Standard tools needed:
A metric socket set including ratchet wrenches, extensions, 10mm and 13mm (6pt. preferred) sockets
Everything you'd need to do an oil change (drain pan, new filter/o-ring/copper washer, oil)
Lift/low-profile ramps/hydraulic floor jack & two jackstands
Flashlight/shop light
Phillips #3 screwdriver
Power drill
~1/8in drill bit
Cleaning solvent (gasoline etc.) and cloth rags
Latex gloves
Fresh razorblade
Special tools
needed:
1/4in drive 10mm (6pt. preferred) deep socket (for one tricky oil pan bolt)
Tap wrench capable of holding 1/2in taps...bar style preferred.
Timesert kit
#1215C from
www.timesert.com or eBay
Compressed air
Spray silicone or other lubricant
Micro torque wrench capable of 2Nm-10Nm (17.7lb/in-88.5lb/in)
www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2696
Standard torque wrench capable of 25Nm
BMW parts
needed:
11-13-1-407-532 Lower oil pan steel gasket
12-61-1-744-292 Oil level sensor gasket ring
BMW parts strongly suggested:
07-11-9-903-199 Oil pan drain plug
If your pan threads were abused enough to fail your bolt threads are now suspect. A new plug is ~$3.
BMW reference part #'s:
51-71-8-195-383 Circlip
51-71-8-218-323 Screw plug
These two parts are the underbody panel securing screw and metal clip that secures it to the plastic panels. One of mine was missing from the front panel. Just mentioning it in case you find any of yours missing. Note: The metal clips on the car that these screw into are a different part number.
Who this DIY is
NOT for:
If you do not know how to get the front end of you car in the air securely, do an oil change, or cannot follow the steps shown in first 4:45 of this video
YouTube - TIME SERT then I suggest not attempting this DIY. Pay a shop or pay BMW!
Lets begin!
Get the front of your car securely in the air!
Remove the front underbody panel with your Phillips #3 screwdriver. The rear edge of the front panel is actually held up securely by the front edge/plugs of the rear panel (confused yet?
). To separate the two panels you only need to undo the screw plugs that connect the two panels. The rest of the rear panel plugs can stay tight...that panel stays on the car. There are a few other plugs running along each side of the front panel that must be loosened as well. The front edge of the panel is just pressure fit into the bumper. With all of the correct plugs loosened you can wiggle the rear end of the panel free, angle it down, and rock it back and forth while pulling towards the rear of the car. It will eventually pop out of the bumper.
Drain your oil and install a new oil filter and rubber o-ring on the cap. The torque on the plastic oil filter cover is 25Nm max. Says so right on it.
Now remove your lower oil pan. You'll want your motor to be relatively cool for this to be sure the bolts come out safely and the pan can't warp.
Remove the connector to the oil level sensor first of course.
There are 25 bolts (3 different lengths) that require a 10mm socket and a 3" extension. I used the 1/4in 10mm deep socket on these bolts mainly because of the one "tricky" bolt installed by the larger side bolt that some owners use to drain their oil. 3/8th in. or wider 10mm sockets will cause you to angle your wrench on this bolt. No reason to risk rounding this bolt off for the sake of a $6 socket. Get one.
Do not worry about the 3 different length bolts. I have a picture for reinstallation later.
No sealant or RTV is used here. All you will find is a metal gasket. Confirm that it matches the part BMW gave you and then discard it. It is
NOT reuseable. Pictures later will show why.
Find a clean, bright workspace and get yourself situated. I recommend sitting unless you prefer 30 minutes of being hunched over. Use an old towel to soak up lubricant (I used spray silicone) and metal shavings.
Now basically do what the first 4:45 of this video shows you using my tips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxnm8J9WXz8
Timesert tips:
1).
Old thread removal.
Not pictured is a cordless drill. I finally used that to drill out the out old threads...the tap wrench works for the other steps.
I tried using the supplied drill bit (31/64ths) in the tap wrench, but I couldn't get it to bite correctly in the drain hole. And it's tricky to use a drill because drills have 3 "jaws" and all of these bits have square heads making the bit tighten off-center.
I improvised with a 12mm 12pt. socket mounted on a hex socket driver (timesert.com suggestion). A little wobbly as you first enter the hole, but it works. I'm sure there's a proper extension (hex nut driver?) to mount a square bit in a drill, but I don't have one. If you can get one I strongly suggest it! If you ask me Timesert should source a drill bit with a normal end on it.
Who drills with a tap wrench?
2).
Counterboring.
Notice in the Wurth video that if you use the counterboring tool as directed the insert will not sit flush, but recessed slightly. Turns out the copper washer and the insert overlap each other as seen here:
I placed the washer and insert together as they would be when the work was finished. I decided (needlessly?) to counterbore just shallow of the depth the tool would go so that the insert would be flush with the pan. Just to be clear the inserts "collar" still seats within the recess the tool makes. All I did was make the recess just a bit shallower than the Wurth video. I wanted to make sure the crush washer seated flat and didn't have to "bridge a gap", bend, and possibly leak. Worked for me, but probably would have been fine if done normally. YMMV.
3).
Tapping the new hole.
