euthorus

Car: 94 BMW E36
Issue: Leaking freeze plug on the back of the oil filter housing

Having had to replace my useless plug o-rings on the back of the e36 oil filter housing 3 times now I am looking for a chemical gasket solution, Permatex #1 or #2 seem to fit the bill but I have not used either one before. I would love some advice on what you have used in the past in this type of a location to seal a massive leak. The oil is flowing past these holes with some pressure so the seal would need to account for that.

And yes I have tried every size of the o-ring I could fit in there, I think the plug/hole are worn out or warped as I managed to seal the top one on the first try without any issues.

Here is what I am dealing with:

Closeup:

boostjunkie

apparently from what i see on bmw's etk, they probably never intended for those to be taken out..




because they dont list a part number anywhere. ive also never had anyone ask for those that i can remember having sold parts for bmws for the past almost 14 years.

euthorus

Yup, but the bastards will inevitably leak and now I have to decide whether I unbolt it all again (shudder) and take it to machine shop have them tap those holes and make me screw-in plugs or get enthusiastic with a large splooge of some sealant that can hold up to hot pressurized oil or buy a whole new updated design housing.

Laserjock

Viton o-rings are the only known solution to the pervasive use of Buna-N seals in many popular BMW automobile engine variable timing units, known as VANOS. In the VANOS, the Buna-N o-ring deteriorate while the Viton fluorocarbon o-rings have similar functional characteristics to Buna-N, but with much higher temperature and chemical resistance characteristics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viton

euthorus

I am using the Viton rings @ 75 Durometer, and the tighter once simple tear when compressed into the lower hole. Anyone know of a way to seal this externally ?

Fabrik8

Unless you see signs of wear, I would imagine that the O-ring has worn out or deteriorated, and you probably aren't getting an O-ring with the proper diameter or cross section as a replacement. There should be no reason that parts in good condition with no mechanical wear should fail to seat after a proper O-ring replacement.

It wouldn't hurt to get tapped for a proper port plug though, like the aluminum ones for racing. I don't know if the sizes will match what you need though.