[mightbaal]

Seriously what's with BMWs gaskets that cause them to fail so much? Doing OFHG and VCG today at 73k not sure on how many hours of work but still I have had so many cars without these problems my GM with 180k not 1 gasket replaced. I just don't get it what do they use? BMW dealership wants 39.99 for the ofhg (I lost the one ordered for 9
8 bucks free shipping sigh. 2008 BMW 335xi e90 sedan here absolutely dreading the oil pan gasket cause I am awd I am sure it's harder to do. I don't loose alot of oil bit still want to do it (1/4-1/2 qt every 3000 miles) but the smell in the cabin from the VCG randomly makes a crappy smell considering I have bms cowl filters.

[Greyfox]

I didn't need to do the OFHG till +180k and the VCG at 193k and now at 216k I'm starting to consider doing the oil pan.

I've also only used BMW oil except for one oil change.

[robthewrench]

Heat. No seriously. BMW may be running it's engines at higher temps to increase fuel conversion to energy. Heat is the enemy of non-metallic gaskets. This is the best reason I can think of as to why the n series engines seem to have so many gasket issues vs. other manufacturers. BMW is also very specific about the use of high quality synthetic oils, while other manufactures do not have this requirement.

It is not the type or quality of gasket material. It may be how the gasket sealing surfaces are designed. Does the OFH really need to have both coolant and oil in the same housing?

[BimmerMan2421]

Originally Posted by mightbaal

Seriously what's with BMWs gaskets that cause them to fail so much? Doing OFHG and VCG today at 73k not sure on how many hours of work but still I have had so many cars without these problems my GM with 180k not 1 gasket replaced. I just don't get it what do they use? BMW dealership wants 39.99 for the ofhg (I lost the one ordered for 9
8 bucks free shipping sigh. 2008 BMW 335xi e90 sedan here absolutely dreading the oil pan gasket cause I am awd I am sure it's harder to do. I don't loose alot of oil bit still want to do it (1/4-1/2 qt every 3000 miles) but the smell in the cabin from the VCG randomly makes a crappy smell considering I have bms cowl filters.

Have fun replacing the VCG! I just replaced mine last month and it was legit hell taking off and putting the Valve Cover back on. My Car only had 75,000 miles when it went out....and on top of that, I didn't know about my car's SULEV warranty so I spent hours working on it when I could've just taken it to the dealership for them to fix free of charge.....But oh well lol luckily I love working on cars

[STR8-6IX]

Originally Posted by robthewrench

Heat. No seriously. BMW may be running it's engines at higher temps to increase fuel conversion to energy. Heat is the enemy of non-metallic gaskets. This is the best reason I can think of as to why the n series engines seem to have so many gasket issues vs. other manufacturers. BMW is also very specific about the use of high quality synthetic oils, while other manufactures do not have this requirement.

It is not the type or quality of gasket material. It may be how the gasket sealing surfaces are designed. Does the OFH really need to have both coolant and oil in the same housing?

This. BMW's run hot and it wears out the gaskets quickly.

Lowering oil temps by removing your plastic engine cover, using 5w40 oil etc will help lower temps and should prolong the life of your gaskets.

[mightbaal]

So the OFHG is done now seemed like the biggest leak I seen some of the gasket at the bottom that was deteriorated. Be honest whats harder the VCG (whats up next) or the OFHG the main PITA imo is I had to drain all the oil and the coolant which I had to take my aftermarket FMIC fully out to get to the drain plug for the coolant. Then that plastic coolant line that leads to the OFHG has a pressed on hose clamp to get it off I simply crushed the plastic breaking it and pulling the plastic parts out of the hose. I put a high powered vacuum on the hose just in case some broken plastic fell down the hose all is good tho I upgraded to that metal one thats sold on ebay. Man underneeth my car oil is everywhere not sure if its from the OHFG and or VCG or if its from my front differential (had the right half shaft seal replaced 2 years ago). The plastic covering was caked with oil but the thing is I mean I only loose like 1/4-1/2 qt every 3k so its odd to me considering I also empty the OCC at every oil change I run about 22-24 psi of boost on stock turbos.

