Had this exact issue last year on my 550i I drove mine about 400 yards to stop safely and I have been very lucky that no damage occurred after replacing the filter case About 5000 miles and still going strong as ever Hopefull for a similar result for you Tim
Oh no😢! Good first step to ID the fault, fingers crossed on the engine. I love your comment of “ it only a car” , as long as you are safe and no one was hurt. Chin up, fingers crossed!
Your "might be conrod casting bits" almost gave me a heart attack Timm! I'm going to replace my oil cap next oil change. Thank you, as always, for the invaluable service you provide us 650i'ers!
My pleasure Danny - the new canister is quite tricky to get on because of a change in the moulding, push it upwards with a bit of force as you turn it or it will cross-thread
Just when you think BMW have thought of every possible oil leak, they surprise you with a new one. How ridiculous. How on earth can an oil filter canister split??
Hi Timm this is Alvin your number one fan. I hope your engine is not damaged. Thanks for the video. It's time to start wearing your nice leather jackets that I like 😊
You got me worried there for a minute Tim, as I drive mine like I just nicked it! I think we are all collectively breathing a sigh of relief. Well done 👏👏👏
Hi Tim..I wish you luck that it survived. When I still lived in Germany I had a 78 Mustang I bought from a 90 year old. I was in my 20s and drove accordingly😂....the rod that turns the oil pump tore off and i had no oil pressure. Despite that I drove it home ...young and dumb...and after I had a new rod installed and new oil and started up fine. To all our surprise there was no damage to the bearings and live went on. A year later the same happened again this time on the highway and after repairs this time the bearings where gone. Sold the car for scrap. Two lessons I learned: you have ONE chance to survive a trip without oil and don't buy Ford...😂
I’m due to do an oil service on my 2006 650i. I think I will replace the oil filter housing after seeing your video. I think your engine will be fine. The oil works as barrier lubrication so though not great you lost your oil, I think you will be surprised how it will still do it’s job.🤞
Really feel for you .... We had a plastic header tank burst on the wifes 3 series a few years ago ... couldnt pull over either straight away as no hard shoulder ... anyway 13 hours later we got home... nightmare. Put me off Bmw for quite a while the amount of plastic used.... Hope it turns out ok for you Tim.
Timm, that is a real bummer situation but the N62 seems fairly robust to me despite what some may say (I have an '08 750i BTW). What I would suggest once you get your new canister and filter on the car, is pour a couple of litres of clean oil in the crankcase and then drain it out. You don't have to use high grade oil for this because you are going to drain it right back out without starting the engine. The goal here is to flush any possible particles from a spun bearing or other damaged engine component out of the sump. You can then examine this dumped oil to see what you might have floating around in there without having to drop the sump at this point. Having driven 500+ yards without oil pressure isn't good, obviously, and my bet is that you will find some particles. But if what you do find are very small flakes, you will at least know that you didn't totally lunch the bearings and journals in the rotating bits. Then, if indeed you don't have major flakes or hunks coming out of the sump, you can try filling the engine with the correct quantity of oil and see what you have with the engine running and see if you dodge a bullet or not. If it sounds OK, probably a good idea to get an oil pressure reading off the running engine and scope the cylinder bores to see if these indicate major damage (again, without having to go to the major efforts of dropping the sump and/or pulling the heads. After that, it's decision time to see what you want to do. Here in Nova Scotia and with its current used car market, I'd probably go the route of finding a low-mileage used motor as a replacement. A bit easier work effort then a full rebuild and if you chose the latter, you may be required to replace major components like crank and cams due to journal damage. But the UK market may not make it worth it, but it's nice looking car and it seems a waste to bin it just because of a bad motor. Anyway, good luck and fingers crossed for a good result.
Excellent! I would still do a pressure test when you get your oil and filter done up (does ISTA have that available?) and scope your cylinders to see if there is any bore damage. If that all looks OK, happy motoring!
Maybe it's time to get one of those fancy new Teslas, so you wouldn't worry about oil ever again. All joking aside, I'm glad that you were safe when the car broke down and hopefully the engine wasn't damaged.
so sorry to see this don't know if you are the first owner of the car, but I heard stories it cracked oil filter housing caps on m52 /54 n52/3... from too much pressure when tightening the plastic cap (people don't bother with the torque spec)... so maybe a previous owner/shop did it and the crack just diveloped know to failure state Hope the engine survived, wish you all the best and thanks for the video
Still watching but this happened to me fairly recently with my 99XKR. What a mess. Thankfully I could pull off the motorway almost straight away. I could hear it before the low oil light came on as the oil was hitting the fan but couldn't pull over at that point. In my case it was a hose that had popped off. Anyway, no harm done. I'm hoping you find all good. Fingers crossed for you Timm.
I have never seen a filter housing fail like that. I've seen them leak from the gasket but never split on the side. My 6 Series is a 2004. I will be changing the filter housing during the next service.
Not in my ownership! I've had it almost 10 years now and done the oil service 10 times! These canisters don't need to be tight, just nipped-up once they have landed - it has a huge o-ring that will stop it coming back off again!
Timm - I'm broken hearted the your beautiful BMW may be at its end of life. You take such meticulous care of your cars, and one would think it had plenty of life left. Please keep your subscribers abreast of what comes next. It's such a shame to see your pride and joy end up as parts. I suppose these oil filter housings crack from time to time. Do you know if BMW recommends that these plastic oil filter housings be replaced before they Crack? If so at what mileage? I'm worried about my Mercedes Benz S430 from 2000 that has over 230,000 miles might have the same fate.
Sorry to hear about this, Timm but as you say, at least it was only the canister. I’m at 148k miles, replaced mine last year as they were super cheap - it’s costing me a small fortune however I’m slowly trying to replace parts myself. Had a scary situation last year with the infamous radiator hose bursting whilst heading down the motorway with steam spraying out of the bonnet - had a similar problem to you - had to carry on for a couple of miles with no water which was concerning… been running the old girl for 5k miles since that point and she’s been golden so fingers crossed for you!
