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BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / TSBs and Service Bulletin > Oil filter too tight
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      11-07-2014, 08:22 PM   #1
BradZDestroyer
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Oil filter too tight

After letting my car sit a few days, I finally found time to check an oil leak... It's the oil filter seal. Apparently the non-bmw dealership where I bought the car, tighten the oil filter about 1/4 inch past the green line... The seal lasted a few days, before it started spitting oil everywhere. I'm taking my car 75 miles to the BMW service center on Tuesday morning for the 35k service, but I'm getting close to the minimum oil level now. My question, should I go ahead and change the filter (if I can get it off) or just add oil? I'm worried bmw will not want to cover any parts that may fail, like the alternator or pulleys, since it's not their fault if its directly related to the oil. The bmw tech said "it should all be covered" but punctuated the "should" very clearly. So, my 2013 328i that I've not even had a month... May already have a void warranty at no fault of my own. So I'm pretty stressed out. I would hate to change the filter and then take the blame from the original dealer or bmw. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
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      11-07-2014, 10:22 PM   #2
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What does the alternator have to do with the oil filter? If anything I would assume they might deny any damage to the lubrication system/engine as part of it although very unlikely.

I would go back to the place that did this, ask them for their insurance info. Go to the dealership and have them assess the damage and forward the quote to the insurance.

As much as fixing it yourself sounds easy enough, I don't know if it's worth getting involved.
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      11-07-2014, 11:40 PM   #3
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The oil filter is above the alternator. As oil flows from the broken seal, it goes down into it. It's like... Drippin with oil. I don't know if that's actually going to destroy it, but I don't see how it can be good.

I didn't think about asking for their insurnace, that's a great idea... Thanks for that. I had planned to go see them tomorrow, I'm 99% sure the filter will be a pain to remove... so I would rather not risk damaging the cap or stripping the housing threads, despite how easy the fix is.

I've never had such an issue, I'm trying to tread lightly and not screw myself over. I literally closed my hood, typed this thread and started researching.. But I'm not finding much clear information. I ask my banker, who gave me the loan... He wasn't happy at all, and said he would look into it. Guess I'll leave it parked until I talk to bmw Monday morning and just hope for the best...
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      11-09-2014, 05:35 AM   #4
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Okay, so to clear things up a bit here. First off, the green line has nothing to do with tightening the oil filter cap correctly. Most people think it is some type of index mark. It's not an index mark, but rather a Quality Control (QA) mark for inspection that indicates the oil filter cap was correctly torqued down during the engine assembly build; it's just a dash of paint. Generally when reinstalling the cap after an oil change the marks will probably line up or at least be close to each other because the threads on the housing and cap are indexed that way, but the proper amount of torque on the cap is more dependent upon the o-ring that seals the cap, not the distance the cap is turned on the threads.

Secondly, whoever you took your car to for an oil change was clueless and not familiar with BMWs, so don't take it back there ever again. I'd say he way over-torqued the cap and probably cracked it, which is why it is leaking so bad. Or he did not install the new o-ring correctly, or didn't install one at all. Regardless, it shouldn't be leaking that bad to make such mess. If it were me, I'd order a new oil filter cap and filter and install it correctly, then top off the oil when it gets to the +1QT notification.
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      11-10-2014, 10:33 AM   #5
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if you fix the issue right away and dont drive it that way for extended priors of time then you will be ok. No need to worry.
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      11-10-2014, 02:20 PM   #6
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I bet it's not an issue with the cap. I bet they didn't use the provided O rings with the filter kit. There are 2 is memory serves. One really small one (green) and one large one (black). If they didn't use the O rings then the filter hasn't been operating correctly since...

I have always used that green tick mark on all our past BMWs to tell if the service dept actually touched the filter. Other than that, I just hand tighten the plastic filter cap and have never had a single issue with leaking oil.
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      11-12-2014, 12:21 PM   #7
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Hey guys, thanks for the replys. I finally got everything straighten out. The first BMW service center had given me some REALLY bad information, had me so stressed out over nothing apparently. I called a second dealer, and they had a completely different view. They told me to change the filter if i could, add a little oil according to idrive and bring it to them asap.. It would still be covered under my warranty. And i did just that.

Actually, i went by the dealership where i bought the car first and they gave me some information incase they had to pay for anything and to my surprise, was actually on my side. Possibly because the finance company had called and raised hell. They also let me speak to the mechanic who serviced the car, and he was infact an idiot with a bead of skoal spit running down his chin. He claimed he only put the filter on hand tight, so i called BS, since it was WAY past the green markings. Pulled out my socket and took the filter off... gently. I ask him to tighten the new one as far as he could by hand in front of his boss, and sure enough.. there was still plenty of threads showing. He then informed me, they only had a filter to fit and had to use an o-ring from a different filter. I bagged the filter and o-ring, tighten the new filter myself and left on my merry way.

Anyways, i made it to the service center with no issues. They spent close to 5 hours on my car, servicing, inspecting and taking care of the recalls. They also told me, had i drove it to the first service center i spoke with... And had my engine not been properly oiled, i would have been in a really bad situation.. Like paying out of pocket for a new engine if anything had gone wrong, and they could back me into that corner. He did inform me the green markings aren't an indicator but more of a reference point, which is good to know. I showed him the old filter and o-ring, so he compared it to a new one and it was not only a smaller filter but the o-ring was much, much thinner. Either from being compressed or just the wrong size. Possibly, the reason why the filter was overtight to begin with.

Last edited by BradZDestroyer; 11-12-2014 at 01:16 PM..
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