Am I correct in assuming that the M42 with the M42 style(aluminum) oil filter housing doesnt need the valve("bush")?

Notes for M44 Owners from at '98 318ti.

-Secondary air pump needs to come out

-The belt tensioner on my car required a Torx T50 to rotate counter-clockwise

-The lower bolt that holds the alternator to the cradle hits the power steering reservoir, that needs to be moved out of the way to take out and put in the alternator bolt.

-The belt tensioner does not need to come off of the alternator cradle, once all cradle bolts are removed the entire assembly (cradle, belt tensioner, power steering pulley/pump) can be pulled up and towards the fender and tied off with some twine/whatever you have. Be gentle with the power steering hoses though.

That's all I can think of, none of my bolts broke and everything came out relatively easily. My gasket was bonded to the block and the bush o-rings were flat and hard, there was oil everywhere, lol. Well worth spending the time rather than $583 the shop quoted me. Thanks for the great write up dave!

Thanks for the write up. I got the parts from BMW last week for under $20 and changed the gaskets in about 2 hours. No more oil drops on my driveway. :wink:

Mahalo! Great write up! I'm monitoring the car now to check results of my work.

Was lucky that a former BMW of Honolulu mechanic and now independant shop co-owner helped out tremendously with diagnosing the problem area, and giving me the gasket and o rings for free!

Took me 3 hours to complete, the hardest part was putting the alternator back on because of the precise clearance for the bolt. :biggrin:

Well, finally got tired of the mess in the driveway, had the parts sitting on my retired toolbox (I stay away from it as much as possible since I retired from body shop) and I changed the o-rings and gasket. It took me about 8 hours...but I cleaned everything, polished the housing, alternator, super cleaned belts, pulleys, etc.
Typical bodyman, I am into detail. I also ran a tap in all threads and blew them out (I mean, I got these tap and die sets just gathering dust, what can I say...) and polished all the nuts and bolt threads on my bench wire wheel ...
Things sure torque better when all the threads are the same and CLEAN.

Seems to have fixed the problem. NO more leak at the housing. And man, were those o-rings hard and flat. They broke trying to take them off the bush (I used the old bush, new o-rings and gasket sealer ont the gasket). I also put the oil filter housing on a flat piece of glass with some fine sandpaper, and made sure it was flat and clean). Soo, that's why I took 8 hours....+ to get-er done.

One thing to mention. Make sure you have a mental or phyisical picture of how the serpintine belt goes...LOL!
Thanks for the info everyone.

Helped to be able to see what someone else had to do instead of relying on the Bentley manual...
:wink:

awesome write up, im doing this tomorrow morning, mine started to leak in the winter, care would warm up and no leak....now its summer leaking all the time...i can clean it all up, start the car and watch it seep out as in the pics above...thanks alot...

i did this and it worked thanks again:)

Wellll,
I sold the white ti, and found a nice green one (1996 also, owned by a lady schoolteacher that bought a Mercedes to replace it :eek: ) that is in MUCH better shape than the white one was, and with 139K instead of 184K...

It must be an "Active" since it has the power sunroof, leather interior, side ground effects, and cruise control. I had to replace the power window regulator on the passenger side when I bought it, but only paid $2200 for it.

It has the typical leak at the filter housing, but now that I have done it once, it will be easier to change the second time. I just bought the o-rings and block gasket the last time, worked out well, no leaks.

Thanks again for the photos and writeup. Helped a bunch.
Mopho
:wink:

just wanted to add how great this writeup is. I did the fix on my 95 ti back in November when I got it.. installed the new gaskets and bushing.. degreased everything on the front of the engine with Simple Green and drove around the corner to the car/pressure wash. Nice and shiny clean, and not a drop since.

I just started working on my 97 318i race car and it needs the fix BAD. Oredering parts today. Thanks again for a great post.

i just did this today no more oil leak thanks for the right up:biggrin:

I finally got my greenie done, when the water pump went out. Unfortunatly, I blew a head gasket overheating it, so it's in the shop getting the head redone. I will find out this week if the head is cracked.
A fair warning: My car did not start running funny or anything. Just overheated it for a minute, and wallla. Blown head gasket.
Watch your tempertures, guys and dolls. This is gonna cost me (with a complete valve job and resurfacing the head, new valve guide seals etc.) over 2 grand for a minutes overheating.

i have this same leak ive had it for like a week is a serious leak should i deal with it now? i have no money or tools to do this right now..
i guess id have to go to a shop if its a serious thing.. if so how much do you guys think they would charge me

If you go to an independent shop they would probably quote you about 2 hours worth of labor at least.

The parts are cheap [less than $10 total] and it would take you about 3 hours to do on your own if you took your time and studied everything. Take you 1 hour if you were just replacing the gasket and getting out of there. But I like to clean all the parts I take apart and clean the surrounding area. So I spent half a day doing this.... but my engine looks nice now :D

Remember the alternator is a pain to get out. I filed down the mounting brackets on the alternator and lined them with white lithium grease for easy installation and and future removal. just and fyi .

Good luck ;) Save the money and try this yourself. Spend the money you would spend at a shop on some neat upgrades :D

i will def try this on my own, but is it a serious leak ? should i deal with it now or can it last another month or so.. i keep putting oil in cause it gets low but not low enough that it needs the whole bottle

Well I would not be a great judge of what is considered a "bad leak."

You say you have to put more oil into the car? At what frequency? If it is once a month then your leak is not severe. Is it every week? Then, yeah, get this fixed pronto.

By the way, careful when you remove that alternator..... just like the How To guide states: Don't hit it with a hammer. :biggrin: