Every E90 Owner Eventually Needs To Do This. | BMW Subframe DIY
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- In this video I show you how to remove your subframe on your E90 or E92 BMW. This DIY
will be especially useful for anyone that wants to know what would be involved with changing their oil pan gasket.
You could also follow this DIY if you're tackling replacing your turbos on an N54 or N55 powered car.
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popping in four years later to say thank you for this. I have a 335i with 240k miles and your videos have been a life/wallet saver.
This is god tier DIY. It’s beautiful. The man works methodically like a surgeon. None of the cursing and cutting up your hands that I’m used to.
This job seems tedious, but now at least I can do it if I ever have to.
Best DIY's ever bro, keep up the great work. No one else has such detailed videos and you are so underrated! Cant wait for you to get the success you deserve. Thank you for all the videos.
Exatly. And I can't believe how somewhat easy/simple this is. Doing turbos won't be THAT bad after all...
What the hell was BMW thinking? It started as lasagna and ended up like spaghetti
1000% agree i’m a very experienced mechanic and still watch his videos for tips too make my life easier sometimes much appreciated for you putting in the time too record the process on all your project personally it takes a lot of will too pull out a camera and do all this work. thank you for your patience and knowledge
I use you DIY's for all my maintenance and performance upgrades. You have saved me thousands of dollars. I was dreading hiring a shop to perform my oil pan gasket...but now I am confident I can tackle it on my own. Thank you!!!
This has to be the best DIY I’ve seen for the n54. Thank you for the master class sir
This is one of those things I try to pretend will never have to be done lol. It's inevitable though at some point. Great diy, thanks as always!
Nice DIY video. I have changed my E90 328i oil pan gasket. After watching yours, i would like to share a few tips I learned.
1: No need to remove steering rack(no need to do alignment later)
2: No need to remove sway bar links
3: No need to remove all 4 control arms
4: Need to remove Xenon light lever link.
5: You can just loose 6 subframe bolts to lower subframe after removing braces and covers. It will give you enough space to remove N52 engine oil pan.
deos it give enough room to put it back on and torque it ?
Yes, it does have plenty room to use torque wrench.
Do u still need the upper engine support ?
did the same thing when i had a 540i with an m62b44
@@mikesterlb If you are loosening the subframe, I would guess that yes you have to support the engine.
I'm watching this again as i'm now have to change out the turbos. I'm still amaze how you did this all by yourself.
Great video, very professional and exactly what's needed without over commentary and bs hype.
Hey man thanks so much for this video. I had to change the subframe because there was a large crack on the weld. Was going to take it to a shop and they quoted me a little less than 800$. It looked hard the first time I saw it. But after watching it 15 times I finally got it. Thank you so much.
So $800 for the install/ labor? How much would it be for the subframe itself
Kudos to all you that have the patience to do such involved DYIs. My 2011 335 needs a new oil pan gasket, i think im going to bite the bullet and just save to take to shop. I just dont have the desire to do on my own anymore, Never thought a subframe ever needs replacement?
Thank you so much for the DIY. Now I can do my oil pan gasket.
Great video. I replaced my oil pan gasket on my E93 Vert and thanks to your video I had very few problems. The BMW estimate was 12 to 15 hundred bucks and maybe a four to six week wait before they could get to it because of Covid. I got the engine support at Harbor Freight just like you said and ordered OE parts from Pelican out in California. I did it all including new oil pan bolts for about $200 bucks. I'm old and slow and I spent a whole day on the oil pan gasket to make sure I got it right for a total of three days. Any DIYers taking it on should order 2 or 4 BMW ForsVara jack stand adapters from eBay to lesson the chance of the car shifting on the stands. BMW's and especially the Wagons and Verts are heavy cars for there size. The only problem I had was shifting the subframe off of the steering rack after I had all of the bolts and hoses removed. You have to shift the subframe to the drivers side first to pass the drivers side control arm and reverse the subframe to the passenger side to drop it off of the steering rack. Installation has to be exactly reversed to avoid removing the steering rack hoses. I had the front end alignment checked after I finished and sense your method doesn't completely remove the rack or any frontend parts the technician said it was still close to perfect. Thanks again, your video saved me at least a $1000.00 bucks.
