[kazbek1]

Planning on replacing my oil pan gasket soon and was wondering if there was anything else I should replace/repair while my subframe is dropped.

[iqraceworks]

Engine mounts. Water pump/thermostat if they have lots of years on them and you want a little piece of mind. Need any work done to the turbos? WG arms need adjusting? Want to install downpipes (if you are still running stock ones).

Getting the subframe out makes all of that stuff really easy to get to.

How many miles are on the car? I've heard some guys talk about replacing rod bearings if you have the oil pan off ....not sure I would mess with it unless you have 200k+ miles on the car and plan on keeping it for a lot more miles.

[mweisdorfer]

Trans mounts, a engine mounts & O2 sensors.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by iqraceworks

Engine mounts. Water pump/thermostat if they have lots of years on them and you want a little piece of mind. Need any work done to the turbos? WG arms need adjusting? Want to install downpipes (if you are still running stock ones).

Getting the subframe out makes all of that stuff really easy to get to.

How many miles are on the car? I've heard some guys talk about replacing rod bearings if you have the oil pan off ....not sure I would mess with it unless you have 200k+ miles on the car and plan on keeping it for a lot more miles.

I've got 130,000 miles on it. Just replaced the water pump/thermostat last week and I do have a little bit of WG rattle which might not be a bad idea to look into.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Trans mounts, a engine mounts & O2 sensors.

Should I be inspecting the mounts while I'm under there or are you suggesting just replacing them?

[jwalker87]

Engine mounts probably need to be replaced, though trans mounts may be worth inspecting first. That being said, they are relatively cheap and easy to replace even without removing the subframe. Just requires removing the plastic tray under the trans.

Not that they're easier to do with the subframe dropped, but if you're replacing the oil pan gasket, it's probably time to do the valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket as well.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Engine mounts probably need to be replaced, though trans mounts may be worth inspecting first. That being said, they are relatively cheap and easy to replace even without removing the subframe. Just requires removing the plastic tray under the trans.

Not that they're easier to do with the subframe dropped, but if you're replacing the oil pan gasket, it's probably time to do the valve cover gasket and oil filter housing gasket as well.

Yea, I guess I should replace those mounts regardless since they've probably never been replaced.

I looked through the vehicle records (father-in-law gave me the car back in Nov) and noticed that the oil pan gasket was already replaced 15,000 miles ago, valve cover gasket 10,000 miles ago, and the oil filter gasket 8,000 miles ago. However, when he got the oil changed in Oct (about 5,000 miles ago), they said both the oil pan gasket (I verified this) and the valve cover gasket already need to be replaced. Should the oil pan gasket already need replacing after 10,000 miles? I'll have to verify the oil filter gasket but kind of hard to believe it only lasted a few thousand miles.

[jwalker87]

Originally Posted by kazbek1

Yea, I guess I should replace those mounts regardless since they've probably never been replaced.

I looked through the vehicle records (father-in-law gave me the car back in Nov) and noticed that the oil pan gasket was already replaced 15,000 miles ago, valve cover gasket 10,000 miles ago, and the oil filter gasket 8,000 miles ago. However, when he got the oil changed in Oct (about 5,000 miles ago), they said both the oil pan gasket (I verified this) and the valve cover gasket already need to be replaced. Should the oil pan gasket already need replacing after 10,000 miles? I'll have to verify the oil filter gasket but kind of hard to believe it only lasted a few thousand miles.

Absolutely NOT! They should last 80-100k miles, just like the originals. I'd wager either (1) crappy off-brands were used, or (2) they were not correctly installed. Either could result in leaks shortly thereafter. Sucks, because the oil pan is not exactly easy. Be sure to use OE or OEM parts and follow the factory instructions to make sure it doesn't happen again. Check out newtis.info if you haven't already or don't have the Bentley manuals.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

Absolutely NOT! They should last 80-100k miles, just like the originals. I'd wager either (1) crappy off-brands were used, or (2) they were not correctly installed. Either could result in leaks shortly thereafter. Sucks, because the oil pan is not exactly easy. Be sure to use OE or OEM parts and follow the factory instructions to make sure it doesn't happen again. Check out newtis.info if you haven't already or don't have the Bentley manuals.

Yea there's oil build up around the oil pan so I'm going to see if some of the bolts are just loose. I know they're pretty fragile if you over-torque them so I'm hoping they just weren't torqued enough. I'll take a look at the valve cover gasket too and see if there's any oil. I've replaced them on other cars (Toyotas) and it only took about 45 min to do. I've been told it'll take a lot longer than that on the N54...

