Hello! I have a 2005 E60 530i sedan with the 6 speed manual trans. The oil pan gasket has been leaking heavily for some time now and I’ve decided to have it replaced.

Question: Is it better to replace with the same gasket that came from the factory (my usual shop wants to do this) OR is it better to replace with the rubber/synthetic sealant that comes from a tube (can’t remember the name) that another shop wants to do. The car has 174k miles on it and I guess I just don’t want to deal with an oil pan gasket leak prematurely. Is one option better than the other for longevity?

Really appreciate it!

Nick
Portland, OR

 

Just use the factory gasket. All the cost is in the labor for this job - use the right part.

 

I've done 3 of mine already; used a factory style gasket + some RTV sealant on the metal section of the gasket. Keep it as a secondary back up seal for when the factory rubber section deteriorates in time.

 

Nothing beats original BMW since it not only gives you mind peace but being a major repair, you don't wanna depend on 3rd party products (even though OEM). What price did the $tealer and/or repair shop quote for this job ? Which state/dealership? Mine may be faulty too.

 

I'm curious too how much a shop or dealership will charge for this.

 

Dealer quoted me $1,909.15, my indy quoted me $850.

 

That's in the ballpark what I would imagine it would cost at the dealership or an indy. I would also have the motor mounts (maybe transmission) replaced as I know they collapse while everything is off.

I've been seriously considering taking this on myself as I'm only using the E60 as a "winter vehicle", but I can only do so much with Harbor Freight jackstands lol.

 

The way I always look at it is, if the DIY job plus the tools costs the same as the garage doing it, I'm way ahead 'cuz now I have more tools! ;-) And in reality, the price of BMW servicing is WAY higher than any additional tools you're going to need. It never, ever bothers me to buy tools for a specific job because I figure I'm so far ahead compared to any other option that my cost of ownership is a small fraction of what it would be if I wasn't twisting my own wrenches.

 

It that how I ended up with 7 torque wrenches? Admittedly, two of them are very old beam type.

 

I heard that! I think I have "only" five, maybe six. One I bought to measure the drag of the pinion gear on my Jeep rear differential. What a process - first apply (and I'm not joking) about 2,000 ft/lbs of torque to the "crush washer", and then use a beam-style torque wrench to measure the drag turning the differential (the drag was just a few inch-pounds, IIRC).

There is a place for the beam-style torque wrench though - I wish I had one that was in the right range for the aluminum valve cover bolts, for example. The click-style torque wrench I have works, but the click is so subdued at that low torque that I missed it and snapped the first bolt I tried to install. With the beam, you get a really good idea of what's really going on...