eojj

Hey guys,
I recently acquired a 2006 BMW 530i and brought it to do a prepurchase inspection not too long ago. The mechanic said everything was great etc., but there was one small leak in the oil filter housing. He told me the leak was really small and i shouldn't be too worried about it so i jumped the gun and purchased the car.. He quoted me $300 to repair it. I'll likely get it fixed but does this sound like a reasonable price? Could this possibly be something a noobie can easily fix?

Anyone here in philadelphia and know any good indy mechanics?

ktlocklear

Is it the housing itself that is leaking? My bet it is the filter housing o ring that is leaking....either the big o ring that goes around the base of the housing against the block, or the little o ring that is on the filter housing drain plug.

$300 sounds a little steep to me. A new filter kit with o rings is like 20 bucks....and if the leak is in the housing itself, I can't imagine it costing $300 new from the dealer.

Anyway, I would try to resolve the leak myself, but that's just me.

Good luck!

njlou

+1
Agree -
Clean around the leak and keep a sharp eye. It sounds like either the O-ring (as noted)or maybe the mechanic got a little too frisky with the plastic housing and cracked it- or both!!!
The plastic is strong but it does crack if over tightened.
Get the plastic housing(top), filter, o-rings,etc and when you go for an oil change have the mechanic swap out the parts.

eojj

wow thanks a lot guys. talk about a rip off. I'm not sure exactly where the problem lies but they did say it was a really small leak... so i think you guys could be right on about the o-rings. if i swap out the parts, does this mean i'll have to change the oil as well?

Now where can i buy one of these kits?

mels545

Make sure that the oil is actually coming from the oil filter area. This is the lowest point on the engine and the leak maybe coming from a more expensive repair like valve cover gaskets or gaskets to nowhere.

ktlocklear

Not sure on losing oil.....never tried just taking the filter off without draining the oil first. It might just lose the oil that is in the filter housing, then you can top off....but again, not sure how much oil will be lost.

The filter kits can be bought at NAPA, or the dealer. NAPA will obviously be cheaper, but not by much. you can also order them from bavauto.com and other BMW sites.

rictor

Mine was just diagnosed with an oil filter housing leak. The stealer wanted $645 to replace the gasket. I bought the gasket for $12 at RM European and will change it out next time I change the oil. The housing is only attached with 3 screws. How do mechanics or dealer service people sleep at night?

nonford

This was a common occurrence with the e46. The housing filter which contacts the block gets flat and brittle. It's really not that difficult of a job. I'm surprised that its a 06, but with lot of miles on it, understandable.