[f10Ben]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2011 535xi and I have been experiencing burning smells coming from the engine bay and ocassional light smoke. I don’t see oil on the oil cap housing but when I removed the cap there was oil in the seal. I do see what appears to be oil on the lower parts of the engine and the pan looks brown and a little glossy. I also checked the coolant and it appears to be below the Min. I am going to replace the coolant now and I cleaned the cap. Also the headlight on the coolant side is very foggy. Does anyone know what could be the root cause or Is there any other spots I should check or signs to look out for? Thank you!

[Conserve]

Oil filter housing leaking for sure (last picture). No.2 valve cover gasket. No4 & 5

How many miles and how long have owned the car?

[f10Ben]

Originally Posted by Conserve

Oil filter housing leaking for sure (last picture). No.2 valve cover gasket. No4 & 5

How many miles and how long have owned the car?

Thank you for the response! It’s at 85k I am the second owner but it is 13 years old.

[culto]

I think you need a new valve cover gasket. When you replace the gasket do yourself a favor and also replace the valve cover. FCP Euro is a good source for a new valve cover.

Regarding the headlight condensation you probably have a leak by the seal which I currently have (and so do many other members of this forum). I just bought new headlight gaskets and headlight caps from FCP Euro and I am going to add silicone to the headlight seal.

[Conserve]

f10Ben. You mentioned about changing coolant. Want to say that great time/ opportunity to replace oil filter and cooling unit gaskets at the same time because you have coolant line running to oil filter housing. Lots DYI on youtube. Make sure you replace all the bolts with new ones and torque them precisely to specs. Also will be good time to replace coolant hose flange. This is the hose flange right next to oil filter housing upfront

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Originally Posted by f10Ben

Thank you for the response! It’s at 85k I am the second owner but it is 13 years old.

Get that Valve Cover and Oil Filter Housing done asap, prioritize the OFHG if you have a limited budget, last thing you need is your serpentine belt to slip off and that will be a bigger issue. If you can replace these parts yourself, you will save enough for a good vacation and road trip. if you flush coolant, it is a great way to test your Electric Water pump and function.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Originally Posted by Conserve

f10Ben. You mentioned about changing coolant. Want to say that great time/ opportunity to replace oil filter and cooling unit gaskets at the same time because you have coolant line running to oil filter housing. Lots DYI on youtube. Make sure you replace all the bolts with new ones and torque them precisely to specs. Also will be good time to replace coolant hose flange. This is the hose flange right next to oil filter housing upfront

This is an excellent upgrade!

[f10Ben]

Originally Posted by Conserve

f10Ben. You mentioned about changing coolant. Want to say that great time/ opportunity to replace oil filter and cooling unit gaskets at the same time because you have coolant line running to oil filter housing. Lots DYI on youtube. Make sure you replace all the bolts with new ones and torque them precisely to specs. Also will be good time to replace coolant hose flange. This is the hose flange right next to oil filter housing upfront

Thank you so much! I added that to my cart. As far as the housing, do you think I need the complete oil filter housing or just the gasket kit?

[f10Ben]

Originally Posted by ChiltiCoatl89

Get that Valve Cover and Oil Filter Housing done asap, prioritize the OFHG if you have a limited budget, last thing you need is your serpentine belt to slip off and that will be a bigger issue. If you can replace these parts yourself, you will save enough for a good vacation and road trip. if you flush coolant, it is a great way to test your Electric Water pump and function.

I really appreciate the advice! I will definitely be trying to do it myself I am a novice to most of these repairs, the most intense thing I’ve done on this car is the blower motor so this is a step above lol. I am hoping to get to this soon before I continue to drive the car as I am worried about that. Sorry for the dumb questions haha but do you think I should replace the whole housing? also I just replied to someone else with pictures of what I was seeing on fcp euro. Y’all are knowledgeable as hell

[culto]

You will most likely just need the oil filter gaskets. You should not need a new oil filter housing.

[John H.]

I've seen the bolts overtightened on the cooler, stripping it to the oil housing. Please torque to spec.

[Conserve]

+1 on just gaskets and new hardware only.

