Oil filter housing gasket still leaking?

[RedFlow]

I Just replaced my oil filter housing gasket yesterday (got fuel pump replaced at a dealer and they said it was leaking) and it seems it is leaking again... I drove it home yesterday after fixing it at a friends and today I worked. My job involves a lot of stop and go driving and I drove around 40 miles in my car. I go to pull into the driveway and turn off my car and I hear the sound of liquid dripping onto something. My first thought was oil dripping onto the splash guards. So I take off my splash guard (by this time the oil had stopped dripping down) and sure enough there was a small pool of oil on the back splash guard.
On top of that, I popped my hood and looked at the gasket and saw a little bit of oil sitting in the indents of the housing.
I looked it up a bit here and saw that some people say it is possible the gasket wasn't seated right or fell out. While this is possible I did double check it before I put it in and ran my finger along the gasket while pushing down lightly to make sure it was in the indents. We also tightened the bolts to the housing to 22Nm. I followed the guide here. http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=657887

Is it possible the gasket came unseated while wiggling it into place? Or should I wait a few days before jumping back at disassembling my engine to see if it continues to leak?

[hooRAH]

I asked the same question but got no responses. I did a bunch of research on this and found a list of people that had the same problem. Most reported success after increasing the torque on the bolts from 16lbft (22Nm) to 20-22 lbft.

My leak is very tiny, so I haven't taken the time to go back in and tighten the bolts yet, but this is what I plan to do.

[RedFlow]

I was thinking about doing that as well. What was weird was after I pulled in the driveway and noticed the leak, I took off my splash guards and then drove around the block more aggressively than normal (shifting around 4-4.5k) then idled in the driveway occasionally reving to 3k then got out and checked under the car and there was nothing dripping at all...

[hooRAH]

Here is my thread on e46f... It has links and quotes from all the research I did.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=908173

Lots of talk of warped housings, vanos lines, checking for cracks, etc, but most people reported success by tightening the bolts.

[RedFlow]

I guess I will tackle that in the next hour or tomorrow. Thank you I'll let you know how that works out!

Second thought I'll probably just wait till tomorrow and drive a decent amount today to see if it keeps leaking. Kinda mad I did an oil change 2 days ago and all my fresh castrol edge is coming out of my car haha.

[hooRAH]

Please do! I would love to hear how it turns out and to collect more data about getting it to not leak.

[slowlanemcvane]

I'm thinking that since the OFH gasket is rubber sometimes the best plan is to seat it with torque, run the engine to get it hot, let it cool again, and repeat that cycle a couple of times, then retorque the bolts. I know that working in the aviation field sometimes cycling a seal through a couple of hot-cold cycles can cause a leak, which is why we sometimes have flight-hour based retorque or torque check inspection requirements.

[shadow4bimmer]

I'm thinking that since the OFH gasket is rubber sometimes the best plan is to seat it with torque, run the engine to get it hot, let it cool again, and repeat that cycle a couple of times, then retorque the bolts. I know that working in the aviation field sometimes cycling a seal through a couple of hot-cold cycles can cause a leak, which is why we sometimes have flight-hour based retorque or torque check inspection requirements.

Excellent advice, but never heard this solution before with a OFH. Same with a valve cover gasket?

[RedFlow]

I'm thinking that since the OFH gasket is rubber sometimes the best plan is to seat it with torque, run the engine to get it hot, let it cool again, and repeat that cycle a couple of times, then retorque the bolts. I know that working in the aviation field sometimes cycling a seal through a couple of hot-cold cycles can cause a leak, which is why we sometimes have flight-hour based retorque or torque check inspection requirements.

You know I'm not going to lie... After I found out it was leaking i just took off my splash guards and went to a car meet with the group i'm in. we all cruised on the highway and i did a few aggressive runs through my gears, when we got to our destination, i stopped my car and just periodically checked under it. Not a drop of oil! I feel like the gasket seated itself properly or just needed to be heated up and soak up some oil or something along those lines... But I'll continue to drive without my splash guards today to see if it leaks.

[danewilson77]

^Thanks for not lying.

[hooRAH]

Interesting, thanks for reporting back. I don't have splash guards anymore, so I guess I'll check underneath mine now and see if its still leaking. Maybe I'll be lucky too?

[hooRAH]

Just as an update, I checked underneath the car this morning after I drove to work (about an hour). As far as I can tell, no leaking....hooray!

I never went back and retorqued anything either.

[wec5910]

I took off my splash guards and then drove around the block more aggressively than normal (shifting around 4-4.5k) then idled in the driveway occasionally reving to 3k then got out and checked under the car and there was nothing dripping at all...

