E63 650i 2007 engine gearbox oil leaks

[rth]

Hi

Oil leaks, investigated by BMW dealer, need 2 new head gaskets and gearbox sump, seal and adapter. The dealer price to fix is too high.

I am in UB9, any recommendation of a "reasonable" local repairer or even a forum member wants to earn extra money welcome?

I have tried Birds auto in Iver but they are same if not more than the dealer asking price.

Thanks

[Greydog]

Morning hrytn 

Welcome to the Forum

B W Auto Repairs have an excellent reputation they are in Hayes I believe

With the repairs identified by the Dealer, is it actually the head gaskets or the rocker covers ? If it is the Head Gaskets it means major engine work so cost will be high even if you could DIY let alone a Garage doing the work due to labour costs. Gearbox sump pan is not uncommon when an over enthusiastic person has overtightened the sump and distorted it. Sadly if it is distorted a replacement sump is the only real fix

If you take the car to another garage don't tell them the BMW diagnosis as they will just cost accordingly just ask them to investigate the oil leaks.

Good Luck

Dave

[rth]

2 hours ago, Greydog said:

Morning hrytn 

Welcome to the Forum

B W Auto Repairs have an excellent reputation they are in Hayes I believe

With the repairs identified by the Dealer, is it actually the head gaskets or the rocker covers ? If it is the Head Gaskets it means major engine work so cost will be high even if you could DIY let alone a Garage doing the work due to labour costs. Gearbox sump pan is not uncommon when an over enthusiastic person has overtightened the sump and distorted it. Sadly if it is distorted a replacement sump is the only real fix

If you take the car to another garage don't tell them the BMW diagnosis as they will just cost accordingly just ask them to investigate the oil leaks.

Good Luck

Dave

Thank you for reply

I have used the named garage in the past, was disappointed not going back. 

It's the rocker cover gaskets, how much is a reasonable price to fix it?

The car is only worth few thousands, not in love with the car,  outdated, could well end up in a scrap yard if not economical to repair.

I had the car for 11 years, gearbox never been touched, guess seals are just 15 year old rubber/plastic disintegrating.

 

[rth]

4 hours ago, Greydog said:

If you take the car to another garage don't tell them the BMW diagnosis as they will just cost accordingly just ask them to investigate the oil leaks.

BMW dealer investigated the leaks for a special discount price £99 inc, Autobirtds asked me £235.00 just to investigate. 

 I have BMW dealer investigation report and quotation to fix, they can't be wrong, Why not tell them what to replace? 

[Greydog]

If you tell them the issue will they actually investigate ?? Personally if I am seeking a second opinion I would not want their judgement clouded. I have known people to be told oil is leaking from the head and it is the Rocker cover.

If you are confident in the BMW Dealer quote for work required then as my original post it will be expensive as to rectify the heads have to come off that is a huge amount of work involved, I know I rebuilt my 4.6is engine 5 years ago Genuine BMW parts seals gaskets etc cost over £2k BMW's quote to carry out the work was £11k. Mine was a complete rebuild sump up so your parts would be less. Labour is the killer when using a Garage a BMW Dealer in  your area I guess is £200+ per hour so I would expect 8 to 10 hours (it could be more if complications are found) would put labour costs North of £2k + Parts + VAT. I would expect a Specialist or decent Independent to be somewhere around half of that labour wise Parts will still be dear as many will have to be OEM.

Dave

 

[Greydog]

Just read your posts again I missed the Rocker cover one changing rocker cover gaskets BMW  TIS  quote between 2 and 8 hours.. The gearbox sump is a pain as there is no answer but to replace it. Try getting a separate quote from an Auto trans specialist. You will still have the cost of a Fluid and filter change but you will have peace of mind look for a ZF specialist 

Dave

[rth]

43 minutes ago, Greydog said:

If you tell them the issue will they actually investigate ?? Personally if I am seeking a second opinion I would not want their judgement clouded. I have known people to be told oil is leaking from the head and it is the Rocker cover.

