative gasket to the cork one is made of paper. Definitely use it.



I did not bother with my cork gasket when I did this job because of the need to somehow keep it straight while things come together.

I used the gasket sealant from local auto parts store.
It works just fine in my case...

[shogun]

oil pump removal from rustam is now on my site, see other BMW models http://twrite.org/shogunnew/topmenu.html