Ugh, that's horrible 😮. Hope the engine ends up being fine. Makes me wonder if I should change My housing out proactively with the next oil change, even though my 2007 650i only has 37,000 miles on it. It. I wonder if they make it out of metal or if plastic is the only option?
It's a bit crazy where the oil filter housing in N62 is. Compared to M62 engine, it stands on it's head. If a plastic cracks, where the whole oil is supposed to go. Not sure if it wouldnt be a good idea to try to transplant that housing somewhere facing upwards. If technically possible, of course.
Yes, it's a real pain when doing an oil service! I much prefer the M62 as an engine to work on. The canister cannot be moved as it is fitted to the sump pan!
It it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any Tim! Hopefully the engine will have survived, I guess you were coasting as much as possible so the engine will have been at low revs and the bearings would still have had an oil film present even in a low oil situation (albeit not for very long). Once you've swapped the oil filter canister and re-filled here's hoping the engine sounds as good as before. Cheers
Fingers crossed there is no lasting damage to the engine. My low oil pressure warning light came on about 3 weeks ago, fortunately just a bad sensor but it was still a heart stopping moment.
well done finding that, i think your engine will be fine. as long as you werent floring it after the light came on which im sure you dropve it like a granny, youd be surprised how long and engine can go with no oil in it :)
Hi Timm. I really enjoy your posts. I have an '04 e64, and I just experienced the same issue as you did with the cracked oil filter canister. In fact the crack looks eerily like the one you showed in the video. In my case, it had noticed that oil was getting low, but thought it was from the valve cover gaskets that needed replacing. So I didn't pay it much mind. Later, I noticed some oil on the ground, but strangely, it didn't smell like engine oil, so I assumed it was a leaking air conditioning compressor as it was covered in the same smelling oil. A few weeks later, it snowed, and was really cold. I started to drive, and heard a strange noise, but assumed it was ice stuck to the bottom of the clutch. It turns out my MAF went bad, and I think that was causing the noise, which when I opened the window sounded like a back-fire. After about 1/2 mile, got a check engine with the codes to point me toward the MAF. I got the car towed back, and discovered oil was leaking on the ground. I never saw the oil light, so I believe I'm safe from engine damage. I have a new canister on order with a new MAF. I hope your car is OK, and I'll let you know how mine turns out.
Had the alternator gasket oil leak on mine recently....lost a ton of oil and it was a bugger of a job for my garage to sort and expensive....now I have another leak and this time from the front of the engine somewhere... My car has only done around 130k... It's a very small leak, but I can smell oil burning off. Going into the garage again next month at some point. Hopefully your car will be ok Tim. :)
Wow! A BMW plastic part strikes again. Watched this an hour ago and have already ordered a new Oil Filter Canister for my 2005 760Li. Clearly a part to change as preventative maintenance and will hold on to the old one as an emergency roadside spare along with the spare coolant expansion tank that lives in my boot! I enjoyed pointing out to my wife that you work under your car in a freshly laundered and ironed white shirt and so she should not shout at me when I do the same as it is clearly what blokes normally do. Fingers crossed that the half mile you drove with no oil has not damaged the bearing shells. Hopefully they did not have time to heat up too much and burn off the oil film. Look forward to the follow up!
Sorry to hear about this Tim. Bad luck there. I have no experience of the N62, but a friend of mine had an old 528I, the one before the E34. He lent it to his daughter to go on quite a long trip. About 50 miles in, she hit an obstacle that had fallen off another vehicle in the road, knocking a hole in the aluminium sump. The car dumped all its' oil pretty quickly. She then ran it for ages with no oil taking no notice of the warnings until the engine finally seized. We stripped the engine and found that it was the top end (camshaft) that had seized. Bottom end and bores were totally undamaged. We fitted a second hand sump, coaxed the seized camshaft out, took all the burrs off the cam journal bearings, put it all back together, the idea being to just get it running so it could be moved, and look for a good second-hand engine. That car ran sweet as a nut for many years after that until it was finally scrapped for rust issues. I think the idea of a good oil flush is a sound one, I'd put money on it having survived. It has probably not done it a great deal of good, but how many more years were you thinking of running the car for anyway? Sad thing is, it would not be financially viable sourcing another engine and swapping it, assuming you could lay your hands on a known good one. You know that we all look up to you, so I'm sure you'll make the correct calculated decision!
Good to hear from you Bob. Yes, it should be fine, hopefully I won't be filing camshaft journals any time soon! It was a lot easier with the older engines!
Glad u found the issue...I was wonder why I hadn't seen u on my lorry trips from a325 jcb or on the a3...much respect...I know ur get her back on the road
I've just ordered a new one of these this week before servicing the car next month as the plastic hex nut on mines is rounded over. I've tried non oem replacements both plastic and metal and always had issues with the threads binding on the housing. Ended biting the bullet and going oem.
@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation mine too! 😂 saw our friend Lee Today for some suspension work and noticed a tiny drop of oil on that cap! Just sorry that your breakdown was the one that potentially saved a similar issue on mine, really really hoping your 650i will be ok.
What a rotten bit of luck. Got the same engine on my e53 so im putting down an orderd for that plastic filter cap just to be safe! Regardin if your engine survives or not? I saw a video from Carwow here on youtube called "I ran a BMW & Lexus with no oil! Which V8 lasted longest?" the bmw being the E65 7 series with the n62 enigine. And the n62 ran for a looong time. So im staying hopefull that you are lucky friend
Fingers crossed for a good result! My 650i dropped a lake of oil about 4 years ago, and although it didn’t lose it at quite the same rate, I had my heart in my mouth nursing it to my local garage. I think that was an oil cooler leak, but after repairs, it has carried on seemingly untroubled. They are tough old engines 😂
My 550i did this last month. The plastic cap for the oil filter cartridge cracked. Luckily I caught it quickly as I backed out of the garage and no damage was done.
