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Oil Temp/Level Sensor DIY (w/ Pics)

28K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  boris1 
#1 · (Edited)
..because everything is better with pictures:thumbsup: I changed my oil/level sensor today. I had been experiencing the "Check Oil Level" message on my dash and the oil temp needle had shot to 300 shortly after startup on a couple of occasions. I have to give credit to VantaaM5 'cause he's posted on here how this sensor replacement is done, so I figured I'd attack it and put up some pictures. This works best if you're doing an oil change.

1) Raise the front end of the car, secure it properly, and proceed to remove the two plastic underbody covers with any standard philips screwdriver. The plastic cover underneath the radiator may require a 10 mm socket to remove two screws.

2) Drain the oil.

3) With the two covers removed, the sensor is accessible on the right rear corner of the oil pan. IIRC it requires a 10 mm socket to remove three little screws. Once removed, it just slides/falls out.

4) Removing the old sensor took some wrist gease to wiggle out. Press the tabs on either side of the sensor and it should slide out. I cleaned the connector attached to the car with some CRC electric cleaner (those tiny rocks get into every nook and cranny!).

5) New sensor slides right in to the wire connector and it may or may not click in place. Mine didn't but I gave it a firm squeeze to make sure it was in (so to speak). I slid the sensor back in and srcewed it in place (again, so to speak :7:). Before doing so, I took the opportunity and I stuck my finger into the oil pan to see if there were any shavings on the bottom but nothing but smooth oil came out :)

6) Don't forget to plug your oil pan with new copper ring on the plug, new filter should be in, and replenish that S62 with oil of choice cherrsagai

I still haven't fgured out how to write instructions above pitures so, pictures below follow a logical order and are self-explanatory. Comments, corrections are welcome. :byee55amg
 

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#3 · (Edited)
chowdah, i assume you mean as the sensor is about to die, if so, no, i didn't get other error codes (beyond what i noticed)

with the new sensor installed, the oil temp is reading a needle's width beyond the half way mark (before it was right on the half way mark tick). my guess is that the new sensor is giving more accurate readings now
 
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#5 ·
#7 ·
Sorry, i dont know....have you tried a call to a dealer or an indy?
 
#10 · (Edited)
Do all of our cars display the "Check oil level" when they are running low on oil. .Or does it differ from car to car? I have an 04/00 build date and the oil level warning indicator has never appeared
I would hope they do, but to be sure: check if you have the sensor connector underneath, and tell us if you know you've been at/below the low mark on the dipstick before. If yes and yes, then maybe it's worth following the OP's footsteps.
 
#13 ·
Regarding reattaching the sensor to the pan:
'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.'

That's from my oil pan repair DIY. ;)
 
#16 ·
I replaced the seal on this sensor and after driving 80 miles it is leaking again. Could I have gotten a bad seal? Could the sensor itself need replacement? Could I have torqued too much and that is the reason for the leak? I realize that this is all probably plausible, but if anyone could chime in, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Regards
 
#17 ·
OP....Did your sensor come with the new seal or did you order that separately?
 
#20 ·
For future posterity, when the Oil Level Sensor failed my 2010 M5 showed fault code:
  • 278E: Oelqualitaetssensor - Oil condition sensor
In iDrive, a yellow alert was thrown along with the message "Oil Level Sensor malfunction." This is also shown in the Vehicle Status screens.
When driving, the car was:
  • Unable to calculate the oil levels
  • Oil temp gauge swung wildly back and forth from normal operating temp (about 200 degrees) to 0
I followed this DIY, replaced the Oil Level Sensor and the issues were fixed.
 
#21 ·
I always wanted to know what you would see if you stick a camera through the oil level sensor hall. Specifically, can you see enough to tell if there are pieces of timing guides in the pan. Would be a convenient way to tell if possible without dropping the lower pan.
 
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