BMW Engine Oil Filter Housing Gasket Kit - 11428637821KT9

Oil filter housing gasket leaks are a major issue on BMW's N5X family of engines. Outside of making a mess of the engine, it can also lead to a majorly expensive repair if the issue is not addressed. It is known that oil leaks from the oil filter housing gasket can cause the serpentine belt to swell and slip off the crank pulley. Because of the design of the crank pulley, the belt can only slip off behind the pulley between the engine block. If this happens the belt will be shredded and forced through the front crank seal. This is a preventable problem by repairing an oil filter housing leak.

The seal that causes this problem, to begin with, is a soft rubber seal that sits in the filter housing and seals it to the cylinder head. Over time this seal becomes brittle and shrinks losing its ability to make a leak-free seal. This, in turn, allows oil to leak down the side of the engine. Bad oil filter housing leaks can cause a lot of issues later on if not addressed as soon as possible. FCP Euro recommends inspecting the oil filter housing and general cleanliness of the engine bay on a regular basis.

Please note: Oil filter housing bolts to cylinder head should be torqued to 22Nm (~16 ft lbs) and the oil cooler thermostat to oil filter housing bolts should be torqued to 16Nm (~12 ft lbs). N54 engines require removal of the intake manifold to get the rearward oil filter housing bolt. Due to the design of the E60/E61 535i/xi/xDrive's oil cooling system, we find removing the oil cooler lines at the oil cooler and then removing the oil cooler thermostat with the lines attached to be easiest. You can unbolt the thermostat from the oil filter housing and leave the lines connected but for proper cleaning and inspection of the system, it's best to remove the thermostat with the oil filter housing.