Holding out hope it the engine is not done in. I have US 650 convertible one year older than yours and I have learned much from your informative videos.
Thanks Timm for this well-documented video! I keep my fingers crossed and hope you have no issues with the engine! My next oil change will include a new oil filter cap! Part is already ordered.
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Glad to hear your Bimmer did not have any issues with the engine! I just got my E64 home with the tow truck. The coolant reservoir exploded. Luckily after I already parked the car. That seems to be the same material as the oil filter cap. So maybe also something to keep in mind.
Hi Timm,big fan of your videos, exact same thing happened to my partners X5 with the N62 engine last month!! Fortunately she got the warning as soon as she turned the car on, hope yours is ok mate, cheers.
I had this happen to my 650i last year oil dumped all over the road within a few hundred meters from where I has parked it the night before. Transpired that the cause was the plastic holder that the oil filter cartridge screws into - its make of hard plastic, it was cracked (hairline crack) and must have worked hardened over the years.
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation yes mate was many years ago now ! You gave me a MAF to try and it worked so I think I Paypal'd you ??? that long ago lol.
Hi guys question i have a 2010 550i and i got my oil chnaged recently and upon the first start up after i had this vaccum noise coming from the middle of the motor and when i would undo the oil filler cap it had vaccum and it would alleviate the noise till i tighten it again
Damn it, I love that car, really hope it's survived. I recall a test they did on an BMW and it lasted a long long time without oil. You're far more sensible and mature than me, i would have held up all the traffic and received lots of abuse...maybe!😮
Based on your experience Timm, and some of the comments, seems like preventative maintenance would be to replace the oil filter housing every decade or so. I replaced mine on an e53 N62 after some shop had stripped the Allen nut to drain out the oil filter housing. But adding it to my list for the M52TU and S62
A previous comment above said his had failed - and my research found one other failure. The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
I was expecting the vacuum pump to create a vacuum in the engine block enough to hold back the leak while in motion. How do we know exactly when the vacuum pump is working cos I notice that mine doesn't work well when oil is around the bottom mark of the oil gauge
That’s Very unfortunate , but you made the right choice prioritizing your own safety (and other people’s). Hopefully the engine survived without any damage
Oh man, I feel for you with the bad luck you have lately. Fingers crossed the engine survived. Would be a sad situation if you need to revive both cars. My 650i will get a new filter housing at the next oil change after seeing this, that's for sure.
I saw Tims video & jumped straight on to fleabay to buy a new OEM filter housing for my X5 N62 with 100,000 miles on the clock , 30 quid but a lot cheaper than a new engine, will be changing oil, filter & housing next weekend!
This exact thing happened to my e60 550i v8 twice. The first time was right after i bought the car, and i believe the drain screw was over tighten, possibly with an impact gun. Fast forward a couple of years down the road, it happened again but i believe i myself over tighten it (or the fact that i bought it used), from that day i bought a torque wrench and new one. Both times it happened was in a very cold morning start-up and happened right before the iddle settled down, still drives it today after 7 years of ownership.
Bummer, and what a weird part to fail! I don’t think I have ever heard of a filter canister failing like that, no matter what model BMW… Just wow! Normally it’s the O ring that people forget (or are too lazy / cheap / don’t know) to replace and that can cause a relatively large leak eventually, happened to me and I was all the above at the time (M62B44)… Holding thumbs and touching wood that the engine survived, the diesel sound is a bit ominous, but that could be lifters being dry. Obviously that is speculation since we didn’t hear the noise in the video. Can’t wait to find out! Thanks Timm.
If im going to be honest, these plastics filters are ridiculous. I would say maybe someone might have sabotaged the vehicle to a perfect tee but overall i don’t doubt bmw’s infamous unreliability especially with this particular n62. Its a shame. Best of luck, currently having my own little battle with a 5 series 07 n62. Hope everything works out well!
Sorry to hear this mate, what with the E31 incident too that wasn't your fault and now this you've had no luck this year! Hope it all ends well for you 👍
Hey bud, I'm from Tyler, Texas and saw your video on sport shifting. I have done quite a but of research on the topic . I might like a video of you also resetting the transmission by ( turning it on, no start, and holding the gas down for two minutes then turning it off and back on starting it after 20 seconds .then you drive it aggressively for about 20 minutes and it resets your throttle response. Please.
Il m est arrive la même chose sur ma 650i de 2006 mais au démarrage j ai entendu un boom je n ai pas roulé heureusement j ai eu trop peur que c était le moteur c était aussi la cloche en plastique qui s est fissurée
Your oil filter housing cracking like that is not first time ive seen it. On a facebook group i am on, someone posted and had the same thing happen. Its plastic so it will eventually give out if its been on long enough. You might be lucky and got away with not damaging the engine. Hopefully it hasn't skipped timing as that can happen with a sudden loss of oil. If it were me, i would get cheap oil, filter, run the engine and see what happens. Drain the oil and remove filter and check for metal flaking.
Yes, now that I know where the problem was I have found someone else who had the same problem - not many out there though! You'll find out what happens next in the new instalment!
I am picking that your engine will be absolutely fine because there would have been enough pressure to supply some oil to the bearings. I would get an oil analysis done a few times afterwards. Maybe I am more of a daredevil, I would have stopped and put the hazard flashers and warning triangle. Drivers need to look where they are going...people seem to be forgetting that more and more as driving gets dumbed down.
I saw your video on what to watch out for buying a e63/e64. Is there also a mileage you should not go above? I see lots of them listed having driven 80k miles but also up to 200k miles. When did your failure occur?
Hi Timm, i appreciate your videos here on RUclips very much! Can you tell me, what ramps you used and how high those were, so that you managed to get underneath the car. I think i have the same problem as you. But i have "only" lost 2-3 liters of oil during a 15 minute ride. Best regards, Herbert
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation I can't account for the cold because I live in the Sunshine State but I just changed the oil filter on my father's 745 so I know how durable the cover is even after 20 years and 200,000 kms
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation They have been really using the materials engineers just for this reason the last few decades. I'm so sick of replacing plastic bits and I now get things rebuilt with better materials rather than rep[lace with oem just to not reward them for this.
