N55 Oil Filter Housing Gasket

Oil on the belt, the alternator or the engine front can start at the oil filter housing, the part with the filter cap. Two small gaskets seal it on most N55 cars, but getting to them is the job: the belt gets covered and the coolant side opens. BMW also takes the intake plenum off. Our shop leaves it on: an E10 Torx on a swivel reaches the hidden rear bolt. We don't sell these gaskets, so here are numbers and steps.

Is it the filter housing gasket?

Oil around the housing, belt or engine front.
Not sure it's the housing? Wipe the engine dry, drive, see what gets wet first (shop rule, not BMW's). Top cover edge: valve cover guide. Turbos: turbo leaks guide.
A damp housing isn't always a leak. BMW's leak bulletin: a light oil film from sweating needs no repair. A medium to large buildup with pooling, dripping and spotting is an active leak.

Which housing and gaskets fit your car

Parts split by model and by two build options, "hot-climate version" and "high speed synchronisation". Send us your VIN and we'll check yours. N55 only: 135i and 335i built from 03/2010, 740i and 740Li from 07/2012 (earlier ones are N54). Not for ActiveHybrid 3, 5 or 7L: high-voltage cars. Shop experience, not BMW's: the job is the same on the earlier N55 with the pneumatic wastegate and on the later one with the electronic wastegate.

Early 335i (F30): this row, then the nextBMW service action (SI B11 14 15): F30s built 08/2011 to 03/2012 can have a black plastic housing that leaks oil or coolant; silver aluminum needs no action. BMW swaps in aluminum; the catalog has 11 42 8 683 206 (it replaced 11 42 8 642 289). The catalog also notes plastic ones on F30 335i built 11/2011 to 07/2015: check the color. The bulletin's 11 42 8 642 288 isn't fitted to US N55s in the catalog: confirm by VIN.

335i (F30), 335i GT (F34), 435i (F32, F33, F36), M235i (F22, F23), M2 (F87), 135i (E82), X1 (E84), 740i (F01, F02)Both gaskets are listed with no option condition. The F30, F34, F32, F33, F36 and F23 also have oil cooler lines to the housing.

135i (E88), 335i (E90, E92, E93)With the high speed option: aluminum housing and both gaskets. Without it: housing 11 42 8 642 283 and the housing gasket only.

535i (F10), 535i GT (F07), 640i (F06, F12, F13), X3 (F25), X4 (F26), X5 (E70, F15), X6 (E71, F16)Separate oil cooler (heat exchanger) on the housing, 11 42 7 525 333, with three screws, 11 42 7 543 327: always on the E70, E71, F15, F16, by options on the rest. X3 without the high speed option and X4 not hot-climate: housing 11 42 8 637 812. 640i after the facelift: housing gasket is listed only with the high speed option.

The gasket numbers

The catalog calls both just "Gasket". These are sellers' names.

Housing gasketBMW 11 42 8 637 821Housing to engine. Replaced the older 11 42 7 537 293, which a seller may still list.

Oil cooler gasketBMW 11 42 8 637 820Oil cooler plate to housing. Replaced the older 11 42 7 525 335.

Order these too

Oil filter element setBMW 11 42 7 953 129Shop rule, not BMW's: the cap is off anyway, so fit a new element. On the F10 535i built to 12/2011, the X3 and the X4, the catalog says this set fits the aluminum housing only, so check yours first. F87 M2: 11 42 7 854 445.

Hengst kit $13.99 →M2 Mann kit $15.99 →

CoolantBMW 82 14 1 467 704BMW's F30 bulletin names this blue antifreeze, 50/50 with water. Match your tank's color: never mix blue with green (BMW). Green: expansion tank guide.Concentrate $37.99 →

Small partsCap O-ring 80 x 3.5: 11 42 8 683 168 (probably the cap ring). F30 intake gaskets: 11 61 7 547 242 and 11 61 7 588 624. Cooler line O-rings for the F30, F34, F32, F33, F36, F23 (owners fit them): four, 13.4 x 1.78: 17 22 2 245 358 and 17 22 8 604 345.