Increased temps will do this and then the leak will reappear as the metals cool (ie retract) at different rates. Oil viscosity is also a factor.

[hooRAH]

Pretty sure the block and the filter housing are the same material.

[RedFlow]

Increased temps will do this and then the leak will reappear as the metals cool (ie retract) at different rates. Oil viscosity is also a factor.

Well I haven't had another leaking issue since then (as far as seeing it on the driveway). I'm still driving without my splash guard. I do believe I am still losing oil though but I don't smell it burning and I don't see it dripping... I'm going to check my dip stick again when I get home. If I am I will have to disassemble everything again and redo the gasket which isn't a huge deal now that the weather is nice.

Also I think my Idler Pully is going bad because you can hear it or something along the belt line squeaking at idle... then on colder more humid nights I noticed when my RPMs only go above 2,000 RPMs it squeals real loud for about 10min of driving then goes away... That's a simple replacement though if it is broken.

[Jacksbmw]

Guys, after changing the oil filter housing gasket I get fault code P0011 - Intake Camshaft-Position Timing- Over Advanced (Bank 1). I know I had a hard time reinstalling the drive belt around the alternator pulley and the crankshaft may have turned while I was doing this but why would it matter? This was the driving belt i was working on not the timing....anyhelp would be appreciated. Thx

Forgot the car info...2001 325ci convertible, 105K miles.

[BMWoW]

Guys, after changing the oil filter housing gasket I get fault code P0011 - Intake Camshaft-Position Timing- Over Advanced (Bank 1). I know I had a hard time reinstalling the drive belt around the alternator pulley and the crankshaft may have turned while I was doing this but why would it matter? This was the driving belt i was working on not the timing....anyhelp would be appreciated. Thx

Forgot the car info...2001 325ci convertible, 105K miles.

You probably unplugged the sensor and forgot to plug it back.

Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

[Jacksbmw]

So I cleared the code and hasn't come back. Car is running fine and doesn't show any signs of timing issues.
So the only thing I can think of is I did oil change at the same time and after putting 6 quarts of oil I started the engine and got the fault code. After adding one more quart of oil the car is running fine and no codes. Maybe it had sensed that it was low on oil.

[Jacksbmw]

Wanted to report that after the gasket replacement the car is running great and no more oil dripping under the car. Thanks for the thread on this DIY. Some things I did different are:

• Did not remove fan and fan housing. It made removing the alternator and putting it back a little more difficult but with an automatic I believe I need a special tool to remove fan which I don't have.
• Once loose the alternator came out very easily but putting it back was real challenge due to the top long bolt not wanting to catch on the back end of the threated hole. I had to turn bolt and apply pressure front to back to get it to catch. Reinstalling the belt was a pain also if you don't remove the upper coolant hose so that you can turn the tentioner sufficiently.
• I did not remove the power steering pump. After separating the housing from the block I had enough room to remove the bad gasket and secure the new one in there.

Overall it wasn't too bad and saved $250 in labor costs. BTW there is no need to drain the oil for this job, I read someone saying he'd hate to wast the brand new Castrol oil if he had to redo it due to continuing leak.

[RedFlow]

Well I'd like to update and say that i am actually still leaking oil... I had done an oil change right before I fixed my housing gasket so I know I had the full amount of recommended oil... Last friday my low oil light came on when I turned off my car and I just instantly thought "are you freaking kidding me..." and this is 2,000 miles later... So looks like once I'm done with finals at cleveland state I'll be going back in my engine.

And yes the belts are a PAIN that was the most frustrating part of the job for me. Everything else went smoothly I had no problems getting my alternator off and on.

[Oli77]

I did this job last week end. 3 Questions:

1. Did you put anything on the gasket before you inserted it in the grove on the housing? Some people say to put some oil on it. I did not.

2. Was the grove relatively dry? I dried it up pretty good by removing excess fluid.

3. Once inserted, did the new gasket stick out of the housing by 1-2 mm? Mine did a lot compared to the original gasket that was almost completely flush with the housing face.

[hooRAH]

No, yes, and more than than the original stuck out.

[choleaoum]

Are you sure there wasn't spilled oil from the install of the OFHG? Haha.

[Oli77]

No, yes, and more than than the original stuck out.

Thanks for the info. You are still not leaking?

Sounds like we did the same thing and I am not leaking...

[dukedkt442]

I am a staunch believer in lubrication any rubber seals that come in contact with oil, with oil, much the same way you are supposed to smear oil on the oil filter gaskets on spin-on type filters. Also, it is highly possibly to pinch/nick an o-ring or gasket during installation; coating it with oil lubricates it and helps prevent nicks and tears.