Ahhh, not a video title I wanted to read.. I have an N52 3L E63 with 86000 miles which has been Uber reliable..touch wood 🤞🏼 I hope it isn’t as bad as it first seemed.. Also, as a biker as well, I hope no one comes a cropper on the oil 😮
I do wonder, you might be ok. I got low oil on a m54 to the point it started knocking and immediately added oil and i kept driving it for 2 years without any problems but I might've been Lucky
Tim, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You'd think BMW wouldn't do a stupid design like that, at least there should have been a replacement interval on that part! Or better yet just design it so an oil filter. Can be simply screwed on there instead of internal replacements of filter media protected by a piece of hard plastic. Hopefully you didn't do any engine damage. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Bloody 'el Tim , not your year, still it looks like you dodged a bullet hopefully !!!... guess due to the heat etc , its gonna go eventually,, might change mine just in case I do love how its so easy to get to on the V8s
I hear a lot about BMW using a lot of plastic parts in its engines, and I know of friends and family who suffered from this problem. It’s a shame that BMW seems to be cutting corners on building reliable cars.
Had this exact issue last year on my 550i
I drove mine about 400 yards to stop safely and I have been very lucky that no damage occurred after replacing the filter case
About 5000 miles and still going strong as ever
Hopefull for a similar result for you Tim
Thanks Carl, thanks for telling me that, I have only ever heard of one other case.
This year has been an annus horribilis for Tim’s cars it seems. Hopefully the lack of oil didn’t do too much damage, and it lives on.
Thanks, we'll be OK!
Blimey, can see why you needed the cap now, pleasure to meet you today!
Nice to meet you too Simon! Don't forget to get a big picture of the E31 up on the wall at Barons!
Oh no😢! Good first step to ID the fault, fingers crossed on the engine. I love your comment of “ it only a car” , as long as you are safe and no one was hurt. Chin up, fingers crossed!
Thanks 👍
Your "might be conrod casting bits" almost gave me a heart attack Timm!
I'm going to replace my oil cap next oil change.
Thank you, as always, for the invaluable service you provide us 650i'ers!
My pleasure Danny - the new canister is quite tricky to get on because of a change in the moulding, push it upwards with a bit of force as you turn it or it will cross-thread
Thank you for documenting this as allows us to do preventative maintenance.
Hope it works out Timm.
My pleasure!
Just when you think BMW have thought of every possible oil leak, they surprise you with a new one. How ridiculous. How on earth can an oil filter canister split??
Never had one do that before - always something new with the N62 engine!
Hi Timm this is Alvin your number one fan. I hope your engine is not damaged. Thanks for the video. It's time to start wearing your nice leather jackets that I like 😊
It's true, Timm is a rather dapper chap!
ALVIN! There you are - thanks for the message, I'm sure everything will be OK in the end and I'll get out the leather soon!
You got me worried there for a minute Tim, as I drive mine like I just nicked it! I think we are all collectively breathing a sigh of relief. Well done 👏👏👏
Not there just yet Fred, but I should be OK. And keep pushing the car, it's good for them!
Love this video, serious credit to you for getting down and dirty! Great work!
Thanks, yes, I wouldn't rest until I found the problem!
Nice find, hopefully no long term damage👍
Thanks, we should be OK!
Hi Tim..I wish you luck that it survived. When I still lived in Germany I had a 78 Mustang I bought from a 90 year old. I was in my 20s and drove accordingly😂....the rod that turns the oil pump tore off and i had no oil pressure. Despite that I drove it home ...young and dumb...and after I had a new rod installed and new oil and started up fine. To all our surprise there was no damage to the bearings and live went on. A year later the same happened again this time on the highway and after repairs this time the bearings where gone. Sold the car for scrap. Two lessons I learned: you have ONE chance to survive a trip without oil and don't buy Ford...😂
I hope I have the same luck!
I’m due to do an oil service on my 2006 650i. I think I will replace the oil filter housing after seeing your video. I think your engine will be fine. The oil works as barrier lubrication so though not great you lost your oil, I think you will be surprised how it will still do it’s job.🤞
Thanks for the reassurance! The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
Good luck Tim. We will wait for update !
Thanks!
Really feel for you ....
We had a plastic header tank burst on the wifes 3 series a few years ago ... couldnt pull over either straight away as no hard shoulder ... anyway 13 hours later we got home... nightmare. Put me off Bmw for quite a while the amount of plastic used....
Hope it turns out ok for you Tim.
Thanks, yes those expansion tanks love to explode - never seen an oil canister do it though!
Timm, that is a real bummer situation but the N62 seems fairly robust to me despite what some may say (I have an '08 750i BTW). What I would suggest once you get your new canister and filter on the car, is pour a couple of litres of clean oil in the crankcase and then drain it out. You don't have to use high grade oil for this because you are going to drain it right back out without starting the engine. The goal here is to flush any possible particles from a spun bearing or other damaged engine component out of the sump. You can then examine this dumped oil to see what you might have floating around in there without having to drop the sump at this point. Having driven 500+ yards without oil pressure isn't good, obviously, and my bet is that you will find some particles. But if what you do find are very small flakes, you will at least know that you didn't totally lunch the bearings and journals in the rotating bits. Then, if indeed you don't have major flakes or hunks coming out of the sump, you can try filling the engine with the correct quantity of oil and see what you have with the engine running and see if you dodge a bullet or not. If it sounds OK, probably a good idea to get an oil pressure reading off the running engine and scope the cylinder bores to see if these indicate major damage (again, without having to go to the major efforts of dropping the sump and/or pulling the heads. After that, it's decision time to see what you want to do. Here in Nova Scotia and with its current used car market, I'd probably go the route of finding a low-mileage used motor as a replacement. A bit easier work effort then a full rebuild and if you chose the latter, you may be required to replace major components like crank and cams due to journal damage. But the UK market may not make it worth it, but it's nice looking car and it seems a waste to bin it just because of a bad motor. Anyway, good luck and fingers crossed for a good result.
