[asian]

Sorry what I meant was: Do you need to access/change/take off the OFHG to fix an oil cooler or rocker cover leak? Ie. Would you need to prime the system as suggested after a rocker cover or oil cooler leak?

[BurrNinja]

Originally Posted by asian

Sorry what I meant was: Do you need to access/change/take off the OFHG to fix an oil cooler or rocker cover leak? Ie. Would you need to prime the system as suggested after a rocker cover or oil cooler leak?

I did not prime system after replacing valve cover, also no, ofhg is not required to take off for valve cover replacement. I would prime system for oil cooler though to get the oil back into the system where needed.

[asian]

Originally Posted by BurrNinja

I did not prime system after replacing valve cover, also no, ofhg is not required to take off for valve cover replacement. I would prime system for oil cooler though to get the oil back into the system where needed.

Thanks bro!

[BimmerHausPerformance]

Ok check this out! These guys explain how the N55 sucks air and causes this issue!! At about the 6 min mark.

[Themarkymark]

Originally Posted by BrowBMW

Ok check this out! These guys explain how the N55 sucks air and causes this issue!! At about the 6 min mark.

What he is referring to is starvation when all the oil moves away from the sump. That usually occurs during extremely hard cornering in motorsports. It’s definitely a concern, but wouldn’t be the reason for our OFHG-linked failures.

Even so, I looked in the recent past for an oil pan baffle for our chassis to no avail, not sure if the weld-in F series baffle plates I found would fit.

[Unspec]

I wonder if priming can be skipped by just idling the engine afterwards for 5-10 minutes. In theory, the oil should get to the proper places in a few seconds, and even if it causes wear I can't imagine it being extreme enough to destroy the engine. I wonder how many of the seized engines got the OFHG job, and then the owner immediately went to go drive it instead of just idling it for a bit. I did the job yesterday (damn is it messy) and couldn't find any info on what fuses to pull to prevent engine start, so I just left it idling for a bit.

[Themarkymark]

Originally Posted by Unspec

I wonder if priming can be skipped by just idling the engine afterwards for 5-10 minutes. In theory, the oil should get to the proper places in a few seconds, and even if it causes wear I can't imagine it being extreme enough to destroy the engine. I wonder how many of the seized engines got the OFHG job, and then the owner immediately went to go drive it instead of just idling it for a bit.

It could maybe be the case for those who did it themselves, however it wouldn’t explain the failures out of shops though. First off, most shops worth half a shit will take the vehicle for a 5 mile drive. Also, the vehicle would like be driven and idled to put it in a pickup location for the customers.

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by Themarkymark

It could maybe be the case for those who did it themselves, however it wouldn’t explain the failures out of shops though. First off, most shops worth half a shit will take the vehicle for a 5 mile drive. Also, the vehicle would like be driven and idled to put it in a pickup location for the customers.

What I'm saying is immediately idling the car for 20 minutes after the job. I doubt most shops would do that since they wouldn't want an idling car taking up floor space for no reason.

[Surly73]

Originally Posted by Unspec

I wonder if priming can be skipped by just idling the engine afterwards for 5-10 minutes. In theory, the oil should get to the proper places in a few seconds, and even if it causes wear I can't imagine it being extreme enough to destroy the engine. I wonder how many of the seized engines got the OFHG job, and then the owner immediately went to go drive it instead of just idling it for a bit. I did the job yesterday (damn is it messy) and couldn't find any info on what fuses to pull to prevent engine start, so I just left it idling for a bit.

What I know of the topic is that this is specifically not the case. The oil pump in the N55 is variable displacement, like the AC, and the DME can reduce the oil pump volume when demand is low. At idling, the demand is low, so the pump displacement is reduced dramatically by the DME. You need to get the oil pump doing full flow to bleed, and I guess that's what's happening during cranking.

I had the same rationale months ago and was presented this information. Idling to prime is not enough. On the other hand, we have developed no pattern of just what circumstances lead to priming being critical but missing from the factory instructions in TIS. The strongest theory I've heard is external air/oil cooler loops but with no strong correlation. Another theory is "2011s are bad", but to my knowledge the post-OFHG bearing failures are not limited to 2011s.

I've said before, I can't believe that ISTA+ doesn't just have an oil prime function that can disable fuel injection and ensure pump volume is at max instead of making the official procedure be to pull fuses and disconnect injectors and stuff.