There are two versions of heat exchangers on N55 engines. I don't know reasons for that but I can tell you bolts for heat exchanger are different. So it is important that you select the right one base on heat exchanger your engine has. See item #9 in diagrams below.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Conserve

There are two versions of heat exchangers on N55 engines. I don't know reasons for that but I can tell you bolts for heat exchanger are different.

Reasons? Because they're different.

One is a coolant/oil heat exchanger (top), the other sends oil to an oil/air cooler (e.g. oil radiator) in the front right fender.

Actually there's a third version - no heat exchanger - but I don't think it is very common.

The oil/air cooler version also seems to suffer the highest incidence of post-procedure rod bearing issues so priming as per the TIS procedure (or more) is very important.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Conserve

There are two versions of heat exchangers on N55 engines. I don't know reasons for that but I can tell you bolts for heat exchanger are different.

Reason? Because they're different. Same reason why some engines have 4 cylinders and some have 6 (or 8).

One is a coolant/oil heat exchanger (top picture), the other sends oil to an oil/air cooler (e.g. oil radiator) in the front right fender.

Actually there's a third version - no heat exchanger - but I don't think it is all that common on the 5er.

The oil/air cooler version also seems to suffer the highest incidence of post-procedure rod bearing issues so priming as per the TIS procedure (or more) is very important.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Originally Posted by f10Ben

I really appreciate the advice! I will definitely be trying to do it myself I am a novice to most of these repairs, the most intense thing I’ve done on this car is the blower motor so this is a step above lol. I am hoping to get to this soon before I continue to drive the car as I am worried about that. Sorry for the dumb questions haha but do you think I should replace the whole housing? also I just replied to someone else with pictures of what I was seeing on fcp euro. Y’all are knowledgeable as hell

There are some great videos on DIY for this particular repair. Youtube is king! please do not rush and simply take your time!

[ChiltiCoatl89]

Originally Posted by Conserve

+1 on just gaskets and new hardware only.

There are two versions of heat exchangers on N55 engines. I don't know reasons for that but I can tell you bolts for heat exchanger are different. So it is important that you select the right one base on heat exchanger your engine has. See item #9 in diagrams below.

Where do you have all this info? I would like to have access!

[Conserve]

Originally Posted by Surly73

Reason? Because they're different.
The oil/air cooler version also seems to suffer the highest incidence of post-procedure rod bearing issues so priming as per the TIS procedure (or more) is very important.

That is very critical. Glad you mentioned it.

f10Ben If you doing this yourself or a shop be mindful of of engine oil priming procedure. Fuel pump fuses must be removed before proceeding to repair. Run the engine till it dies. perform the repair then crank the engine 3 times (each time lasting 10 seconds). This is engine oil priming and is required on N55 engines. Replace fuses and start your car.

[Surly73]

Someone walks through the SIB and a priming procedure in a video here

Something I noticed when searching around now which documents something new since I did my OFHG (and something I've been calling for for a while).

SIB 110220 seems to supercede the original. It references an ISTA function "Start-up of the oil circuit". I suspect this has an electronic function plus suitable step-by-step instructions to ensure that the oil pump is running at full volume output during the priming procedure.

FINALLY.

Of course, it probably requires a new enough version of ISTA to appear as an option.

FWIW, I chose the route of disconnecting the fuel injectors instead of pulling fuses. In this case there are multiple ways to get the job done.

[f10Ben]

Hey guys! I completed the oil filter housing today and everything thing on that end looks good. After starting my car back up the problem I had prior was still there. After turning the car on I still have the smell and some smoking coming from the back of the engine on the passenger side. I asked my buddy who knows some about cars (not bmw in particular) he said it smells like an exhaust leak. Would you guys lean towards valve gasket leak or an exhaust leak. Thank you all again for the help!!

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by f10Ben

Hey guys! I completed the oil filter housing today and everything thing on that end looks good. After starting my car back up the problem I had prior was still there. After turning the car on I still have the smell and some smoking coming from the back of the engine on the passenger side. I asked my buddy who knows some about cars (not bmw in particular) he said it smells like an exhaust leak. Would you guys lean towards valve gasket leak or an exhaust leak. Thank you all again for the help!!

Valve cover. Mine went on our 2014 at ~83K.

[Conserve]

^+1 VCG replacement.

[ChiltiCoatl89]

+2 on the VCG Replacement.