[ctuna]

No other car design I have run into has a OFG the filter screws
into the the Engine Casting. Some of the problem with the N52
was the use of the aluminum bolts.

[doru]

OFHG & VCG's started to go south on BMW's once they increased the operating temps of the engines. This happened end of last century - mid-late 90's. Together with this, the early cooling systems were hit hard (cold/hot cycles at high pressures) leading to many cracked exp tanks, radiators, hoses. The exp tank cap on those cars started to go to the 2 bar pressure (29 psi) as opposed to the former 1.2 - 1.4 bar caps. Also, the first batch up to about 2012 had those VCG and other gaskets made out of some bad rubber, now at least they are Viton or similar. I experienced more failed gaskets & cooling system components on my current and previous BMW's than you guys experience with the e9x.
In my opinion, as far as my e9x ownership goes, the cooling system and gaskets are better than on outgoing models, with one exception: the WP. But in all honesty, previous BMW models had some WP woes as well - composite impellers that would disintegrate after 60-80 k miles. But they were much cheaper and easier to replace and you had a choice to go with metal impeller and hope that the bearing would last. But then the radiator would go, etc.
Once out of warranty these are enthusiast cars meant to be DIY. Bad idea to own one and have a shop look after maintenance.

0.02

[John 070]

Interesting about the heat....anyone remember, some owners did not like how the oil temp gauge was not centered, it was off to the right, which made it look hot, sometimes 3/4, where 210 was in the middle...300 at the far right...to satisfy those who liked the needle in the center, bmw changed it so the middle was 250, and the far right was 340? I was thinking rather than change the gauge, maybe change the root cause... but this is water under the bridge they do what they want and we love their products...

[doru]

Originally Posted by John 070

Interesting about the heat....anyone remember, some owners did not like how the oil temp gauge was not centered, it was off to the right, which made it look hot, sometimes 3/4, where 210 was in the middle...300 at the far right...to satisfy those who liked the needle in the center, bmw changed it so the middle was 250, and the far right was 340? I was thinking rather than change the gauge, maybe change the root cause... but this is water under the bridge they do what they want and we love their products...

On the e46, there was a fix to make the "buffered" temp gauge accurate. Here is how it's done. Too bad we don't have temp gauges (only if unlocking OBC).

[Needbmwpartzz]

I would say just plain ol crappy gasketoes......keeps the non-DIY masses coming back to stealers

[racermp]

100+ years making cars, bikes, planes and in this day and age, we still have oil leaks......

[VWaddict]

Originally Posted by BimmerMan2421

and on top of that, I didn't know about my car's SULEV warranty so I spent hours working on it when I could've just taken it to the dealership for them to fix free of charge.....But oh well lol luckily I love working on cars

SULEV warranty covers VCG?

Tell me more!

[mightbaal]

Fuck me on the VCG no fun so many bolts hold that thing on limited room to put it on and the gasket kept falling out in areas when I would just barely touch anything! Its in no leaks so far tho lol. When I took it around the block and opened it up to verify things I had a scare cause I knocked the windshield washer fluid fill thing (lol) off the thing that holds it up and the cap was not sealed I ran the block 2x and kept seeing bubbling windshield washer fluid in by where the spark plugs were! Of course that windshield washer fluid is blue so I was like shit lol. But then I was like wait a second coolant doesn't pass through the valve cover haha! Scary moments till I realized what was going on then I put the engine cover back on.

[Bob Shiftright]

Originally Posted by VWaddict

SULEV warranty covers VCG?

Tell me more!

As I read the thread below, it might be covered.

Or it might not be covered.

It depends.

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=935476

[BimmerMan2421]

Originally Posted by VWaddict

SULEV warranty covers VCG?

Tell me more!

That's what I found out after calling BMW of Ontario to see how much the labor would've cost. My car is a California 2009 328i with 75,000 miles and he said that my car may be covered by sulev up until 15 years of 150,000 miles but I had to give him my VIN number and I used a fake name so I just told the service advisor that I'd call him back. So if your car is a SULEV car and you need your VCG replaced I would call the service department and see if your car is covered which it should be if it hasn't met the limits. It would save you time and the hell of removing the valve cover lol...

P.S. my E34 is WAAAYYYY simpler than the E90 lol