Spark plugs, optionalBMW 12 12 0 037 582Six plugs. F87 M2, X4 M40i: 12 12 0 039 634. Spark plug guide first.

Bosch plug $18.99 →M2/M40i NGK plug $24.99 →

BMW's housing job doesn't drain the engine oil. Oil change too? 6.5 L with a new filter, BMW Longlife oil only (01 FE for US cars).

How long it takes

Owners on the forums report about 10 hours the first time and about 3 the second on a 535i.

IA EURO illustration of the oil filter housing turned over with its gasket circled — Figure 1The housing turned over: this gasket is the one that leaks. The full job is below. Generic layout: yours may differ.

Figure 1The housing turned over: this gasket is the one that leaks. The full job is below. Generic layout: yours may differ.

Tools and supplies

Cap wrench: BMW's is special tool 11 9 240. Owners use a cup-style oil filter cap wrench. Cap size unknown: measure yours.
Bolts: E10 E-Torx socket for the housing bolts, plus a universal joint (swivel) and an extension. That combination is what lets the plenum stay on. E12 for the exchanger screws if it comes off.
Coolant side: drip tray, clamping tongs and BMW tool 17 2 053 hose clip pliers, pinch-off pliers for the cooler lines, battery charger, a vacuum filling unit if your bleed needs one.
Also: a torque wrench that covers 3 to 25 Nm, rated jack stands, a pick.

Car on stands, not a jack. Shop rule, not BMW's: level ground, and chock the wheels that stay down.

Cold engine, hot fluids. Hot coolant scalds: open the system only when it's cool. Goggles, gloves, drip tray, wipe spills at once (coolant on the floor is a skid risk). Recycle old coolant.

Battery. BMW's intake job starts with the negative lead off. We take it off either way, plenum on or off. Work the clamp off, don't lever it. Engine light with 28A0 or 101F01 afterward? BMW's fix: tank vent valve connector off, idle 15 minutes, connector back on, clear faults, test drive.

Removal order

Out in this order

Negative battery lead
Intake plenumBMW's way only. Our shop leaves it on.new intake gaskets
Cover the belt drive
Coolant
Underbody parts
Loosen the cap
Coolant clamp and hose screws
Housing bolts
Oil pressure switch connector
Oil cooler lines
The filter housingnew gaskets

Torque

22 NmHousing to cylinder head, all three bolts: M8 x 78, M8 x 43 and M8 x 28.

Every other torque is in the step that needs it. Shop rules, not BMW's: keep the extension in line with the wrench for the final pull; leave the heat exchanger on unless its joint leaks or you're fitting a new housing.

Steps

Out

Engine cold, car level, negative battery lead off.
Plenum: your call. Our shop leaves it on and reaches the rear housing bolt with an E10 Torx socket on a swivel and an extension. BMW's way takes it out: airbox, left charge-air duct, coil cover, unplug the wiring and sensors, pull the two vacuum lines, undo the nuts and one screw, lift it out, rags or tape over every open port. Out means new intake gaskets.
Cover the belt drive (alternator, belt, pulleys) with a towel or plastic, before any coolant hose comes off.
Coolant. BMW lists two ways but not which car gets which: pinch the two coolant hoses shut with the clamping tongs, or drain into the drip tray. New coolant for whatever you lose, either way.
Underbody parts, if you're draining. Car on stands first. BMW's drain versions mostly start here: front underbody protection, and in some the hood-release cable and front reinforcement. F12, F23, F87: a stiffening plate too.
Loosen the cap with the cap wrench. The housing oil runs back to the sump (oil pan).
Coolant clamp and hose screws. Heat exchanger feed line clamp first, then the hose screws at the cylinder head.
Housing bolts out. Cloths ready for leftover oil. Lay the three bolts out longest to shortest. The rear bolt is the hidden one: with the plenum on, it's the E10 on a swivel and extension. Owners say the front lower one has almost no ratchet room.
Figure 2The oil filter housing (blue) and its bolts (1). Generic layout: yours may differ.
Figure 2Close
Oil pressure switch connector off. Tabs break: use a pick.
Oil cooler lines, if your row says you have them: line screw out, pipes off, coolant hose unlocked and pulled. Wrap or pinch the lines to keep oil off the belt (owner tip).
Lift the housing off. Keep the old gaskets.

