Oil filter housing leak (viton o-rings?)

[ScHpAnKy]

I'm leaking like a fountain (definitely WAY more than small trickle) from the side machining covers instead of the gasket.

for the visual thinkers:


I've read that I need the o-rings for the side covers (VITON Part# VT1000-118 , bmw doesn't list them or sell them) that were used during machining. However, lowes, home depot, advanced, autozone, napa etc don't stock anything similar in size. The closest available size I could find was the biggest O-ring in the advanced o-ring assortment (PN# 80000) and it worked for a few minutes before exploding and gushing about a quart of oil when I turned my back. I've seen some people just place the caps in and weld it shut, but I believe the housing is aluminum and I don't have a TIG welder, only MIG.

Has anybody run in to this, and more importantly fix it? I'd rather not buy a new $450 oil housing as the dealers suggest

other people also having the same issue, without resolution:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/101-projects-discussion-forum-bmw-3-series-e30-e36-1982-2000/298644-can-oil-filter-housing-resealed.html#post4299163

[328ijunkie]

When i bought them a few years back i had to buy 100 of them. I only have about 10 left.. lol

[ScHpAnKy]

ended up getting 25 of them from some phone-only vendor in new hampshire... so if anybody needs a set, PM me!

[M3PO]

My S50 has threaded plugs there???

[ScHpAnKy]

My S50 has threaded plugs there???

a lot of motors do, out of curiosity what year is yours?

[M3PO]

a lot of motors do, out of curiosity what year is yours?

It's an S50 so '95 (10/94 IIRC).

[justin_l_]

Use O-ring part number 11-42-1-714-764, it is from the through bolt on the m20 ofh.

[cmybimmer]

Mine were leaking bad in my old e36.. I ended up getting some GM distributor O-rings from auto-zone and it fit perfectly and held up just fine! Used the same ones on my current m50 :up:

Wish I read this earlier.

[Oly_Schmidt]

Thanks guys.

I'm ready to kill. The housing started leaking from the block gasket after about 100 miles of driving after completing the swap. So after ordering and waiting for the gasket, I swapped it out and took it for a quick test (after checking for leaks of course). Ended up leaving a thick line of oil all through my neighborhood.:evil:
I thought I'd screwed up so I meticulously disassembled and reassembled everything only to find out it was this O ring. WTF?!?!?!?

I hadn't seen anything about this in previous swap stories but I will be adding it to mine (if I ever get this damn thing road worthy). /Vent

[5Toes]

goto a hydraulics shop, they can get any size oring,e tc. for when they rebuild hydraulic cylinders

[Oly_Schmidt]

Good tip! Thanks Toes.
It's a bitch waiting for everything to come up from Cali...

[lowdub21]

to permanently fix this issue I use a pipe tap and some pipe plugs. You can probably get the supplies needed at any reputable plumbing store. I think I bought everything I needed at fastenal. No more messing with o-rings.

[not5toes]

So bump - has anybody done this repair with leaving the housing on car? Not being lazy, I just did the main gasket but it seems there is acccess.

How did everybody get the spring to sit?

[iansane]

I just did this the other day on mine. O'Reilly had the o-rings sold individually behind the counter. $.50 or something ridiculously cheap. Left the housing on the car because I had just done the housing gasket and pushed the circlips in starting on one side and just working slowly to the other. The first few tries I got fairly aggravated.

[not5toes]

Good to know! Didnt have to remove the intake manifold then?

Im gonna tackle this job this weekend, getting the orings for a few cents at hydraulic shop