I did the turbos and hung thr steering rack up but made sure to do it in such a way that there was no pressure on any of the connections in place. Good advice from the owner of the channel on the issue.
Good video bro! I’ve seen many people not remove the subframe completely, however, it makes sense to me to remove completely, as it’ll be much easier I think. Doesn’t look hard at all. I just did my shocks/struts and and new springs on 128i, so I feel confident in tackling this. Thanks for a good quality video
Checkout Bimmer Barn for lowering the subframe instead if you are ONLY doing the oil pan. No reason to fully remove unless you are doing more work like the turbos. You want it to be as quick as possible I just did this job and it was A PAIN! Trust me I went with just lowering and it was simple but very long for a first timer.
Getting the subframe to clear pass both inner and outer tie rods is a pain in the ass.
Thanks!
Oh man, i need to change my leaky oil pan gasket soon. I'll probably need 3 days to do this work! LOL thanks for the awesome video.
Watching this channel for long time and enjoying the contents .. Best DIY ever .. keep up the good work bro
I'm late to the party I know but for info E93 has a vertical V brace which runs up from the front of the subframe. There is a bracket with two bolts either side which the 'other' V brace feeds into at the front of the car. You need to also remove the bracket (2x16mm bolts). You will find a third 16mm bolt which the bracket is hiding which runs through the vertical V brace and into the subframe.
Had me puzzled for a while why the subframe wasn't lowering with the jack.
1st class video which I am using to upgrade my turbos. I'm using your other 'Change your turbos at home' vid for that.
Thanks for your efforts in making my life easier VDIY.
As usual an amazing diy showing enough for normal people to get this stuff done and actually be brave enough to tackle jobs
Unlucky on doing an unnecessary job but we all make mistakes
I’m new to this platform having just purchased an e82 135i and every job I’ve needed to do (ofhg valve cover intake manifold ect)you have already got a guide for it so thank you very much for your time
Excelente video, me ayudo mucho para reparar mi E90 muchas gracias por este video
When I did mine, I had to drop the suspension from the top via the strut bearings. When you live in the rust belt of the country, you don’t mess with the control arms attached to the hub.
its not a domestic lol
Cheers bro, you DIY will help people save millions
A lot of work to find out yours was fine, and for that reason, huge appreciation for providing one of the best diy’s on YT. The other ones are obscure and poorly lighted!
May I ask: What prompted you to think the subframe may be an issue? Other than your visual inspection?
Thanks! Yeah I had someone comment on my motor mount DIY video. The comment was up voted and if you look at that video around the 5:22 mark it really looks like a crack lol.
The subframe is light enough, such that you can go under the car if it is high up on tall jackstands, then use your legs to push it evenly into place and hand tighten the bolts on. No need for jacking up and adjusting forever and a day to bolt it up. Caveat...you have to be VERY flexible.
matreyia
I have a base model E90 and the subframe wasn’t really heavy, I used a engine hoist instead of a engine brace to support the motor.
Wow, it's been a while since I watched one of your DIY's. They were good before but you really upped your game, great quality, explanations and camera work. Some of the best I have seen.
Bro good looking… this is legit bro I cracked my subframe and I’m doing it myself… wow made it look easy man.
Heros don't wear capes. You my friend. Thank you for sharing this with the world
so stoked this guy exists!!!!
Can't believe how friggin easy this is... everyone seemed to make it as if it's the end of the world but it just takes time. I'm not even afraid if my turbos shit the bed now.
Yeah 3 to 4 hours max.
Thanks for the video. Your car is probably the best and most well maintained 335i in the World. If was for sale id buy it immediately... Great channel.