Thanks! I drained the remaining 2 Litres from the sump today, glad to report no particles!
Excellent! I would still do a pressure test when you get your oil and filter done up (does ISTA have that available?) and scope your cylinders to see if there is any bore damage. If that all looks OK, happy motoring!
Maybe it's time to get one of those fancy new Teslas, so you wouldn't worry about oil ever again. All joking aside, I'm glad that you were safe when the car broke down and hopefully the engine wasn't damaged.
Thanks! It will all be OK in the end!
I have E64 S85. It has the same exact filter housing. I will certainly keep an eye on it! Thanks for this video good sir!!!
Thanks! The moulding on the new replacement is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
Change it at the next oil service they don’t give any warning
so sorry to see this
don't know if you are the first owner of the car, but I heard stories it cracked oil filter housing caps on m52 /54 n52/3... from too much pressure when tightening the plastic cap (people don't bother with the torque spec)... so maybe a previous owner/shop did it and the crack just diveloped know to failure state
Hope the engine survived, wish you all the best and thanks for the video
Thanks! I've had the car almost 10 years and have done all of the oil changes myself and the cover is only snugged-up so I have no idea why it failed!
Still watching but this happened to me fairly recently with my 99XKR. What a mess. Thankfully I could pull off the motorway almost straight away. I could hear it before the low oil light came on as the oil was hitting the fan but couldn't pull over at that point. In my case it was a hose that had popped off. Anyway, no harm done. I'm hoping you find all good. Fingers crossed for you Timm.
Thanks Bernard!
I have never seen a filter housing fail like that. I've seen them leak from the gasket but never split on the side. My 6 Series is a 2004. I will be changing the filter housing during the next service.
Most likely caused by over tightening, at some point in the past. How many people bother to use a torque wrench for these ?
Good plan!
Not in my ownership! I've had it almost 10 years now and done the oil service 10 times! These canisters don't need to be tight, just nipped-up once they have landed - it has a huge o-ring that will stop it coming back off again!
Timm - I'm broken hearted the your beautiful BMW may be at its end of life. You take such meticulous care of your cars, and one would think it had plenty of life left. Please keep your subscribers abreast of what comes next. It's such a shame to see your pride and joy end up as parts. I suppose these oil filter housings crack from time to time. Do you know if BMW recommends that these plastic oil filter housings be replaced before they Crack? If so at what mileage? I'm worried about my Mercedes Benz S430 from 2000 that has over 230,000 miles might have the same fate.
Thanks! I've done a bit of research and I can find just one other occasion when the canister has split - just my luck I suppose, but it will be fine!
Sorry to hear about this, Timm but as you say, at least it was only the canister. I’m at 148k miles, replaced mine last year as they were super cheap - it’s costing me a small fortune however I’m slowly trying to replace parts myself. Had a scary situation last year with the infamous radiator hose bursting whilst heading down the motorway with steam spraying out of the bonnet - had a similar problem to you - had to carry on for a couple of miles with no water which was concerning… been running the old girl for 5k miles since that point and she’s been golden so fingers crossed for you!
Thanks! Yes, it's humans first, cars second when it comes to situations like that!
Sorry to hear this Timm - hope you get it sorted with no engine damage.
Thanks Adrian!
Ugh, that's horrible 😮. Hope the engine ends up being fine. Makes me wonder if I should change My housing out proactively with the next oil change, even though my 2007 650i only has 37,000 miles on it. It. I wonder if they make it out of metal or if plastic is the only option?
Change it now! I've never heard of this problem before - maybe I need to do a bit of research!
It's a bit crazy where the oil filter housing in N62 is. Compared to M62 engine, it stands on it's head. If a plastic cracks, where the whole oil is supposed to go. Not sure if it wouldnt be a good idea to try to transplant that housing somewhere facing upwards. If technically possible, of course.
Yes, it's a real pain when doing an oil service! I much prefer the M62 as an engine to work on. The canister cannot be moved as it is fitted to the sump pan!
It it wasn't for bad luck you wouldn't have any Tim! Hopefully the engine will have survived, I guess you were coasting as much as possible so the engine will have been at low revs and the bearings would still have had an oil film present even in a low oil situation (albeit not for very long). Once you've swapped the oil filter canister and re-filled here's hoping the engine sounds as good as before. Cheers
Thanks! Yes, straight into 6th gear and less than 1000RPM, I'll be OK!
Fingers crossed there is no lasting damage to the engine. My low oil pressure warning light came on about 3 weeks ago, fortunately just a bad sensor but it was still a heart stopping moment.
Thanks Simon, a sensor was my immediate thought when it popped up - glad I didn't ignore it!
well done finding that, i think your engine will be fine. as long as you werent floring it after the light came on which im sure you dropve it like a granny, youd be surprised how long and engine can go with no oil in it :)
I did, straight into 6th gear and 1000RPM and poodled up to a side-road!
Just ordered a new filter housing for my 645ci, thanks for letting us know!
That's the best plan! Better now than when you are on the road!
Hi Timm. I really enjoy your posts. I have an '04 e64, and I just experienced the same issue as you did with the cracked oil filter canister. In fact the crack looks eerily like the one you showed in the video. In my case, it had noticed that oil was getting low, but thought it was from the valve cover gaskets that needed replacing. So I didn't pay it much mind. Later, I noticed some oil on the ground, but strangely, it didn't smell like engine oil, so I assumed it was a leaking air conditioning compressor as it was covered in the same smelling oil. A few weeks later, it snowed, and was really cold. I started to drive, and heard a strange noise, but assumed it was ice stuck to the bottom of the clutch. It turns out my MAF went bad, and I think that was causing the noise, which when I opened the window sounded like a back-fire. After about 1/2 mile, got a check engine with the codes to point me toward the MAF. I got the car towed back, and discovered oil was leaking on the ground. I never saw the oil light, so I believe I'm safe from engine damage. I have a new canister on order with a new MAF. I hope your car is OK, and I'll let you know how mine turns out.