In

Wipe both faces clean.
New gaskets, all of them, as BMW says: the housing gasket and, where your car has one, the cooler gasket. BMW writes the thermostat housing as its own job with its own single gasket. Shop tip from our parts counter, not BMW's: if either job is open, do the gasket for the other one too. New housing? BMW's text reads as moving the oil pressure switch (20 Nm, then 16°) and the heat exchanger across. Exchanger screws: 16 Nm.
Housing on, each bolt in its own hole by length, then 22 Nm. On the rear bolt, keep the swivel as straight as it will go for the final pull.
Oil pressure switch connector back on. Cooler lines back on (owners fit new O-rings), screw matched to the old one. Its torque: send us your VIN.
Coolant side. Clamp back on at 3 Nm, hose screws 8.5 Nm if M6 (not an M6? send us your VIN). Push every hose coupling home until its retainer clicks.
Cap with new sealing rings, wet with oil, 25 Nm, over a new element (shop practice).
If the plenum came off: back on with new gaskets. Nuts and the M7 screw 15 Nm, gaiter (rubber boot) clamp 3 Nm. Reconnect everything.
Refit underbody parts. Take the belt cover off and check the belt for oil.
Battery on, then the next two sections. Shop order, not BMW's: top up the engine oil, fill the coolant and bleed, then prime.

Coolant: top up and bleed

New coolant for whatever you lost. Never reuse drained coolant. BMW's top-up after a repair with hoses off is 2.0 L. A full fill is 6.7 to 10.9 L by car (send us your VIN for yours).
Oil in the coolant you drained? BMW says rinse the system with water until all the contamination is gone, then refill.

Bleeding gets the air out of the cooling system. BMW says it is not optional and has five versions, not tied to a car (full routine: expansion tank guide). All five agree:

Cool engine only. Fill slowly with new coolant into the expansion tank (coolant reservoir; pour-in versions: to the lower edge of the filler neck), then close the cap so its two arrows meet.
Charger on, ignition on, engine NOT started. Heater to full heat, blower on lowest.
Accelerator to the floor for 10 seconds. The electric coolant pump then runs about 12 minutes and switches off by itself.
Top the level back up to max and look for leaks. To run the bleed again, wait about 3 minutes with the key out first.

Details differ: three call for a vacuum filling unit (a shop has one), two pour in; four keep the cap closed, one leaves it open; four want low beams on and, with a driving experience switch, ECO PRO off; one tops up to about 6 mm above max.

The finish: oil priming

BMW's rule, not a tip

Priming means cranking with the injectors unplugged, so oil circulates before the engine fires. BMW's priming bulletin (SIB 11 02 20) names work on the oil filter housing or oil cooler. Follow BMW, not the sellers who say it isn't needed.

If you drained the engine oil, the drain plug is back in with a new sealing ring, 25 Nm, and the oil refilled. Not sure the filter is in? Take the cap off and check. F87 M2: the catalog says the aluminum plug is single use, so fit a new one.
Charger on. Take every fuel injector connector off.
Crank for 10 seconds, then let the starter rest 20 seconds. Do it three times.
Injector connectors back on, then check that the engine runs and look for oil and coolant leaks.
At operating temperature, check the oil level and top up. BMW reads it electronically only when warm. Overfilling damages the engine.

Where people mess it up

Skipping the belt cover, the bleed or the priming. All three are BMW's own rules.
Breaking brittle plastic. The small plastic coolant flange by the housing breaks, so mind its O-ring.

Steps, torque values and part rules come from BMW's repair instructions and US service bulletins for this job. Owner and parts seller notes are labeled as such. Part numbers come from BMW's parts catalog up to 2020. Check yours by VIN.