oil seeping out of oil filter canister (m50)

[shragon]

i just did an oil change this past saturday. today i noticed that when the motor is running, oil is seeping out of where the canister meets the cover when the car is running.

i took it apart at lunch today, and put it back together. it still seeps a little oil but not as bad. it is still a problem.

is this the rubber gasket or something else? my thinking it is probably a bad gasket. any thoughts? tia.

:)

[ryan roopnarine]

did you tighten the bolt with a torque wrench? mine did that too until i memorized the amount of torque i needed to put into it with a regular wrench to close it up properly.

[shragon]

no. i usually just tighten it down pretty tight and never had a problem in the past.

what should it be torqued to?

[632 Regal]

just put a new rubber on it and clean the surfaces real good, probably a freak incident unless you scratched it real deep. Tightening dont do much because its the O ring that does all the sealing.

[shragon]

yea, i'm going to try another rubber ring. i don't see how i could scratch it since i dont use anything but my fingers to get the old ring out.

[winfred]

m42/44/50/52 all have problems with the rubber seal/o-ring between the housing and block, we do them all of the time, it's a pain but not terrible matter of fact i just did a 91 525 a couple days ago, over the space of the last month or so we've done 4 or 5 cars

[TC535i]

Did you coat the gasket with oil before you reinstalled it?

[632 Regal]

in my first response if you read it.

[TC535i]

in my first response if you read it.

I didn't (and still don't) see anything about coating the gasket with a layer of oil before reinstalling it... you asked if he scratched it, and cleaned the surfaces?

Besides cleaning the gasket, you're supposed to put a layer of oil on it, allows it to seat evenly/completely.

[Al Gray]

m42/44/50/52 all have problems with the rubber seal/o-ring between the housing and block, we do them all of the time, it's a pain but not terrible matter of fact i just did a 91 525 a couple days ago, over the space of the last month or so we've done 4 or 5 cars


Winfred, I have been going crazy trying to find where my oil leak is coming from. I have recently replaced the valve cover gaskets, re-tightened all the oil pan bolts all to no avail. The oil is seeping down the drivers side of the block I think, and then on to the oil pan. I never considered the oil cannister leak until this thread came up. I would rather replace the oil cannister gasket before doing the oil pan gasket. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[shragon]

Did you coat the gasket with oil before you reinstalled it?
yes, i always do tim. :)

anyway, last night i took another rubber gasket from an extra oil filter and reinstalled it. so far, so good.

however, all the oil that leaked out before found it's way to the bottom, near the oil pan and such. what a pita. cleaned it with simple green. some oil was still making its way to the bottom this morning. drip drip.

[winfred]

degrease it good top and bottom and start looking for oily spots, i've yet to need to change a m50 pan gasket for leaking, but probably done a good dozen or more filter housing seals on m50/52s, bad pan gaskets is more a m30 motor thing


Winfred, I have been going crazy trying to find where my oil leak is coming from. I have recently replaced the valve cover gaskets, re-tightened all the oil pan bolts all to no avail. The oil is seeping down the drivers side of the block I think, and then on to the oil pan. I never considered the oil cannister leak until this thread came up. I would rather replace the oil cannister gasket before doing the oil pan gasket. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Al Gray]

degrease it good top and bottom and start looking for oily spots, i've yet to need to change a m50 pan gasket for leaking, but probably done a good dozen or more filter housing seals on m50/52s, bad pan gaskets is more a m30 motor thing


Winfred,

Thanks for your insight and info. I am pretty sure the oil filter housing gasket is leaking. I consulted my Bently manual but could not find a procedure that dealt with the gasket. Did I miss something in Bently or is there another link that you can point out to me. I would rather not try to reinvent the wheel on this one because it looks as though I am going to have to deal with the drive belts and possible other areas to get at the oil filter housing. Any help would be appreciated.

Al Gray

[winfred]

remove airbox alternator and power steering pump, then the housing is held on with 6 13mm bolts of different length 11 42 1 719 855 is the part # for the rubber seal


Winfred,

Thanks for your insight and info. I am pretty sure the oil filter housing gasket is leaking. I consulted my Bently manual but could not find a procedure that dealt with the gasket. Did I miss something in Bently or is there another link that you can point out to me. I would rather not try to reinvent the wheel on this one because it looks as though I am going to have to deal with the drive belts and possible other areas to get at the oil filter housing. Any help would be appreciated.

Al Gray

[all2kool]

I ordered a filter from Bimmer for my 1990 525i, it was too tall and wouldn't allow me to replace the cover. Had to go to Schucks for another - perhaps your filter is slightly out of spec?

[shragon]

possible. i actually replaced the oil filter with a new one as well.