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by Surly73

What I know of the topic is that this is specifically not the case. The oil pump in the N55 is variable displacement, like the AC, and the DME can reduce the oil pump volume when demand is low. At idling, the demand is low, so the pump displacement is reduced dramatically by the DME. You need to get the oil pump doing full flow to bleed, and I guess that's what's happening during cranking.

I had the same rationale months ago and was presented this information. Idling to prime is not enough. On the other hand, we have developed no pattern of just what circumstances lead to priming being critical but missing from the factory instructions in TIS. The strongest theory I've heard is external air/oil cooler loops but with no strong correlation. Another theory is "2011s are bad", but to my knowledge the post-OFHG bearing failures are not limited to 2011s.

I've said before, I can't believe that ISTA+ doesn't just have an oil prime function that can disable fuel injection and ensure pump volume is at max instead of making the official procedure be to pull fuses and disconnect injectors and stuff.

What fuses do we need to pull?

[GrabacrOne]

Originally Posted by Unspec

What fuses do we need to pull?

Did you figure out which fuses to pull? Would rather do this than disconnect the fuel injectors.

[BimmerHausPerformance]

You could also disconnect the plug at the back of your fuel rail, I would imagine that would accomplish the same thing.

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by GrabacrOne

Did you figure out which fuses to pull? Would rather do this than disconnect the fuel injectors.

Nope. I'd just pop out the injector and spark wires. It plugs into the DME right under the intake box, and is pretty accessible.

[lsturbointeg]

i forgot what fuses we pulled without looking back again

[BurrNinja]

Fuse 139 and Fuse 184 in the trunk are what to take out for fuel system to shut off. Fuse 135 is empty.

[GrabacrOne]

Originally Posted by BurrNinja

Fuse 139 and Fuse 184 in the trunk are what to take out for fuel system to shut off. Fuse 135 is empty.

Great! Thanks for the detailed pictures. I saw the same on my fuse diagram but wanted to make this shut off the fuel system for others. Should I wait about a day after pulling the fuses to lose pressure in the system? The fuel pump usually primes when I unlock the car.

[BurrNinja]

Originally Posted by GrabacrOne

Great! Thanks for the detailed pictures. I saw the same on my fuse diagram but wanted to make this shut off the fuel system for others. Should I wait about a day after pulling the fuses to lose pressure in the system? The fuel pump usually primes when I unlock the car.

You don't have to wait, your car may start for a second but will shut off right away. Won't hurt a thing.

[T-Bone18]

Originally Posted by lsturbointeg

we just did mine yesterday since we changed the oil filter housing gasket and oil cooler gasket. Burrninja and i performed this by priming the oil system for 30 seconds (with ignition or fueling disconnected) before starting. there's 3 fuses we had to pull in the trunk. from there he than had the coolant capped removed to where you can see it spitting into the reservoir where he would keep adding blue coolant until it stopped.

I just replace my OFHG and OCG yesterday and did try a different method to prime the engine oil and it work beautiful. So no need to pull out the fuses or disconnect the injectors, etc. What you have to do on your battery is to pull sideway the black plastic pin. It's the 2nd red wire goes in the plastic pin, which is located in the mid section of the battery. I will post a picture. So this will disable the fuel pump. After that you can try to start the car(with a foot on with brake pedal) and it will prime the starter for 10 sec without started the engine. Notice that it will stop automatic after 8-10sec.

When you do that, you will see your check engine light start and engine drivetrain malfunction light turn on, which is normal. Just remove the engine code after reconnecting the full pump battery terminal or disconnect the negative terminal and put it back to erase the code.

[BimmerHausPerformance]

Guys, the fuse for the fuel pump is in the trunk, takes 2 seconds to pull out so:

1. pull it
2. run the car BEFORE the oil change to get the fuel out of the lines
3. then do the oil change
4. crank the car a few times to build oil pressure
5. insert fuse, start car.

Done. It's easier than even accessing your battery. Super simple.

[sumbeam]

Hello.

I''ve just read this post and I'm freaking out. Do I have to worry about this issue after a routine oil and filter change?

What is exactly OFHG? Is a part or a procedure?

Thank you guys!

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by sumbeam

Hello.

I''ve just read this post and I'm freaking out. Do I have to worry about this issue after a routine oil and filter change?

What is exactly OFHG? Is a part or a procedure?

Thank you guys!

No...

It's the Oil Filter Housing Gasket.

[Unspec]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

No...

It's the Oil Filter Housing Gasket.

Think he's talking about the priming specifically

Generally, no you don't need to prime if you're just doing an oil change, but it wouldn't hurt either.