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      09-06-2023, 08:13 PM   #1
GoldenMoose
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Learning to Maintain First Car: 2013 BMW 128i

Hello everyone!

This is my first post, so I apologize for any mistakes that I have made when posting!

I am a college student who has had an interest in cars, especially BMWs. This has further been fueled by Sreten of M539 Restorations, who I am inspired by in his diligence and effort to fix BMWs properly using OE/OEM parts.

Recently I was able to save up money for a 2013 BMW 128i that has 67k miles. Currently the car has a broken right fog lamp and a headlight bulb is not working, but so far I have really enjoyed driving it. I was warned by many people that it would be costly to maintain, and I was brought to this reality when I went in for my first oil change at a local BMW dealership, and they gave me a list of items that need to be done. I have attached a picture of the invoice.

I have only ever changed an air filter on a car, so I don't really have any practical experience with working on cars. However, I am determined to learn and buy the necessary tools and parts to get this car oil leak free and enjoy driving this "ultimate machine."

Therefore, I decided to come here and ask y'all how do I go about getting each item done? What are some tools, websites, software products (ISTA+?) that I should get my hands on?

I would really appreciate y'all!
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      09-06-2023, 08:33 PM   #2
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HOLY SHIT $1094 TO CHANGE THE OIL FILTER GASKET!

Okay, if you are willing to learn then a 128i isn't too bad a place to start. The oil filter gasket can be done very easily without removing the intake manifold, and you can do that as apart an oil change. Look for videos on it, there are lots.

The oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket are not too hard to do, but for a first timer I would really recommend having a helper that is experienced giving you a hand.
To work on bimmers you need etorx and regular torx sockets. Some hex head stuff appears here and there. And of course lots of metric sockets and wrenches.

For the Valve cover gasket or cylinder head cover gasket, some aspects of the job are easy (removing the coil-plugs hitting the bolts around the front and sides of the engine) and some parts of it suck (the bolts in the back of the cylinder head, the one vacuum hose in the back, and removing the F'ing valve cover itself)

For the oil pan gasket, you need and engine bar/brace that runs from fender to fender over the engine that you hang the engine from. From there you get to remove the front subframe and everything that is attached to it. This is somewhat easy, provided you watched a few videos to see where everything is that needs to be disconnected.

To be honest I would find an indy shop first and get another quote. If you reallllllyyy want to work on it, watch every single video you can find on it. Ask here for tool advice, and general help. But if you are really new to this, find a friend or family member that can help or talk you through stuff. Good luck.

The fog lights are easy enough but the 10 or 11 nut or bolt that holds them on is kind of a pain to reach.
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      09-06-2023, 08:37 PM   #3
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Also Sreten is an inspiration to a bunch of us here. I can't watch his videos without wanting to run out to my car and doing something to it.
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      09-06-2023, 09:03 PM   #4
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WrathOTM I really appreciate your response! I'll try to look at videos for the oil filter housing gasket. I think the valve cover and oil pan will have to be done by someone else, unless I find someone willing to help me.

Are there any repair manuals for these cars that I can use besides YouTubing? Additionally, are there any other anomalies that I should look out for on this car?
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      09-06-2023, 09:53 PM   #5
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haha repair manuals. I think BMW, and every other car manufacturer, hunted down sites that hosted those. When using Bimmerpost forums you'll find a lot of dead links to online manuals. If you use the ISTA software that can be found online, it will have a factory manual for use in repair jobs. It's a crappy interface but it works. You can also browse it for fun to read through the steps but it is a pain to track down exactly what you are looking for. Also learn about coding our cars, as there is a metric fuck ton of it.

Search here for everything. Go through every forum here to see that virtually anything you have a question for, there is an answer here.
Get acquainted with RealOEM.com for diagrams and part numbers.

Yes youtubing videos is the way to go, but as for me I watch literally every video on a subject just to cover e v e r y t h i n g. There are no perfect repair videos but a lot still do a pretty good job. some are ass. But watch them all.

Coincidentally those three things are major sources of oil leaks fixing them takes care of damn near all of it. I would also get a new oil cap to keep everything oil free and looking good. Consider doing your waterpump and related parts to really keep all your car's fluids on the inside.

Post some pics of your ride
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      09-06-2023, 09:58 PM   #6
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WrathOTM I will definitely look into ISTA as I have heard about it from Sreten and others on Reddit.

I will definitely post some pics of my car soon! Thank you again!
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      09-06-2023, 10:51 PM   #7
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Seeing the cost to replace a lightbulb…..how many bmw techs does it take to…….?
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      09-07-2023, 05:09 AM   #8
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On the quote, it looks like the oil filter housing and gaskets - that’s why it’s about a $1,000 I think - not just the rubber gasket and labor.

I had mine done at the dealer during inspection and the parts included a new housing unit.

While I’m not in the US, that’s probably the way any dealer would quote - for the whole unit regardless.

$250 for a bulb change is just ridiculous- should be a 10min job and $10 part.