Cheslyn Owens I agree
High quality work and best DIY vehicular DIY super awesome. After watching this I will be doing my oil pan. Great and Thanks a lot!
Awesome work bro......I just used your inlets DIY to install downpipes and inlets this past weekend. Keep up the great work !
Thanks so much for your contributions to the E90 DIY community!
you can loosen the motor mounts from below too, it's a little easier.
Yo! You can actually just loosen the bushings for the thrust arms and forelinks to do the oil pan. Once you get the subframe to swing down, you get the clearance for the oil pan :)
Have to do this on my 2011 e90 and thanks to you, have a good idea what to expect.
Thanks man!
Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure repairing BMW's
You gotta be weakminded not to be able to work on e90s they are way way easy
@@TGLasers e90??? lol Rubbish!! I have X5 and regret it big time. Just not worth it. Never Again !
ewmism if you struggle with an x5 you really cant wrench... its damn easy, and finding issues gets way easier with ISTA and inpa...
@@TGLasers You are really not that smart. I can strip engines and rebuild them, that's not the worry. It is the outlandish costs and time consumption. My previous car was a Calais, I could change the fan belt in less than 1minute. I did my BM recently, It took half an hour can you imagine being broken down on a trip and needing to change fan belt or some other god damned thing?? The belt cost 3 times more, moreover, I had to take it in to BMW to service transmission cost $800, my Calais cost $200. Also had a conversation with mechanic that said I'm looking at least $10k for injector pump and a new gearbox $15K. It is just not worth it in Australia.
@@ewmism861 Woulnt be that exspensive if you could wrench and do it yourself though... And yeah, no i dont need to worry about fanbelts cause bmws from 2004 and up dont have them.... And the one belt that my e90 does have comes off with a t45 and under 2 min worth of work... All the people crying about parts costs are A. Getting them from the wrong place. B not changing the parts themselves. Or C. They are just poor....
10.000 USD for a HPFP. Either that s a joke or youre the dumbest person .. A stock HPFP are around 650-850 Eur NEW depending on where you get it. And for 850eur you could get a uppgraded performance pump... 15K dollars for a transmission. Nah Unless you are getting the SMG box for the S85 engine its not that expensive.
Talking from actuall real experience working with bmws for a long time....
about to do this to install my upgraded turbos on my 335i finally next week, thank u so much for the videos
also my car is a 2011 335is e93, do you replace the subframe bolts? i’m ordering new ones for mine but i’m not sure if it’s necessary
4:30 you can actually just lower the subframe a few cm with the steering rack stil attached and then loosen the bolts, it's much easier that way even with a normal box end wrench!
@11:18 when you have no friends, but 70k plus dubs want to be your friend.
Just did this last week! Haha would have loved to have this guide lol
And hey, thanks for making this video! You do great work!
Damn I’ve dropped the subframe on the E60 chassis multiple times and I’m now realizing that you E90 guys have it easy...
Guillermo Lopez how do you do it on the e60 chassis ? I have to get this done over the weekend
You always do the sickest DIY! 🔥🔥 can you do a rear subframe bushing swap video please
Thanks! I'll look into that.
Whitelines makes great affordable Polly rear sub frame bushing if your looking, powerflex and turner brand... thanks
Best diy channel ever
You really have amazing content for us new guys to the platform.. Thank you for that. Happy July 4th weekend to you
Enjoyed this vid!… knowledge and video editing style🍺🙏🏾
Thank you for the useful BMW 328i videos!
great DIY. question- I will soon need to do my oil pan gasket. will this be the same process for an 2015 f30 n55?
