E30 Oil Pan Replacement :/ Help needed.

[RuskiBenve]

So i kind of screwed up well i dont regret it and i learned from it. Well my oil pan is cracked or has a crack. i was driving home from school and luckily my car got to my friends house before all the oil ran out. When i arrived it was less than a minute until all the oil gushed out.
So my oil pan is cracked is what im guessing because all the oil just rushed out but after it cracked and i was driving to reach my friends house nothing else screwed up because the ride was as smooth as it was before (just my oil rushing)
Luckily a buddie found an oil pan for me for 80 bucks.
I was wondering how hard is it to replace it? Oh and i have to buy a oil pan gasket. I heard you have to take off the front suspension or something to take the oil pan out. Is their an easier way?
What would be the most time and money consuming way to replace one?
Thanks in advanced!

[M42Technik]

You may find the motor received more detrimental damage since you were driving with a cracked pan...having the car running with a cracked pan does circulate oil through the engine with minimal spilling of oil, but you might have caused some damage to the internals.

However, replacing the plan is dead simple. Just get it lifted up, drain it, unscrew it, and replace. Simple as that.

Hoping your motor didn't get too screwed.

Also, make sure you get a skidplate of some sort. Don't go through 5 pans like I did.

[CabbE30]

The most time & money consuming way would be to buy a new one from BMW & Take it into your local BMW service technician.....

But really, Search.

[RuskiBenve]

You may find the motor received more detrimental damage since you were driving with a cracked pan...having the car running with a cracked pan does circulate oil through the engine with minimal spilling of oil, but you might have caused some damage to the internals.

However, replacing the plan is dead simple. Just get it lifted up, drain it, unscrew it, and replace. Simple as that.

Hoping your motor didn't get too screwed.

Also, make sure you get a skidplate of some sort. Don't go through 5 pans like I did.

Ah, you think it would do damage already? When it cracked the maximum i drove would be like 4 minutes then turned off the engine right away.?

[M42Technik]

Ah, you think it would do damage already? When it cracked the maximum i drove would be like 4 minutes then turned off the engine right away.?

Its possible, but you should be mostly okay. Someone chime in if you think otherwise.

[RuskiBenve]

Its possible, but you should be mostly okay. Someone chime in if you think otherwise.

Sounds good, im going to hope for the best haha.

[AndrewBird]

Did your oil pressure light turn on at any point? If it did, consider the engine toast. If it didn't, you should be fine.

As far as replacing it goes, you need to lower the subframe to make room to get the pan out. This means supporting the engine from the top, removing the nuts holding the motor mounts on, then dropping the subframe down. Easiest way is to buy bolts the same diameter as the subframe bolts, but a few inches longer, then swapping them out 1 by 1, allowing the subframe to hang down. This way you don't have to pull it completely out.

[RuskiBenve]

Did your oil pressure light turn on at any point? If it did, consider the engine toast. If it didn't, you should be fine.

As far as replacing it goes, you need to lower the subframe to make room to get the pan out. This means supporting the engine from the top, removing the nuts holding the motor mounts on, then dropping the subframe down. Easiest way is to buy bolts the same diameter as the subframe bolts, but a few inches longer, then swapping them out 1 by 1, allowing the subframe to hang down. This way you don't have to pull it completely out.

Well the sensor is bad on it the replace oil light goes on sometimes and then off when the oil was just fine, but thank God it was off just the engine light turned on then off halfway riding the car, but my sensor is bad on the check engine light too cause it did the same thing just randomly turned on and off before. Sounds good thanks! Hopefully i can get started tomorrow

[Adrian_Visser]

Not the light on the check panel, that just tells you if the oil level is low, the one in the cluster is the low pressure light. If it came on for more than a few seconds there is a good chance you scuffed some bearings.

[davem]

DEasiest way is to buy bolts the same diameter as the subframe bolts, but a few inches longer, then swapping them out 1 by 1, allowing the subframe to hang down. This way you don't have to pull it completely out.

fuck that's brilliant, wish i thought of that when i did mine, god that subframe is a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles to line up and get back on...

[Chriskbmx]

there is a way easier way to do it. do you have a floor jack? if so your in luck.
step 1.
lossen your motor mounts from the bottom. 17mm is the size
step 2.
take of the transmission shield.
step 3.
put your jack under the ac compressor bracket and lift your motor till it wont go any farther. you might have to loosen up your trans mounts.
step 4
remove all the bolts holding the pan.
step 5. the pan will now drop down. what you need to do now is get a 13mm wrench. nothing else will work. and drop the oil pump. once you do that the pan should come right up.

when putting it back together make sure that you get the rod that drives the oil pump in the right spot or you wont have oil pressure. took me 3hrs my first time to do this. i can do it under an hr now.

[travish325]

Did your oil pressure light turn on at any point? If it did, consider the engine toast. If it didn't, you should be fine.

As far as replacing it goes, you need to lower the subframe to make room to get the pan out. This means supporting the engine from the top, removing the nuts holding the motor mounts on, then dropping the subframe down. Easiest way is to buy bolts the same diameter as the subframe bolts, but a few inches longer, then swapping them out 1 by 1, allowing the subframe to hang down. This way you don't have to pull it completely out.

No

there is a way easier way to do it. do you have a floor jack? if so your in luck.
step 1.
lossen your motor mounts from the bottom. 17mm is the size
step 2.
take of the transmission shield.
step 3.
put your jack under the ac compressor bracket and lift your motor till it wont go any farther. you might have to loosen up your trans mounts.
step 4
remove all the bolts holding the pan.
step 5. the pan will now drop down. what you need to do now is get a 13mm wrench. nothing else will work. and drop the oil pump. once you do that the pan should come right up.

when putting it back together make sure that you get the rod that drives the oil pump in the right spot or you wont have oil pressure. took me 3hrs my first time to do this. i can do it under an hr now.

And partly no

You dont need to take the pump off. Undo mounts, jack the motor up and undo the tranny cover and all oil pan bolts, including the oil level sensor. If you jack it up high enough the pan will slide out pretty easy without taking the pump off. Also you will probably get a cork oil pan gasket, Best thing to do is put a little rtv sealant on it to hold it on let it cure for an hour then put it back together. The rtv will help seal and keep the gasket from sliding around.

It seems like a hard job when you look at it, but its actually pretty simple.