2004 BMW Z4 Leak around Oil Filter Housing

PEACEFIELD

MEMBER
2004 BMW Z4
6 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
50,000 MILES

I changed my own oil on my 2004 Z4 3.0 for the first time. The filter in this car goes into a housing. I replaced the filter as well as the O ring that seals the cap. The O ring is failing to seal well and I'm getting a fairly signifcant leak. At first, it looked like I may have tried to screw the back cap on too tightly and caused the O ring to squeeze out a little and the oil was leaking from there. I opened it back up, reset the ring, and put it back with only firm but not tight pressure. After driving, the ring has another bulge to it and it's leaking again.

How tightly should this cap be on? Am I not doing something to seat the O ring correctly?

Thanks.

1 Reply

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

I acknowledge you changing your own oil. It sounds like you may have compromised the O-ring. Replace the O-ring with a new one and put a couple of drops of oil on it, make sure the O-ring is in the correct position in the groove and torque it to 24 foot pounds.