Hi,

I have a high mileage 2004 525i and I was told by a BMW dealer that the oil filter housing gasket has a "moderate" leak (oil building up around it, but not a ton of it). The part to fix this (the oil filter housing gasket) is less than $5 and the dealer wants over $550 (plus tax) for the labor (many components need to be removed to get to it, apparently). I went to my local non BMW mechanic and he quoted me around $200 - $220 for the work, and said that it's best to do an oil change at the same time (or add a quart of oil when it's done). I just completed an oil change at the BMW dealer.

Has anyone here had an issue with a leaking oil filter housing gasket? My mechanic told me it's not urgent to fix this, so I'm wondering if I can wait one year until my next oil change before getting it done (the car doesn't drive much, maybe 6,000 miles per year max). What do you guys think could be the ramifications if I do not get this done right away? The check engine light is not on and I am not getting any messages in iDrive.

Thank you

 

BMW charge $50 deductible if under warranty

 

From my experience as a customer / owner but not mechanic:

I have an 04 545i and I've had numerous oil issues. pans gaskets seals upper lowers you name it.

It good to get ahead of any of these oil issues. If the oil continues to leak it will get to other seals and degrade them as we'll.
You stated above that its contained but it seems like on my Beemer oil spreads like a virus.

For fixing I've worked to find a good shop with a labor rate around 95 an hour. Others have smaller shops in the low 60s. BMW dealership is usually 180 or so.
Labor rate is about all you can control if you decide not to do it yourself.

 

m54 engine?
sounds like all you need to do is use a 36mm socket, take the cap off...
replace the o ring/gasket after lubricating it with oil and screw the cap back on. done in 2 minutes..
if you go buy a oil filter the large oring seal comes with the filter. if it one of the two smaller ones on the bottom you might have to get those at bmw?

 

I'm thinking he means gasket #6 in this picture:
http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E6...em_oil_filter/

IMO, this is a DIY if you are handy at all. There are probably some DIY to be found for this job. In any case, $550 seems high.

 

My '04 525i with 136K's had oil filter housing leak. Fixed it myself and gasket cost from BMW $tealer costed $18.45. This is a DIY if you are handy.

 

Your M54B25 is the same engine that's in my 325. I've done the job, replacing the $8 gasket. It's not particularly hard but $200 isn't a bad price. The alternator has to be removed; the power steering pump must be disconnected. Both of those are attached to the Oil Filter Housing assembly.

If you do-it-yourself you will need 4 aluminum washers to replace on the VANOS oil supply line, which are not expensive--around $5.

While a mechanic is in there you might want to replace these things:
1) CrankCase Ventilation (CCV) valve and the 5 related hoses. $175, or so, in parts.
2) VANOS supply line hose, which sometimes starts to ooze at the metal-rubber interface. about $30
3) Inspect the air tube that connects to your throttle body. It's a $15 part but sometimes splits and gives rough idle and codes and sucks in unfiltered air, a bad thing.

 

You can definitely ignore this until your next oil change. You'll just have a little more oil to clean up. Check you oil level now and again but in my experience the leak is very slow.

How many miles? This normally happens after 100k.

 

I just do my car fixed and it cost me $495 include the Tax in BMW mechanic shop.(not the dealer) it was large leak.

 

Quick update on this, over year after the BMW dealer identified this issue I haven't had any further issues. I never got it addressed, and recently had my car back at the dealer and during the general inspection they made no mention of it this time.