Leaking Sump Gasket

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Car-Nut
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 10:59 am

The gasket leaks slightly but Ive had two different quotes

4-5 hrs labour - :O(

3hrs labour - :O(

Then a mate said to me should only about 2hrs labour plus a gasket @ about £10 plus oil.

Whats the right amount of labour.

Im in Lancs ( Home) and telford for work can anyone recomend anyone in either area for the work. Or does anyone want to do itif so PM me if you do.

Cheers

Clive
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:15 am

never done this, but surely 2 hours labour is taking the pisch!

is the subframe in the way guys?

otherwise it must be 10 mins to take the sump off, 10-15 mins cleaning the sump out and preparing the surfaces and then bolting the bugger back up yeah?

buy the gasket and do it yourself
ivqii
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:19 am

I think the engine needs to be lifted
Car-Nut
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:19 am

to be honest I dont have the time...

or the tools !!
Car-Nut
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:20 am

ivqii

Yeah someone said that to me :O(
ivqii
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 11:22 am

If you can live with the leak ( and if its only slight) you can go for 1000's of miles yet

Just keep a careful check on your oil level
Car-Nut
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 12:53 pm

Everywhere I park i get a little puddle of oil underneath it drives me crazy...

Plus I cant park on my drive properly it stains the block paving :O(
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SD
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:09 pm

Garage will say engine needs to be lifted out. The subframe is in the way of the sump.

I did it myself - gasket is £6.95 from GSF. It is a finicky job to do without taking the engine out, took me an entire day to do. So three hours sounds reasonable.

DIY Guide is at:

http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/d ... Section=08
Car-Nut
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:14 pm

Good site SD... :D

Still a bit to messy for me I'lllet someone in the know do it !! :D
Templ8e30
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 6:35 pm

I had to do this job last weekend, the engine needs to be lifted a good 4 inches to let the sump past the oil pump.

The coolant will need draining and the hoses to the rad removing, I also removed the exhaust downpipe from the exhaust manifold to avoid straining it.

All in I spent about 3 hours from start to finish doing the job on my drive using axle stands and an engine hoist.

It's a pig of a job because of the lack of space between the sump and the suspension subframe.

Cheers,

Iain T
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E30Mark
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Fri Jun 09, 2006 6:50 pm

Use a engine brace to support the engine, then drop the cross member... that's the way i do it!

I managed years ago to change the sump gasket on a 323i with out jacking up the car, or moving the engine or cross member. I had no tools when i first moved, i have no idea how i managed it !!

Garage should be able to do most sumps within 3 hours i would have thought.
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