So you’ve gotten the news. Your BMW is leaking from the oil filter housing gasket.   O MAN!!!!!
Your first thoughts.

1. What is an oil filter housing gasket?
2. What will this repair cost?
3. Is this part of normal maintenance?
4. Can I do anything to keep this from happening again?

The oil filter housing is simply the part that the oil filter sits in within your engine compartment.  The housing allows oil to flow through and around the oil filter.

On BMW’s the oil filter housing is mounted to the engine.  A gasket is required where these parts interface.  The gasket becomes brittle and cracks over time allowing oil to leak or seep out.

There are actually two gaskets that start leaking over time on your BMW.  One is the oil filter cap gasket (which is changed alongside the filter when you do an oil change).  It’s the gasket that mates the oil filter housing with the engine block which is the more costly oil leak.

The cost of this repair varies widely on BMW’s due to the different engine designs BMW has put out

Some BMW OFGH (Oil Filter Housing Gasket) repairs are simple and straight forward, the technician will need only to change 2 gaskets (the oil filter housing gasket and the oil cooler seal). It’s about $30 parts and 1 hour of labor, costing a total of $150 for the repair.

 Some OFGH repairs are far more complicated.  Requiring 5.5 hours of labor and a dozen parts, including gaskets, breather hoses, valves & seals. The bill can be around any from $500- $1600 with an average bill of $1200.  (The higher end if the valve covers need replacement).

There is really no BMW maintenance you can do to avoid this repair, it’s simply part of the experience of owning a BMW and completely normal.

Some common symptoms your BMW OFGH is leaking:

1. Oil spots near the front of your engine.
2. Oil leaking on and around the intake manifold.

Oil Filter housing gasket leaks should be caught during your normal BMW service and or maintenance.  If your mechanic is a qualified BMW technician he’ll know the proper and most common places to the spot small oil leaks on your BMW before they become big oil leaks.  It’s important to spot these leaks early since oil is corrosive to petroleum based gaskets, seals , belts and hoses on your BMW.  Even a minor leak can be a serious threat.  Furthermore by keeping you BMW‘s engine clean it will perform better, last longer and repairs/maintenance will cost less.