[brave-heart]

2012 x3 35i with 60k miles original owner. Already fixed the oil filter housing gasket in 2017. From dealer, oil pan gasket started to leak last year , and now valve cover gasket. Dealer wants 1800+ for oil pan, 1200+ for valve cover.
I plan to get a new X5 45e this winter, but still prefer to keep this x3 for second car ( as it runs great except for the oil leak). Do I need to fix both leaks ( I always keep an eye on the oil level. Maybe add 1 Liter every 5K miles)? Or if I do have to fix , which one takes priority? I feel valve cover gasket might be more critical as the oil can potentially damage the engine, while oil pan gasket might leave as is? What's the fair price to fix these? Thanks.

[6MT_Addict]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

2012 x3 35i with 60k miles original owner. Already fixed the oil filter housing gasket in 2017. From dealer, oil pan gasket started to leak last year , and now valve cover gasket. Dealer wants 1800+ for oil pan, 1200+ for valve cover.
I plan to get a new X5 45e this winter, but still prefer to keep this x3 for second car ( as it runs great except for the oil leak). Do I need to fix both leaks ( I always keep an eye on the oil level. Maybe add 1 Liter every 5K miles)? Or if I do have to fix , which one takes priority? I feel valve cover gasket might be more critical as the oil can potentially damage the engine, while oil pan gasket might leave as is? What's the fair price to fix these? Thanks.

Valve cover gasket would be the priority but both would be fixed ideally.

The VC will leak onto the exhaust and burn oil/smoke/smell. It will also eventually leak into the spark plug well and in extreme cases could cause a misfire due to the plug being submerged (shorting out the plug).

If you're getting the VC gasket replaced it's a good idea to replace the valve cover as well (400-500USD, includes the gaskets). They crack at high mileage due to excessive heat cycling making them brittle. The PCV is also integral and the valve is known to eventually tear requiring a new cover anyway. In many cases covers crack or get damaged when being reinstalled since they get brittle. For the above reasons it's best practice to just replace it since it will need replacing eventually - at least if you want to keep the F25.

The valve cover labour seems on the high side but the oil pan requires the subframe to be dropped. Both are labour intensive but the pan much more so.

VCG replacement DIY on an F15 (nearly identical) if you're interested in the DIY route:

[383vett]

I did the valve cover gasket on my 2012 x3 35i a few months ago. The hardest part was figuring out how to disconnect the numerous electrical connectors. It took a weekend but I earned a few free dinners afterwards. This was pre-Covid. The numerous youtube videos helped a lot.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

2012 x3 35i with 60k miles original owner. Already fixed the oil filter housing gasket in 2017. From dealer, oil pan gasket started to leak last year , and now valve cover gasket. Dealer wants 1800+ for oil pan, 1200+ for valve cover.
I plan to get a new X5 45e this winter, but still prefer to keep this x3 for second car ( as it runs great except for the oil leak). Do I need to fix both leaks ( I always keep an eye on the oil level. Maybe add 1 Liter every 5K miles)? Or if I do have to fix , which one takes priority? I feel valve cover gasket might be more critical as the oil can potentially damage the engine, while oil pan gasket might leave as is? What's the fair price to fix these? Thanks.

I hate leaks! They just mess up your driveway, garage, your friends driveways and the valve cover leak will only get worse and start dripping onto your exhaust and smoke and stink, not to mention filling up your spark plug holes - ugh.

So replace both of them, no question. Not sure if you want to tackle it yourself but that is how I would do it. The valve cover should take priority unless oil if pouring out your pan, which it sounds like it isn't. The price your dealer quoted is really quite high, no clue how they got to the price unless they are replacing the pan as well. The valve cover is not a hard job, the issue there is all the stuff you have to remove just to get to it and that is where the labor comes in.

[e30lover318i]

I think every bmw dealer on the planet tells customers they need an oil pan gasket, Ive had people freaking out after being given a huge repair quote only to find what most people refer to as “sweat”. Normally an amount so insignificant it can be cleaned off with a small blast of brake clean. You should start with leak at the highest point first and replace your valve cover gasket before the oil pan gasket obviously, I’m not sure what the current poll is but coming from my past experience with bmw oil leaks get yourself a tube of “the right stuff” RTV and apply some to your new gasket you will get a little more life out of it. After you do the valve cover gasket get the engine cleaned and re checked after a month to see if you need to attack the oil pan gasket.

Hope this helps !

[brave-heart]

Thanks for all the replies. I like F25's N55 engine with 8 sport transmission. But their gaskets are so fragile and expensive to replace, a big headache for long term ownership. I can't DIY for these types of jobs. For the 5 years past warranty I have paid out of pocket the water pump thermostat replacement (1k+), oil filter housing gasket ( 800+), battery (400+), and two tail LED lights (500+). That's the cost of ownership without buying extended warranty - so far I don't regret, as the warranty would cost much more. For F25 35i, hopefully the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket are the two major remaining issues that I need to take care. I think I'll have them fix the valve cover gasket first - maybe replace valve cover as well. The 2K cost for oil pan is difficult to digest though , if it's just leaking slowly to the driveway.