This is a great place to stay active and learn - tons of DIYs going back 10+ years. Spend a couple days going through threads here - you’ll learn a lot very quickly.

You’ll also likely be tempted to do a lot of tasteful and performance oriented mods - but as I’m sure you know, maintenance first.
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      09-07-2023, 08:26 AM   #9
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yup, you can do the oil filter housing gasket, and replace that mickey mouse flange at same time with the aluminum one.
Look in the DIY section, and also watch the uTube vid a few times, read posts for a list of tools/bits you will need (extension, eTorx bit, etc)
I siphoned coolant from the reservoir before starting, which saves time and mess. But you might want to do a coolant refresh since you might not know the car's history . . .
Seems like the PO didn't do preventative maintenance
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      09-07-2023, 11:12 AM   #10
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https://www.houston-bmwcca.com/
You really should be joining BMWCCA which includes your local chapter right there in Houston. Your people there will be able to recommend the best BMW indy garages, plus someone might be able to look at your engine and tell you what is urgent and what can be put off a bit. Someone may be able to work with you in doing a repair.
Oil pan gasket [OPG] and valve cover gasket [VCG] are not easy jobs. First and foremost you should learn to do your own oil changes. And, as already said, the oil filter housing gasket [OFHG] is easy to do while doing an oil change.
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      09-07-2023, 04:21 PM   #11
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Thank you all for your suggestions! I will definitely look into YouTube videos, the DIY section on the forum, and the local BMWCCA chapter!
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      09-08-2023, 03:13 AM   #12
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Definitely join a chapter, this forum, and find a better shop.. a trusted BMW Indy in the Houston area 👍🏼
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      09-08-2023, 10:09 AM   #13
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You can (should, really ) get a service manual from emanuals: https://www.emanualonline.com/cars/bmw/1-series/e82.htm.
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      09-08-2023, 06:15 PM   #14
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Another vote for DIYing the Oil Filter Housing Gasket. Great way to get familiar with the car, and quite easy.

Same with anything lighting related.

The valve cover gasket isn't too bad if you have some experienced help. Otherwise, have a highly recommended independent shop w/ BMW experience do that plus the oil pan gasket.

The oil pan gasket is expensive even at an indy shop, but probably around half what the dealer quoted worst case.

These cars leak oil from 3 spots. You have all 3. So the good news is once these are corrected, you're probably good for another 67k miles, if not more.

The mickey mouse flange is a good suggestion. 67k miles is probably way in advance of it going bad, but could be cheap insurance. The coolant leak when it does break can be enough to leave you stranded.
Also a good excuse to do a coolant drain/fill. Your water pump will like that.

If it wasn't mentioned already, get a BMW-specific OBD2 scanner.
It will let you scan all the modules and interpret BMW-specific codes, plus do a few things that a generic scanner can't, like registering a new battery and resetting the service reminders.
I have the older version of this cheapo amazon one and its pretty great. I know some people are using smartphone connected ones, I just never looked into it.
https://www.amazon.com/FOXWELL-Autom...zcF9hdGY&psc=1

Speaking of the battery, they tend to last a long time because the car does a great job of adjusting to how the battery degrades over time. However if its taking longer to crank, replace the battery. It will save your starter.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the typical "BMW's are costly to maintain" comments that people will throw at you. That's a generic statement. The 128i is a simple machine. This is not an V10 M5, or even a V8 M3. Parts are plentiful and inexpensive, particularly since so much is shared with the 3 series (and the engine is found in numerous other models).

This forum is a great resource. The problems on these cars are quite predictable. If something's off, chances are numerous people have the same experience.
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      09-09-2023, 07:14 AM   #15
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Not to overwhelm you but those oil leaks can also damage the accessory belt, pullies and tensioner. Take a good look and see how far along the leak is. If the belt has any signs of oil on it, it should be replaced. If the front of the engine is soaked in oil, I’d replace the pullies and tensioner too.
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      09-09-2023, 07:35 PM   #16
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2011 BMW 128i  [10.00]
2010 BMW 328i  [10.00]
$639 for a fog light housing! You can get a fog light assembly from Rock Auto for under $60:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...7&pt=803&jsn=9

Installation is not difficult - remove wheel and fender liner. If I recall, getting to the far screw/bolt is tricky but doable.

Here is the old vs. new when I did mine a couple of years ago (and the old was after polishing):

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      09-11-2023, 10:20 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Converted1 View Post
Not to overwhelm you but those oil leaks can also damage the accessory belt, pullies and tensioner. Take a good look and see how far along the leak is. If the belt has any signs of oil on it, it should be replaced. If the front of the engine is soaked in oil, I’d replace the pullies and tensioner too.
Thankfully the belt and tensioner job is easy, so not a bad preventative maintenance idea either especially if its oil soaked.

Similarly, an oil pan leak that goes wayyyyy too long can soak and degrade the transmission mounts. Thankfully, these are also super cheap and easy.
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