You might be alright Tim, as long as your temperature didn't get to crazy. Best of luck to you.
Thanks! It will be OK!
Gr8 video Timm as always just fingers crossed for the outcome 🤞🤞
Thanks 👍
Let's hope it's a low cost fix, being just the housing Tim, I await your update and hopefully positive news.
Thanks Lloyd, I'll keep everyone updated!
Had the alternator gasket oil leak on mine recently....lost a ton of oil and it was a bugger of a job for my garage to sort and expensive....now I have another leak and this time from the front of the engine somewhere... My car has only done around 130k... It's a very small leak, but I can smell oil burning off. Going into the garage again next month at some point. Hopefully your car will be ok Tim. :)
Thanks! I have done the alternator gasket already!
Wow! A BMW plastic part strikes again. Watched this an hour ago and have already ordered a new Oil Filter Canister for my 2005 760Li. Clearly a part to change as preventative maintenance and will hold on to the old one as an emergency roadside spare along with the spare coolant expansion tank that lives in my boot! I enjoyed pointing out to my wife that you work under your car in a freshly laundered and ironed white shirt and so she should not shout at me when I do the same as it is clearly what blokes normally do. Fingers crossed that the half mile you drove with no oil has not damaged the bearing shells. Hopefully they did not have time to heat up too much and burn off the oil film. Look forward to the follow up!
Yes, no surprise there! The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
Thanks for that tip Timm.
I’m so glad I put a inspection pit in my garage 2 years ago,luckily it will be an easy fix 👍hopefully didn’t damage the motor.
Luxury!
Sorry to hear about this Tim. Bad luck there. I have no experience of the N62, but a friend of mine had an old 528I, the one before the E34. He lent it to his daughter to go on quite a long trip. About 50 miles in, she hit an obstacle that had fallen off another vehicle in the road, knocking a hole in the aluminium sump. The car dumped all its' oil pretty quickly. She then ran it for ages with no oil taking no notice of the warnings until the engine finally seized. We stripped the engine and found that it was the top end (camshaft) that had seized. Bottom end and bores were totally undamaged. We fitted a second hand sump, coaxed the seized camshaft out, took all the burrs off the cam journal bearings, put it all back together, the idea being to just get it running so it could be moved, and look for a good second-hand engine. That car ran sweet as a nut for many years after that until it was finally scrapped for rust issues. I think the idea of a good oil flush is a sound one, I'd put money on it having survived. It has probably not done it a great deal of good, but how many more years were you thinking of running the car for anyway? Sad thing is, it would not be financially viable sourcing another engine and swapping it, assuming you could lay your hands on a known good one. You know that we all look up to you, so I'm sure you'll make the correct calculated decision!
Good to hear from you Bob. Yes, it should be fine, hopefully I won't be filing camshaft journals any time soon! It was a lot easier with the older engines!
Glad u found the issue...I was wonder why I hadn't seen u on my lorry trips from a325 jcb or on the a3...much respect...I know ur get her back on the road
Make sure you flash me the next time we pass each other!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation most definitely...it's a 🍅 tomato looking truck the low loaders ur see us
I've just ordered a new one of these this week before servicing the car next month as the plastic hex nut on mines is rounded over. I've tried non oem replacements both plastic and metal and always had issues with the threads binding on the housing. Ended biting the bullet and going oem.
The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
Check the old oil filter for metal. Put in new oil & filter and run it and check the filter for metal.
No metal bits (I drained the remaining oil today), thank goodness for that!
Am so sorry to hear about this latest catastrophe, keeping my fingers cross that the engine is ok!!
Very kind of you Doug! Loved the film, still one of my all-time favourites....
@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation mine too! 😂 saw our friend Lee Today for some suspension work and noticed a tiny drop of oil on that cap! Just sorry that your breakdown was the one that potentially saved a similar issue on mine, really really hoping your 650i will be ok.
Time to convince Timm he needs an M6 😂
Don't tempt me!
What a rotten bit of luck. Got the same engine on my e53 so im putting down an orderd for that plastic filter cap just to be safe! Regardin if your engine survives or not? I saw a video from Carwow here on youtube called "I ran a BMW & Lexus with no oil! Which V8 lasted longest?" the bmw being the E65 7 series with the n62 enigine. And the n62 ran for a looong time. So im staying hopefull that you are lucky friend
I was going to mention that too. Hopefully everything held together.
Thanks! Yes, that helps give me confidence!
Fingers crossed for a good result! My 650i dropped a lake of oil about 4 years ago, and although it didn’t lose it at quite the same rate, I had my heart in my mouth nursing it to my local garage. I think that was an oil cooler leak, but after repairs, it has carried on seemingly untroubled. They are tough old engines 😂
Thanks Graham, I think it will be fine
heat cycles is whats shot your oil filter housing i rekkon.
More likely has been over tightened at some point in the past
true@@seanpaul3050
Goodness knows why it went pop - but it did!
My 550i did this last month. The plastic cap for the oil filter cartridge cracked. Luckily I caught it quickly as I backed out of the garage and no damage was done.
Thanks! That's three failures in the comments so far!
Holding out hope it the engine is not done in. I have US 650 convertible one year older than yours and I have learned much from your informative videos.
Thanks! It will be back!
Thanks Timm for this well-documented video!
I keep my fingers crossed and hope you have no issues with the engine!
My next oil change will include a new oil filter cap! Part is already ordered.
Make sure you do! Mine is OK now
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Glad to hear your Bimmer did not have any issues with the engine!