[pungo]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

two tail LED lights (500+)

Just so you know, the tail lights are easily repairable by replacing the driver circuit board with an aftermarket one for under $20 per light. You have 2 more that may or may not fail.

[6MT_Addict]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

Thanks for all the replies. I like F25's N55 engine with 8 sport transmission. But their gaskets are so fragile and expensive to replace, a big headache for long term ownership. I can't DIY for these types of jobs. For the 5 years past warranty I have paid out of pocket the water pump thermostat replacement (1k+), oil filter housing gasket ( 800+), battery (400+), and two tail LED lights (500+). That's the cost of ownership without buying extended warranty - so far I don't regret, as the warranty would cost much more. For F25 35i, hopefully the valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket are the two major remaining issues that I need to take care. I think I'll have them fix the valve cover gasket first - maybe replace valve cover as well. The 2K cost for oil pan is difficult to digest though , if it's just leaking slowly to the driveway.

They are the remaining ones as gaskets go.

The gaskets are not really fragile though, they wear out. This is common across many brands. The N5x engines may see it a little more though because the engine temp is higher than many other engines which accelerates gaskets becoming brittle.

The last common gasket is the oil cooler gasket if you have an oil cooler, it's attached to the OFH, usually the OFHG and oil cooler gasket are done at the same time.

You've experienced most of the N55 issues but VANOS solenoids are the final common issue, so heads up lol.

Also the waterpump lasts roughly 60-80k miles, they all fail around that time. So if you replaced your WP at 60k miles, get ready to do it again at 120k miles.

[tracer bullet]

Just agreeing w/ the valve cover gasket for reasons mentioned - it causes other problems and can have its own problems. Worth doing. Maybe change spark plugs while it's opened up - the VC doesn't have to be removed to do it, but they are right there and so easy when it is.

Oil pan - I'd put some cardboard under the car where you park at home and let it go. If it gets embarrassing, change it, but if it's barely anything then forget about it. In fact, if it almost always is parked in the same spot, take a look and see if there even is any oil right now on the driveway / garage floor right now. If not, definitely skip this job.

[brave-heart]

A local BMW specialist quoted 1K for oil pan gasket, and 700 for valve cover gasket. Maybe 1.5K if I do together. Does that sound fair? Dealer's quotes almost doubled. Before I go to the local shop, just want to make sure these are not kind of services that BETTER be done in the dealership ( i.e, require specific BMW platforms/equipments/codings ). My car is out of warranty anyway. Thanks.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

A local BMW specialist quoted 1K for oil pan gasket, and 700 for valve cover gasket. Maybe 1.5K if I do together. Does that sound fair? Dealer's quotes almost doubled. Before I go to the local shop, just want to make sure these are not kind of services that BETTER be done in the dealership ( i.e, require specific BMW platforms/equipments/codings ). My car is out of warranty anyway. Thanks.

I'm sorta out of touch with dealer or indie pricing since I do my own work but my guess is your quote includes a new engine oil pan because if not, that price is way out of line. Check your quote and let us know what it entails. Engine oil pans for a X3 35i range from $750 - 950 if you were to go out and buy one, they are quite intricate, not just a flat pan. I know there is a fair amount of labor to replace the valve cover gaskets because of all the stuff that needs removed in order to gain access.

Care to do it yourself?

[pungo]

I don't know labor prices either since I do all my own wrenching, but the oil pan gasket looks like a major job. The front diff is right there as well as the front axle goes through the pan.



A competent mechanic can perform all the work, whether it's a dealer or a independent, so it really depends on the person doing the work if it will be done properly. I'm no dealer mechanic though I could correctly do the work as could many people on this forum, so if your indie is a good mechanic, they should be able to handle the job.



Just to note, a lot of the oil on the pan may have run down from the valve cover and the oil pan may or not be leaking very much.

[brave-heart]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

I'm sorta out of touch with dealer or indie pricing since I do my own work but my guess is your quote includes a new engine oil pan because if not, that price is way out of line. Check your quote and let us know what it entails. Engine oil pans for a X3 35i range from $750 - 950 if you were to go out and buy one, they are quite intricate, not just a flat pan. I know there is a fair amount of labor to replace the valve cover gaskets because of all the stuff that needs removed in order to gain access.

Care to do it yourself?

Unfortunately I don't have the proper tools to DIY. Both dealer/local shop won't replace the oil pan, just the gasket. The local shop mentioned the bolts will be replaced for oil pan gasket. They also mentioned to do some PCV test before fixing the valve cover gasket - not sure what that means.

[tracer bullet]

There's a rubber diaphragm in the valve cover that's a built-in PCV. It can develop a tear and create a whistling sound. The risk goes up with mileage but while it's somewhat "common" it's not guaranteed by any means.

The idea is that if you've already got the cover off you just replace it altogether because of the built in PCV. It's a gamble of course, maybe it's great preventive work or maybe it's an extra high hundreds of $'s part that wasn't needed and wasn't ever going to be.