If you are confident in the BMW Dealer quote for work required then as my original post it will be expensive as to rectify the heads have to come off that is a huge amount of work involved, I know I rebuilt my 4.6is engine 5 years ago Genuine BMW parts seals gaskets etc cost over £2k BMW's quote to carry out the work was £11k. Mine was a complete rebuild sump up so your parts would be less. Labour is the killer when using a Garage a BMW Dealer in  your area I guess is £200+ per hour so I would expect 8 to 10 hours (it could be more if complications are found) would put labour costs North of £2k + Parts + VAT. I would expect a Specialist or decent Independent to be somewhere around half of that labour wise Parts will still be dear as many will have to be OEM.

Dave

 

It is not the head gasket. The leak is from the rockers cover.  How much roughly for labour?

I do trust BMW dealer investigation, they had the car for 2 days, they had special offer of £99 inc. I can't see the point of another investigation and pay again, they also quoted me the repair cost. Once on lift ramp, heat trays off,  not difficult to identify leaks.

[rth]

43 minutes ago, Greydog said:

Just read your posts again I missed the Rocker cover one changing rocker cover gaskets BMW  TIS  quote between 2 and 8 hours.. The gearbox sump is a pain as there is no answer but to replace it. Try getting a separate quote from an Auto trans specialist. You will still have the cost of a Fluid and filter change but you will have peace of mind look for a ZF specialist 

Dave

I watched couple of vids, looks like 2 to 3 hrs max for the rocker cover, all works done from top of the engine  and 1-2 hours for the gearbox. Would rather have them done in one place.

[Greydog]

As I stated in my post Rocker cover gasket change BMW TIS (Technical Information System) states 2 to 8 hrs 

The gearbox is manufactured by ZF so any Garage will have to buy in the sump screws gasket and fluid you can get a cast alloy sump for some boxes in the range which is a good up grade. A ZF specialist often has the parts in stock so maybe quicker and less cost 

From your original post it seemed you wanted to save money but if your happy that you understand the process and time needed to do the job it's a case of choosing who will do the work and paying the bill

Dave

[rth]

1 hour ago, Greydog said:

From your original post it seemed you wanted to save money but if your happy that you understand the process and time needed to do the job it's a case of choosing who will do the work and paying the bill

Dave

I didn't say or imply I want to save money. 

I said BMW repair price is expensive, they charge £250 plus an hour while an independent garage around £100. If my repair work takes 5 hours (as per BMW dealer) , will cost £1250 at the dealer while £500 elsewhere. Hope you get the point.

Also I said if to fix too high then will scrap it. If car is worth < £5000, repair price at the dealer of over £3000 is expensive not economical. Plus am not in love with the car, it's an outdated BMW metal.

 

PS My car probably today is  worth £0 with the current faults 😀

[Greydog]

There is a standing joke BMW stands for Breaks My Wallet 

Great cars but you either need good DIY skills or very deep pockets, all luxury Marques are the same mainly due to cost of spares.

Re read your own original post 

[rth]

The BMW dealer said unless I want to keep the car for long time otherwise not worth to repair. 

Real figures:

We buy any car dot com pays £3130, But will they pay it if they find the leaks!

Dealer repair price £3165

Money is no object BUT is it clever , economical to repair in such scenario?

It's a 15 year car, no longer in love with, outdated, leaky BMW.

[Greydog]

Everyone is different and have their own view of what is right for them and their car. Your view it seems based on the figures you have is it's uneconomical to repair an "15 year car, no longer in love with, outdated, leaky BMW."

I would not keep the car if that is the way you feel as you will never feel happy with it. So Trade it or take We Buy any Car's offer and move on to something you will enjoy.

What is an expensive repair on a car you don't want to someone like me is a Saturday DIY job (My X5 is 19)

Good Luck with what ever you choose to do

Dave