I just got my E64 home with the tow truck. The coolant reservoir exploded. Luckily after I already parked the car. That seems to be the same material as the oil filter cap. So maybe also something to keep in mind.
Best of luck Tim 🤞🏼. I've made a note to replace the filter housing on the next oil change for my e64 650i
Thanks, yes all OK now!
Hi Timm,big fan of your videos, exact same thing happened to my partners X5 with the N62 engine last month!! Fortunately she got the warning as soon as she turned the car on, hope yours is ok mate, cheers.
Thanks Keiran!
I had this happen to my 650i last year oil dumped all over the road within a few hundred meters from where I has parked it the night before. Transpired that the cause was the plastic holder that the oil filter cartridge screws into - its make of hard plastic, it was cracked (hairline crack) and must have worked hardened over the years.
Yes, this seems to be a widespread problem!
Mate thats so sad hope she lives mate, Its that illusive Big daren who bought up a 740i MAF sensor fault years ago !
I hope I fixed it for you! Thanks!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation yes mate was many years ago now !
You gave me a MAF to try and it worked so I think I Paypal'd you ??? that long ago lol.
I wonder how many oil filter housings BMW will sell this week?!?!?!?
Use febi bilstein. Just as good.
Just what I did after posting that!@@seanpaul3050
Well, that's 12 on this thread already that are changing them!
wow, maybe we should all be replacing these every few services
I would!
Hi guys question i have a 2010 550i and i got my oil chnaged recently and upon the first start up after i had this vaccum noise coming from the middle of the motor and when i would undo the oil filler cap it had vaccum and it would alleviate the noise till i tighten it again
Damn it, I love that car, really hope it's survived. I recall a test they did on an BMW and it lasted a long long time without oil. You're far more sensible and mature than me, i would have held up all the traffic and received lots of abuse...maybe!😮
Thanks! Never stop on the A325 in the mornings, it will not end well!
Based on your experience Timm, and some of the comments, seems like preventative maintenance would be to replace the oil filter housing every decade or so. I replaced mine on an e53 N62 after some shop had stripped the Allen nut to drain out the oil filter housing. But adding it to my list for the M52TU and S62
Good plan!
That's not a common failure for N62. is it? I'm going to change filter house on my next oil change just in case.
A previous comment above said his had failed - and my research found one other failure. The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
Ah... BMW's "legendary" plastic. Fingers crossed 🤞!
Thanks!
I was expecting the vacuum pump to create a vacuum in the engine block enough to hold back the leak while in motion. How do we know exactly when the vacuum pump is working cos I notice that mine doesn't work well when oil is around the bottom mark of the oil gauge
Unfortunately the canister is on the pressure side, so 50 psi!
Fingers crossed it's not the end!!
Thanks! And we can only hope and pray!
That’s Very unfortunate , but you made the right choice prioritizing your own safety (and other people’s). Hopefully the engine survived without any damage
Thanks Ian!
Oh man, I feel for you with the bad luck you have lately. Fingers crossed the engine survived. Would be a sad situation if you need to revive both cars.
My 650i will get a new filter housing at the next oil change after seeing this, that's for sure.
I saw Tims video & jumped straight on to fleabay to buy a new OEM filter housing for my X5 N62 with 100,000 miles on the clock , 30 quid but a lot cheaper than a new engine, will be changing oil, filter & housing next weekend!
I bet there be a big jump in filter housing market after this video! Hahahah.
The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
The moulding is slightly different so put upwards pressure on it as it is screwed in otherwise it will cross-thread
This exact thing happened to my e60 550i v8 twice. The first time was right after i bought the car, and i believe the drain screw was over tighten, possibly with an impact gun. Fast forward a couple of years down the road, it happened again but i believe i myself over tighten it (or the fact that i bought it used), from that day i bought a torque wrench and new one. Both times it happened was in a very cold morning start-up and happened right before the iddle settled down, still drives it today after 7 years of ownership.
The BMW plastic just disintegrates on its own - so don't blame yourself!
Plastics age. And that one has been overtightened more than 1 time i’m sure. A OEM genuine cap is very cheap insurance.
Yes, I have a new one ready!
this is a known n62 issue. I've bought a new one from BMW £34, it'll go on at the next oil change. Hope you bought genuine from BMW direct.
I have! Fortunately BMW is just up the road from me!
Bummer, and what a weird part to fail! I don’t think I have ever heard of a filter canister failing like that, no matter what model BMW… Just wow!
Normally it’s the O ring that people forget (or are too lazy / cheap / don’t know) to replace and that can cause a relatively large leak eventually, happened to me and I was all the above at the time (M62B44)…
Holding thumbs and touching wood that the engine survived, the diesel sound is a bit ominous, but that could be lifters being dry. Obviously that is speculation since we didn’t hear the noise in the video. Can’t wait to find out! Thanks Timm.
Thanks, that made all the difference! All OK now!
If im going to be honest, these plastics filters are ridiculous. I would say maybe someone might have sabotaged the vehicle to a perfect tee but overall i don’t doubt bmw’s infamous unreliability especially with this particular n62. Its a shame. Best of luck, currently having my own little battle with a 5 series 07 n62. Hope everything works out well!
Thanks! The N62 can be a real blighter that's for sure - good luck!
Sorry to see this timm. Have you tried dissecting the oil filter to look for metal particles? I hope the engine is ok 👍🏼
No metal particles, I should be OK - but I'll let everyone know how I get on!
Sorry to hear this mate, what with the E31 incident too that wasn't your fault and now this you've had no luck this year! Hope it all ends well for you 👍
Thanks! Yes, 650 is OK, going to see the E31 tomorrow
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation Good to hear! Hope all is well 👍
Well THAT is scary. I've never seen that before. I'm wondering if a change as preventative maintenance is a good idea
It is, check the other replies, loads of them failing!