The idea that oil around the pan is coming from above is a great thing to remember. Sloppy filling at a change, leaking from the valve cover, etc. You didn't mention if you have a spot on your garage floor from it. If it were my car the answer to that question would probably be the same answer to the "do I replace the oil pan gasket" question. Although this one's tough because of all the covers we have under the cars... If you have some basic tools and skills you could remove the cover under the engine (it won't hurt anything to have it off for a while), clean the area to have a somewhat fresh start, and then monitor it for a while.

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

A local BMW specialist quoted 1K for oil pan gasket, and 700 for valve cover gasket. Maybe 1.5K if I do together. Does that sound fair? Dealer's quotes almost doubled. Before I go to the local shop, just want to make sure these are not kind of services that BETTER be done in the dealership ( i.e, require specific BMW platforms/equipments/codings ). My car is out of warranty anyway. Thanks.

these prices are in the right range, actually darn reasonable; local independent shop in SoCal quoted about same. I replaced my VCG, I do fair amount of my service/repairs.

oil pan: at 80K miles mine leaks tad bit minimal oil lost (N52 non-turbo motor); I ran two of my old 5 Series (E39) sedans to over 200K miles without issue, original pan gaskets....both had minor pan gasket leakage. undercarriage got a bit messy with oil but functionally not an issue.

[brave-heart]

Thanks! I never had oil spot on my driveway, but from the video that dealer sent, after cover was removed, oil pan was soaked with oil residuals. The valve cover leak was not as obvious as oil pan issue. But from this thread, it has more severe consequence. I found the local one in bimmershops and has great review. Hopefully owner can take care of these leaks. Btw, I had DINAN sport tuner in my F25. After i drove a 530 loaner for several days, I realized how good the N55 engine is, in terms of power smoothness.

[Wgosma]

Germans are mandated to use certain portion of "green/recyclable" materials in their car manufacturing; the gaskets in many instances are of this nature, thus they breakdown sooner than what one sees with other brands. oil filter, valve cover, pan, etc. gaskets on all Bimmer motors are well known to be less robust and therefore breakdown/leak at sometime pretty low mileage. This is just life when one owns a BMW.

Good luck on repairs, your pricing for the work looks reasonable; that oil pan is time consuming as subframe must be dropped, motor supported from above, etc. think shop quoted me $ 1500 for that single repair, I'm going to continue to monitor leakage, it's actually pretty minimal at 80K mile Mark.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

Thanks! I never had oil spot on my driveway, but from the video that dealer sent, after cover was removed, oil pan was soaked with oil residuals. The valve cover leak was not as obvious as oil pan issue. But from this thread, it has more severe consequence. I found the local one in bimmershops and has great review. Hopefully owner can take care of these leaks. Btw, I had DINAN sport tuner in my F25. After i drove a 530 loaner for several days, I realized how good the N55 engine is, in terms of power smoothness.

Did you remove the black plastic cover under the engine to look for any oil that may have dripped onto that cover? All this talk about gaskets and oil leaks got me to wonder so I went out to the garage and removed my black plastic cover. Bone dry and so was everything else, no oil seepage of any kind there or at the valve cover. I hate leaks!
With these covers, you can be leaking a bit for a while but never really know it so once you get up to the 60K+ mile point, removing it and poking around every so often isn't a bad thing.

[brave-heart]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Did you remove the black plastic cover under the engine to look for any oil that may have dripped onto that cover? All this talk about gaskets and oil leaks got me to wonder so I went out to the garage and removed my black plastic cover. Bone dry and so was everything else, no oil seepage of any kind there or at the valve cover. I hate leaks!
With these covers, you can be leaking a bit for a while but never really know it so once you get up to the 60K+ mile point, removing it and poking around every so often isn't a bad thing.

yes the oil has dripped to the cover. After removing the cover, the oil pan is soaked with residual oils. See attached pic. If your oil pan is dry, no need to worry. My car is already 9 years old, though mileage is low at 60K. Time matters.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by brave-heart

yes the oil has dripped to the cover. After removing the cover, the oil pan is soaked with residual oils. See attached pic. If your oil pan is dry, no need to worry. My car is already 9 years old, though mileage is low at 60K. Time matters.

Oh yeah - ugh, you have a leak alright My car is also 9 yrs old with 83K miles. Dry as a bone. Don't know why such a difference between our similar cars. My cars life is 85-90% long trip highway miles with a lot of garage time in-between but am not sure if that matters.

[brave-heart]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Oh yeah - ugh, you have a leak alright My car is also 9 yrs old with 83K miles. Dry as a bone. Don't know why such a difference between our similar cars. My cars life is 85-90% long trip highway miles with a lot of garage time in-between but am not sure if that matters.

My car is 70% local. That should be the difference

[6MT_Addict]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Oh yeah - ugh, you have a leak alright My car is also 9 yrs old with 83K miles. Dry as a bone. Don't know why such a difference between our similar cars. My cars life is 85-90% long trip highway miles with a lot of garage time in-between but am not sure if that matters.

Oil change frequency or oil type can also play into it. Shorter changes will help to some degree with gasket health AFAIK.