Is quoted amount for OFHG etc. repair reasonable?

Logickle · 02-01-2023, 09:34 AM

Hi all. It looks like the oil filter housing gaskets in our 100K+ mile 2011 X5 went bad (perhaps due to a recent oil change's loosening things up?). Oil all over under the hood, onto the serp belt, pulleys, alternator, ... Car quickly complains about low oil after running for a while after top up, oil dripping from underneath. As well there's a small amount of oil in the coolant.

The car's at a local shop now. Basically I just would like to know if their quote of $1500 for the following is reasonable:

- Remove, clean/degrease, test, replace alternator
- Remove, clean/degrease, test, replace serp belt path pulleys which are covered in oil
- Replace serp belt
- Drain and flush cooling system, refill coolant
- Oil and filter change
- Oil filter housing gaskets replaced

$400 more if the oil filter housing is cracked and needs to be replaced (he said that sometimes happens, though it's not likely.)

The shop is an independent, has worked on a lot of BMWs, the owner seems quite knowledgeable guy and has many good reviews online. (Eastern PA, USA).

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

wcs531 · 02-02-2023, 09:08 AM

Did they break down the quote for you? Most people probably did just OFHG, oil, and coolant so it's going to be hard to compare pricing when they're quoting you a bunch more stuff.

If the leak is bad I can see the need to replace belts/pulleys, not sure about alternator though. Also they say clean/test/replace alternator. The alternator alone is a few hundred bucks so just cleaning is very different than replacing.

Unfortunately my last experience with ofhg was 5+ years ago when a friend had their n55 x5 done, I think it was around $500 but dont remember exactly. Since then I've read about engine failure after ofhg on the n55 specifically and I thought BMW released a service bulletin about priming the oil system but couldn't really find anything concrete. I'd imagine "priming the oil system" also adds a bit more labor. I would definitely bring this up just to be safe.

Heres what I found after a quick search for the service bulletin, third post seems to outline the steps but they dont show BMWs "SIB" number:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1584743

Logickle · 02-06-2023, 08:59 AM

I found another shop willing to do the same work for ALOT less, $400 labor + my parts. Talked to the owner at length, he clearly knew all about this problem and how to fix it, doing the same things the first shop had listed. Will work out to about $500-600, which seems much more reasonable.

Thanks for the heads up about the "priming", neither of them mentioned it as a separate step, I'll definitely check that out...

02-01-2023, 09:34 AM	#1
Logickle Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: Bmw X5 2011 Join Date: Jan 2023 Location: Pa usa iTrader: (0)	Is quoted amount for OFHG etc. repair reasonable? Hi all. It looks like the oil filter housing gaskets in our 100K+ mile 2011 X5 went bad (perhaps due to a recent oil change's loosening things up?). Oil all over under the hood, onto the serp belt, pulleys, alternator, ... Car quickly complains about low oil after running for a while after top up, oil dripping from underneath. As well there's a small amount of oil in the coolant. The car's at a local shop now. Basically I just would like to know if their quote of $1500 for the following is reasonable: - Remove, clean/degrease, test, replace alternator - Remove, clean/degrease, test, replace serp belt path pulleys which are covered in oil - Replace serp belt - Drain and flush cooling system, refill coolant - Oil and filter change - Oil filter housing gaskets replaced $400 more if the oil filter housing is cracked and needs to be replaced (he said that sometimes happens, though it's not likely.) The shop is an independent, has worked on a lot of BMWs, the owner seems quite knowledgeable guy and has many good reviews online. (Eastern PA, USA). Any thoughts would be appreciated!
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02-02-2023, 09:08 AM	#2
wcs531 Second Lieutenant 97 Rep 281 Posts Drives: E90 335xi / E70 X5d Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Philadelphia iTrader: (1)	Did they break down the quote for you? Most people probably did just OFHG, oil, and coolant so it's going to be hard to compare pricing when they're quoting you a bunch more stuff. If the leak is bad I can see the need to replace belts/pulleys, not sure about alternator though. Also they say clean/test/replace alternator. The alternator alone is a few hundred bucks so just cleaning is very different than replacing. Unfortunately my last experience with ofhg was 5+ years ago when a friend had their n55 x5 done, I think it was around $500 but dont remember exactly. Since then I've read about engine failure after ofhg on the n55 specifically and I thought BMW released a service bulletin about priming the oil system but couldn't really find anything concrete. I'd imagine "priming the oil system" also adds a bit more labor. I would definitely bring this up just to be safe. Heres what I found after a quick search for the service bulletin, third post seems to outline the steps but they dont show BMWs "SIB" number: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1584743
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02-06-2023, 08:59 AM	#3
Logickle Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: Bmw X5 2011 Join Date: Jan 2023 Location: Pa usa iTrader: (0)	Thanks, will look into it! I found another shop willing to do the same work for ALOT less, $400 labor + my parts. Talked to the owner at length, he clearly knew all about this problem and how to fix it, doing the same things the first shop had listed. Will work out to about $500-600, which seems much more reasonable. Thanks for the heads up about the "priming", neither of them mentioned it as a separate step, I'll definitely check that out...
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