Hey bud, I'm from Tyler, Texas and saw your video on sport shifting. I have done quite a but of research on the topic . I might like a video of you also resetting the transmission by ( turning it on, no start, and holding the gas down for two minutes then turning it off and back on starting it after 20 seconds .then you drive it aggressively for about 20 minutes and it resets your throttle response. Please.
It's a darn sight easier to reset the adaptations with diagnostics!
Hope you get it back on the road soon. At first sight it doesn't seem so bad, could have been much worse.
Thanks!
Hope it hasn’t done too much damage, and hopefully an easy fix
Thanks, yes, it will be fine!
If I ever get a low oil pressure warning like this. I will be blocking the road. No way I’m going to continue driving without oil pressure.
Anywhere else and I would have - but not the A325 in rush-hour!
Il m est arrive la même chose sur ma 650i de 2006 mais au démarrage j ai entendu un boom je n ai pas roulé heureusement j ai eu trop peur que c était le moteur c était aussi la cloche en plastique qui s est fissurée
Je n'avais jamais entendu parler de ce problème auparavant - mais j'ai maintenant reçu quatre commentaires à ce sujet, très étrange !
Your oil filter housing cracking like that is not first time ive seen it. On a facebook group i am on, someone posted and had the same thing happen.
Its plastic so it will eventually give out if its been on long enough. You might be lucky and got away with not damaging the engine. Hopefully it hasn't skipped timing as that can happen with a sudden loss of oil.
If it were me, i would get cheap oil, filter, run the engine and see what happens. Drain the oil and remove filter and check for metal flaking.
Yes, now that I know where the problem was I have found someone else who had the same problem - not many out there though! You'll find out what happens next in the new instalment!
So unfortunate, when it rains it just pours doesn't it. 😢😢
It's been p****g down recently!
Weird to have the filter cover crack but its lucky it wasn't anything serious or complicated.
I hope you're engine is ok.
Thanks and we will find out soon!
Was that the original BMW canister? If so, I should replace mine on my N73.
You should Andrew!
I am picking that your engine will be absolutely fine because there would have been enough pressure to supply some oil to the bearings. I would get an oil analysis done a few times afterwards.
Maybe I am more of a daredevil, I would have stopped and put the hazard flashers and warning triangle. Drivers need to look where they are going...people seem to be forgetting that more and more as driving gets dumbed down.
It will be OK I'm sure - but I wouldn't stop on the A325 in rush-hour, I only had 500 yards to go to safety.
I saw your video on what to watch out for buying a e63/e64. Is there also a mileage you should not go above? I see lots of them listed having driven 80k miles but also up to 200k miles. When did your failure occur?
It is caused by aging plastics so mileage is irrelevant
Hi Timm, i appreciate your videos here on RUclips very much! Can you tell me, what ramps you used and how high those were, so that you managed to get underneath the car. I think i have the same problem as you. But i have "only" lost 2-3 liters of oil during a 15 minute ride. Best regards, Herbert
This seems like it most likely occured due to being over-tightened.
No, I've done the last 10 oil changes - it's just aging BMW plastics!
Seems strange that such a large crack would occur in your driveway after start up without any provocation or enthusiastic acceleration bursts
Very strange, my guess is that the oil was more viscous in the cold morning. But, BMW plastics just let go for no reason at all except age
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation I can't account for the cold because I live in the Sunshine State but I just changed the oil filter on my father's 745 so I know how durable the cover is even after 20 years and 200,000 kms
Well that's not a designed built in obsolescence at all is it.
You have a valid point!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation They have been really using the materials engineers just for this reason the last few decades. I'm so sick of replacing plastic bits and I now get things rebuilt with better materials rather than rep[lace with oem just to not reward them for this.
Fingers crossed for the old girl
Thanks!
Ahhh, not a video title I wanted to read.. I have an N52 3L E63 with 86000 miles which has been Uber reliable..touch wood 🤞🏼
I hope it isn’t as bad as it first seemed.. Also, as a biker as well, I hope no one comes a cropper on the oil 😮
Thanks! Yes, I cleaned up as much as I could
I was expecting alternator bracket gasket failure
Mine leaked, but I have read they can fail like this, that was my guess as well.
Afraid not, it's the canister, and I've done the alternator bracket already!
I do wonder, you might be ok. I got low oil on a m54 to the point it started knocking and immediately added oil and i kept driving it for 2 years without any problems but I might've been Lucky
Yes, all OK now!
Typical BMW, crazy how dodgy their plastics are, especially on 'simple' parts that are crucial for engine operation!
Couldn't agree more - their plastic is hopeless!
Another story of misery with BMW. Sorry to hear this.
More misery I'm afraid!
Tim, I'm so sorry that happened to you. You'd think BMW wouldn't do a stupid design like that, at least there should have been a replacement interval on that part! Or better yet just design it so an oil filter. Can be simply screwed on there instead of internal replacements of filter media protected by a piece of hard plastic. Hopefully you didn't do any engine damage. I'll keep my fingers crossed!
Thanks! Yes, all OK again
I was just about due my oil change and I saw this video. It horrified me to the bone so I replaced this plastic cap as well!
Wise move - I couldn't believe how many viewers here had the same problem!
Better safe than sorry. Take care, Timm!
I hope these bad days end soon.
Thanks, it's not that bad, just one of those things!
Why on earth would you wear a white jacket to investigate an oil leak??? you need to invest in a pair of coveralls
That's all I had, and it needed to be fixed!
@@TimmsBMWRepairsandInformation buy some overalls 👍
Bloody 'el Tim , not your year, still it looks like you dodged a bullet hopefully !!!... guess due to the heat etc , its gonna go eventually,, might change mine just in case I do love how its so easy to get to on the V8s
Make sure you do!
I hear a lot about BMW using a lot of plastic parts in its engines, and I know of friends and family who suffered from this problem. It’s a shame that BMW seems to be cutting corners on building reliable cars.
I agree, started in 1988!
Those covers are made part of fiber glass :( they don't want you seeing the leaks 😢
It is slowly returning the oil to the ground when its wet!