Was the rack still connected to steering column?
dude that was classic, concise you covered all the important stuff thanks ! I own an f10 535i now I should be able to bang it out,I am still not sure how you were able to suspend the steering rack so far without dislodging something
Well I did my OFGH last fall at 80000km and my VCG 2 weeks ago at 90000km. Both were a pain too do, especially the VCG. After seeing this video and whats involved,there is no way I will be attempting this as a DIY. I will pay a shop. Also, after 19 years off BMW, this will be my last. After more than 80 years off building engines, BMW engineers cannot design proper gaskets?
I don’t think it’s just proper gasket design. The overall design on the work space area for necessary maintenance items like oil pan gasket was obviously done to discourage most owners from doing their own work. As you see it’s time-consuming but it can be done.
OMG!!! I would never be able to put it back together again. I'll leave it in the hands of the professionals.
"Professionals" after charging you 5k for a gasket 😂
I just cut the gasket in 2 pieces and installed it in a fraction of the time and used sealant were the ends meet and its been two years and no oil leaks whatsoever
I like this idea, what sealant did you use?
Thank you so much bro you are legend , the best diy in the whole network , good luck man 😘👌
And the dealership wants to charge 2k for an oil pan gasket job. Hahaha. Thankyou sir. Definitely doesn't look like a 10+ hour job like the dealership states.
Thanks for the video. About to do my headlight conversion so I'll be using your videos for that and some forum help.
Did you have any alignment issues with your suspension after removing the subframe and lower control arms at all? Or, did you have an alignment done afterwards? Thanks and great content.
Thank you for making this video!
Is very helpful!
Great video , Any torque specs ?
Should do a full how-to swap video for an M3 steering rack
Looks easier than I expected. Great tutorial 👍
Did you disconnect the steering rack from the steering column? Not quite apparent from the video
This its great , i thought the only way to remove the subframe was by also removing the steering rack.
Who else was hoping this was the LSD update video?
I'm gonna film that this weekend I promise lol. It's been a great traction aid. Feels like 25% more grip. From what I can gather don't expect to build a drift car with it but if you want to get off the line and hook in 2nd or take right hand turns under power it's great.
@@VehicularDIY whats the long term consequences of letting my oil pan gasket leak? I'm loosing like 2 quarts in between oil changes. To pay a shop to do it is around $800. It would take like 10 years of a leaking gasket to make up that amount lol.
Your DIY's are the best on UA-cam bro for sure. Question did you change the subframe completely or did you just show how to take the subframe out to change the oil pan gasket etc.
I actually ended up changing it, I already had the part that was cleaner and I'm glad I did as I think it helped dial in my alignment. My stock one might have been tweaked considering it's aluminum and I bought the car with a severely bent front rim.
@@VehicularDIY ok got it thanks for a quick response
Awesome videos bro love your details and knowledge to help us diy you helped me a lot
Hey you don't have to still have your old subframe unless I misunderstood I think you're changing it I'm not sure if it's the same one for the E92 I'd have to look it up but if you want to get rid of it and haven't I'm looking for one I have a 2008 E92 rear wheel drive. I know this video was many years ago but maybe there's a chance you still have it
thank you so much for this , my sump gasket is leaking
Dude. Youve got skilllllz.... Thanks. Also thanks for your video on cleaning valves.
Question: Did you leave the steering shaft connected to the rack the whole time?? It looks like you did but I wanted to be sure.
I'm doing my 128i oil pan gasket. I was able to remove the pan by only lowering the subframe (six bolts) but it looks like a bitch to re-install the pan afterwards. Your video shows it's not difficult to further disconnect the subframe from the suspension to allow more room.
BTW your tip about the swivel 16mm gearwrench was awesome! I purchased one after watching this video several months back and it was the cat's left nut, thx!
My apologies. I watched again to the end where you covered the steering rack, thanks!
I need to do this on my very lightly wrecked 335i I’m building and fixing, would you recommend buying a brand new one off fcp euro or something like that? Or can i get away with buying a used one off eBay? My biggest fear is it not handling as well as it used too.
Needs DIY on removing coolant return hose from Tstat , trans cooler, expansion tank!!
thanks. for everything, i still love my bmw even though it does require some bs. repairs!