[jwalker87]

Originally Posted by kazbek1

Yea there's oil build up around the oil pan so I'm going to see if some of the bolts are just loose. I know they're pretty fragile if you over-torque them so I'm hoping they just weren't torqued enough. I'll take a look at the valve cover gasket too and see if there's any oil. I've replaced them on other cars (Toyotas) and it only took about 45 min to do. I've been told it'll take a lot longer than that on the N54...

IIRC all those bolts are aluminum and torque-to-yield, so they must be replaced when you replace the oil pan gasket. Could be another potential cause of your current leak.

Valve cover gasket is not too bad, but yeah more than 45 minutes. Maybe my scale of good-to-bad is just skewed now that I've owned bimmers for so long! (I think it's called Stockholm Syndrome...)

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by jwalker87

IIRC all those bolts are aluminum and torque-to-yield, so they must be replaced when you replace the oil pan gasket. Could be another potential cause of your current leak.

Valve cover gasket is not too bad, but yeah more than 45 minutes. Maybe my scale of good-to-bad is just skewed now that I've owned bimmers for so long! (I think it's called Stockholm Syndrome...)

Ha yea, that's classic Stockholm Syndrome. I'm pretty sure I remember reading about those bolts basically being a one time use thing. Am I able to just pop my head underneath and tighten them or do I need to remove a bunch of stuff first? If I can just tighten them up or even replace the bolts, I might try that first.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by kazbek1

Should I be inspecting the mounts while I'm under there or are you suggesting just replacing them?

130,000 miles on the original mounts is a lot.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

130,000 miles on the original mounts is a lot.

Hmmmm I'll look into doing that as well. Is FCP Euro pretty much the best place to go for those?

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by kazbek1

Hmmmm I'll look into doing that as well. Is FCP Euro pretty much the best place to go for those?

It depends on what you are trying to do?

I have an 07 335, so I wanted to prevent the power steering pump, pulley from ever hitting the subframe again. So, I put an aluminum PS pulley on & put 60a Poly engine mounts in their place. I also bought Rogue Engineering Trans mounts to compliment the engine mounts and create a sense of balance. Rogue Engineering mounts for the trans are the best money can buy for the N54, and they aren't that expensive. The Poly trans mounts set me back $399.00.

At the time, the 335is mounts were $650.00 for the set. I'm not sure what they cost now. It's worth a look.

Neither of them were available at FCP

Not Only that, but I'm probably at around 500# of torque.. standard engine mounts won't like that!!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

It depends on what you are trying to do?

I have an 07 335, so I wanted to prevent the power steering pump, pulley from ever hitting the subframe again. So, I put an aluminum PS pulley on & put 60a Poly engine mounts in their place. I also bought Rogue Engineering Trans mounts to compliment the engine mounts and create a sense of balance. Rogue Engineering mounts for the trans are the best money can buy for the N54, and they aren't that expensive. The Poly trans mounts set me back $399.00.

At the time, the 335is mounts were $650.00 for the set. I'm not sure what they cost now. It's worth a look.

Neither of them were available at FCP

Lol I just looked at the mount since I wanted to do them soon proactively.hey are back up to 679$.

Should've bought them when they were like 300$.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Lol I just looked at the mount since I wanted to do them soon proactively.hey are back up to 679$.

Should've bought them when they were like 300$.

Turner Motor mounts (60a) plus Rogue Engineering Trans mounts are your best bet...

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

Turner Motor mounts (60a) plus Rogue Engineering Trans mounts are your best bet...

I'm looking at my car to feel like it was when it came out factory. How do they compare.

[kazbek1]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Lol I just looked at the mount since I wanted to do them soon proactively.hey are back up to 679$.

Should've bought them when they were like 300$.

Damn! That much for engine mounts?! I think I'll pass for now.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by kazbek1

Damn! That much for engine mounts?! I think I'll pass for now.

It's only the right IS mount that is that price
The regular non IS n54 mounts are like 80$ under cortego brand

[jwalker87]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

It's only the right IS mount that is that price
The regular non IS n54 mounts are like 80$ under cortego brand

One side is $40, the other is $98, from FCP. Also, Revshift poly mounts (either 80A or 95A durometer) are $350 for the pair. I don't see a universe where the IS mounts make any sense...

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I'm looking at my car to feel like it was when it came out factory. How do they compare.

If you want it to feel like it came out of the factory, then either get OEM or 335is mounts.

Note: if you are running an app like xHp in conjunction with MHD, you are putting out a lot of torque. OEM mounts wont like that.

The Turner Motor Mounts are stiffer than OEM and will cause some mild NVH for the first 200 miles or so. Gradually, after 2 to 3,000 miles the NVH at idol is almost non-existent, especially if you are running AC. You can always turn up the idol to say 750rpm and you will never feel the NVH.

[E7J3F3]

BOLO for leaky seals/gaskets when you do motor/trans mounts. The driveline settles on old mounts and putting in new ones will shift everything around.