twidge

I was wondering if anyone on the board has done the alternator gasket for the 550i... I'm debating on whether I want to do it myself or not... I just did the valve cover and timing chain gaskets on my car and, im not sure if I want to rent an engine hoist to do the job or not.

e6t.lab.rat

I just did mine on my 545 (same as 550). Although a hoist would be helpful, you could do the job with just another jack. Place a piece of 2x4 in between the jack and oil pan and lift the engine till you can fit your hand to reach the furthest screw on the mount. At this point the engine should be off the mount. You'll want this space for you to reach in and put back the most troublesome screw on the mount.

twidge

i've got the oil cooler lines in the way... lol

jacking it up will be okay with the plastic pan?

e6t.lab.rat

I had no idea yours was a plastic pan. Are you sure? Mine's aluminum

twidge

yes, the n62TU had a bunch of plastic updates

DavidF

Neither aluminum nor plastic sound right to me. On my 545i, the lower oil pan is steel. I doubt any oil pan is plastic...might be talking about the transmission oil pan, which is plastic.


Also, it is my understanding that the N62TU, with oil cooler is easier to replace the troublesome gasket over version with alternator bracket.

dingolfing

No engine hoist is needed. The oil pan is not plastic, as I jacked up the engine this way. The transmission pan is indeed plastic.

Though the job is more time consuming than the valve cover and timing chain gaskets, you have now proven yourself capable of doing this alternator gasket job. Believe me, you'll feel happy once you accomplish it and save yourself quite a bit of money.

dingolfing

Uhh, I don't know how that even sounds possible.

First of all, having an oil cooler means you have to drain and disconnect the oil cooler lines since the radiator needs to be removed, and alot of oil will come out.

You also have to remove the oil cooler thermostat and the line connection from the bracket itself. With not a lot of room in there, it is very hard to remove even simple bolts.

The 545i has no oil cooler lines to drain or get in the way, and the alternator bracket is just blanked off, much easier to get at all those bolts down there with a clear view of things.

Even a simple job of replacing the timing cover gaskets is much harder on the oil-cooler equipped E60s.

twidge

are you sure about that? my oil pan feels and sounds like black plastic. also the oil lines are in the way of the alternator bracket and you need to remove those to get at the engine mount.

dingolfing

Well, it's been almost a year, and my oil pan hasn't cracked or leaked from me jacking it up. So if it is plastic, it must be super tough!

Don't worry, you'll be fine.

To get to the engine mount, remove the air filter box. Then you can snake a long ratchet extension to reach the engine mount. The oil cooler lines only need to be disconnected from the radiator side and the alternator bracket side. The lines themselves can be left in place. You basically remove the mount nut from the top, not from the side or below.

Do exactly as lab.rat described above. The 4 engine mount bolts themselves are a bit trickier to remove. Use any direction, including thru the wheel well that gives you the best straight shot to get to them. This is the hardest, most involved part of the ordeal.