Keep shavings to a minimum while tapping the new hole using a shot of compressed air or the silicone spray. The video suggests removing the tap every new turn or so, cleaning out the shavings, and then going back in with the tool. For fear of cross-threading I decided to just blast the shavings out once per turn with air/silicone. Be sure to tap in very far. The tip of the supplied tap has a taper...you want to make sure to tap a cylindrical hole! To do this tap until the tapered end is well past the inner edge of the drain hole.
4).
Installing the insert.
You can test fit your insert (for depth) with the supplied installer tool. Just don't turn it in with any force once it seats or it could get stuck! The new threads you cut in the pan do not need lubricating, but the inner threads (
the ones the tool go into) do need it! Remember the installer tool expands the last 3 threads of the insert firmly into the drain hole. Without lube the threads could deform during installation. Not good because by then the insert would be locked in place. Also drive the insert tool far past the inner edge of the drain hole to make sure the 3 threads expand fully.
5).
The notch.
The insert covers the drain notch up. Easy enough to remove with a drill and 1/8th in. bit. A bad angle for a drill so a thin file or grinding wheel may be a better choice if available.
Insert installed!
Now you get to put the pan back on the car!
Start by cleaning the mating surfaces of the lower oil pan
AND the upper oil pan. I didn't take before shots, but rest assured before cleaning there was way more black "schmutz" on the edge here.
I used a combination of a rag dipped in gasoline and a new "square" razor blade. The razor was just to knock down the high spots of the schmutz. Don't go crazy you won't get it all off unless you REALLY like scrubbing. You don't want to scratch the surfaces either! The goal is just to have mostly flat surfaces.
Be sure to now thoroughly rinse off your oilpan to remove metal shavings, gasoline, silicone etc. Very important.
At this point I reattached the oil level sensor, but you could also do it after you reinstall the pan. Use a new gasket of course. The inner edge of the gasket has little tabs/wings on it. When I took the old one off the tabs were compressed and not visible. When I pushed on the new one they wouldn't "hide." At first I thought I was doing something wrong, but then I realized there's no wrong way to put on this gasket.
Reattach it to the pan using two steps. First is to 2Nm(17.7lb/in)...second is to 10Nm(88.5lb/in). I'm assuming this is to get the gasket to go perfectly flat. I believe this gasket should also be lightly oiled prior to install as per TIS.
Here's a shot of the old and new oil pan gaskets. Notice the "rib" running along the center. This compresses and gives you the proper seal hence the old one
should not be reused.
With the oil sensor installed and gasket resting on the pan slide under the the car with your 25 bolts, microtorque wrench, 3in extension, and 10mm deep socket. Notice the 3 lengths.
IIRC the four LONGEST ones go here:
IIRC the three MEDIUM ones go here:
Notice the orange label on the car. This is the rear of the pan. Drain bolt recess just barely visible bottom left.
The remaining short bolts fill in the rest.
Note: Not long from now I will be unable to edit this post. If for some reason I'm remembering the bolt locations wrong just remember that the longest bolts are TOO long to go into any holes besides their own. If you meet resistance with about a 1/4in of bolt shank visible you've put a long bolt into a medium bolt hole. Any other mismatches will be visually obvious or impossible to get the threading started.
Fingertighten them all
FIRST (this helps confirm the right bolts are in the right holes) and then start tightening with the microtorque wrench.
I decided to tighten them in a plus pattern (one rear, one front, one left, one right) and then repeat using the next bolt on each side until they were all tight.
I started at 5Nm (44.25lb/in) and completed the "+" pattern.
Then I repeated the pattern with 10Nm (88.5lb/in).
Just remember that 25 (bolts) / 4 (the "+" sign torquing pattern) will leave ONE LONE BOLT on one side...a remainder so to speak. Don't forget about it! This pattern and torque stepping may be overkill, but why not right? To fix this leak later might require wasting ~$50 on 7 quarts of oil and buying a new ~$30 oil pan gasket!
The reason for the 1/4in. drive 10mm deep socket is for the one "tricky" bolt near the large side drain bolt. Using this style socket gives you the ablity to come straight at the bolt and get the right torque applied.
Reattach the wire to the oil level sensor.
Install the new drain plug and copper washer to at least 23Nm (17lb/ft). Without fear I might add.
I filled the sump 2 quarts at a time while checking for leaks at the drain bolt, oil sensor, and steel gasket. If you are as lucky as me you'll find no leaks. If you do a little more torque will probably stop it. Just remember almost everything is aluminum!
Reinstall the front underbelly cover.
Get the car off your lift/ramps/jackstands.
Fill oil sump with at least 6 or 7 quarts and then get the proper level by following the standard BMW procedure (starting/idling/stopping motor/waiting etc). I personally needed almost 8 quarts because my oil pan was loose or off for 7 days as I waited for tools and parts to arrive.
During that time almost a full quart of normally "hidden" oil managed to leak out in spurts every 1-2 days. Probably the VANOS accumulators etc. discharging plus a few other places oil normally doesn't drain from during a 10 minute oil change. Keep your drain pan under the car whenever the lower pan is loose or off the car. And also anytime you have the drain bolt removed.
Start the car and confirm the oil level warning light goes out. If not check the oil level and make sure your oil sensor is plugged in properly.
You...are...done!
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DIY -Repair stripped oil pan drain plug
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