Hey did you disconnect the steering shaft or did u keep it connected and just drop the steering rack a tiny bit and move it forward to remove the subframe? I’m comfortable with doing everything else except I’m confused on the steering rack if you can please tell me that would be great, I’m planning on replacing my turbos next week
Do you have to do spooring after opening the subframe?
Great instruction, thanks for sharing.
?: any concerns with that style of engine support bar resting only on the fender seams and not, say, on the shock towers??
I'm looking at one for my 128i in order to do the oil sump gasket job.
Thanks again! Hope y'all are safe down in Texas.
Thanks for posting this.
Your videos are very excellent. Thank you. How much harder is it to get to these things if you have the "XI" instead of the "I" version? I'm very concerned that it's going to be a nightmare for me to do my 335XI O2 sensors to be honest LOL. (I know that's a different video). I'm not as young as I used to be so it's not quite as exciting as it used to be to wrench on crazy big projects like this one. LOL.
And if you have awd it’s even more work…gotta remove axles and front differential.
Thanks, great DYI for my F10.
Did you leave the rack steering rack attached to column? I can’t tell in the video if that’s what it’s on.
Where did you get that engine hook from I can't find them anywhere
Very nice DIY! Keep up posting.
I just had this job de at a repair shop And now the steering wheel angle sensor doesn't seem to work. My paddle shifters and my steering wheel buttons don't seem to work
if bmw engineers were smart, they would use RTV like everyone else. great video!
Help me out. Looks like you did not remove the steering column bolt? Only the 4 steering rack bolts / nuts?
I had my e93 328i jacked up by the front center jacking point, had jack stands on both sides by the jacking points. Its a new jack, I went lower the jack, it went down too fast and slammed into the jack stands after being up 3 or 4 inches above the js. The car fired up fine n ran great. About a month later I'm feeling vibration in the cab at idle in park, it increases in drive foot on brake. it idles great n steady just vibration. Do you think maybe I just pan caked my motor mounts? Didn't notice anything with the normal mm test. From under the car I put my hand on the mount n rubber while the car was running, no abnormal shaking. From the engine bay I took a telescoping magnet(metal) extended it out to reach the mm, I did feel vib on the metal, not much on the rubber, that's strange to me, should be the other way around. I got more vib from the header mount that's by the mm on passenger side. Thinking maybe mm vib is transferred to it. Any help would be appreciated.
thank you sir. now do you need a tire alignment after you are finished? is there a place i can access all torque settings for all bolts on the 335i? THANK YOU SIR. You are awesome. No Fear in what you do. Great.
Glad it helped! No you do not need an alignment as the subframe is located on pins that protrude from the chassis and will end up in the same position once you bolt things back up. You could check newtis.info
I have a 09 335xi is this process relatively the same I need to install Downpipes but hear subframe drop is required, also what are the motor mount bolt and subframe torque specs ?
Good vid as always. So this does not apply to the e93 right? Does anyone know what goes into the e93 oil pan gasket replacement. Someone please let me know.
Those two bolts in the middle of the v brace that go through the subframe... the welds for the nuts on the backside have broken and the bolts just spin. Any idea how I could get them off?
can you please share the link on where did you buy the engine support mount? Thanks
how much different is this process on an xdrive e92?
Well done doing it solo!
How did you get the steering rack down? I know the two e bolts and bolts on the side, but how about the knuckle its connected to? Did you unbolt that ?
Great DIY 👍🏼
By the way did you use the stock tow hook ? On my n55 it doesn’t thread all the way in
It’s ridiculous how much you have to take apart to get to the oil pan. I miss my Tacoma, so easy to work on.
Tamer Abubakr
I know right, I have a E90 and did this job. Bmw is ridiculous for needing to remove the subframes just for a oil pan gasket.
Wow, this job is really not too bad. Great vid.
Where'd you get the subframe from?