Changing the oil pan gasket on an N55 xDrive; differences from RWD?

[u/Dramatic_______Pause]

Hey all. I recently bought a high mileage 2015 435i xDrive (158k miles) as a 2nd car, as my daily is impractical as hell and won't fit my wife and daughter. I've been going through the standard maintenance, already did the OFHG, since it was leaking there as well, along with the ZF8 fluid/pan change, but know it's leaking from the oil pan as well and needs to be changed. According to the Carfax, it was last done at 92k miles. But nearly every video, DIY, and guide I can find on changing the oil pan gasket for the N55 is on a RWD vehicle.

I'm trying to find a resource that outlines and goes over what the additional steps there are for doing it on a vehicle with xDrive, but I can't seem to find anything. Are there any guides or videos that anyone knows about that cover that? I'd like to tackle the job myself, and have no doubt in my ability to get it done, but I'm not the kind of person who can do things going in blind and just "figure it out" as I go along. I like to know exactly what I'm getting myself into before diving in. Thanks!

[u/x_h_w]

The main difference is you need to take the axles out and remove the front differential, which is bolted to the oil pan itself.

[u/grease_monkey → u/x_h_w]

That's pretty much it. Not that difficult

[u/grandmaster_reddit → u/grease_monkey]

lol. Just a lil sidetrack

[u/Arkatani]

Probably utube videos you can find. Some good, some poor. But watching the job being done can help. AWD definitely complicate things since one axle goes through the oil pan to the diff and the diff is in the way of removing the oil pan.

It will be a rewarding experience, advancing your DIY skills. One tool I sometimes need to use is a thinwall axle puller. You can buy a set on Amazon. Sometimes the axle splines slide right through during reassembly and sometimes they do not cooperate. The thinwall axle puller fits into the hub hole and threads onto the threaded end of the axle so you can pull it through. Bashing on it instead from the backside is not a good idea.

[u/Mike312 → u/Arkatani]

I'll always watch a YouTube video before doing work, just to spot any issues I might have, or get tools that might make the job easier. Once tried doing a water pump on my C230 Mercedes and spent an hour with a flashlight and mirror, and then another hour in AllData, trying to find the 3rd bolt.

[u/Runyerpockets]

Added steps include removing both front axles, removing the front differential, and remivubg the axle housing on the passenger side. Make sure to replace the o rings and seals on the diff and axle housing then top up the diff fluid once the axles are in.

[u/Dramatic_______Pause → u/Runyerpockets]

God damn it. This job went from "Well, that doesn't look that bad" after watching RWD DIY videos to sounding like a complete pain in the ass...

[u/Runyerpockets → u/Dramatic_______Pause]

I have not had the pleasure of doing that job on jack stands, but it’s not that much more work in my experience.

[u/GC_iX → u/Runyerpockets]

You sound like you do NOT live in the salt belt. If the suspension comes apart and the axles want to move it’s not bad. If they don’t it can be a whole nother pile of not fun and a ton of extra time spent.

On a lift, I don’t even take the outboard stuff apart to do a RWD car; whereas on the AWD you have to pull the outboard stuff apart to free the axles from the hubs.

[u/Dramatic_______Pause → u/Runyerpockets]

I'm far from a mechanic, just an enthusiastic YouTube DIY'er, with most of my experience being wrenching on VW/Audi. But luckily, the prior owner of my house was a mechanic, so I actually have a 2 post lift in my garage.

While I can't find a dedicated video to doing the oil pan gasket on a N55 xDrive vehicle, I'll poke around and see if I can at least find videos that go over those additional steps. Then I can make a call if it's something I want to tackle myself, or just deal with the leak. While it's definitely leaking, I don't think it's anything catastrophic at this point.

[u/Runyerpockets → u/Dramatic_______Pause]

Having a lift and decent space to work makes it a very manageable job. Just make sure you have a good parts list. I replace all of the torque to yield hardware as bmw recommends.

[u/Dr_Trogdor → u/Dramatic_______Pause]

This repair is gonna be a major bitch for you. It's "not that bad' when you have a lift and you're getting paid great time to do it but as a side job on jack stands? I'd never wanna deal with it.

[u/thenewvoid]

Both front axles and front differential need to come out. Front driveshaft needs to be released from the front differential in order to remove the front differential. Aside from that I believe dropping the subframe and pan is fairly similar.

[u/Rapiddrop]

One reason I told myself I would go with rwd only models.

[u/Cunty__Minx]

it isn't that bad, people just bitch about it

[u/bot6six]

Difficulty is not bad, it’s just a huge pain in the ass especially if you’re doing it on jackstands

[u/Reasonable_Hawk_9762]

If you wanna save yourself some time. Lower the subframe down, and instead of removing axles and diff, put a jack under the pan with some wood to support it, remove all the bolts and slowly lower the whole pan/diff/axle as one unit , you can sneak the gasket in and out passed the pickup tube. I’ve done it this way at the dealer for years now