Sump plug
- Thread starter steveisok
- Start date
Scottish Borders
Plastic, I’m afraid — both sump and plug on the E89’s N20. BMW fitted the composite pan to the rear-drive N20s (the xDrive cars got aluminium, which is where the metal/plastic confusion usually starts). The plug is a plastic quarter-turn type, not a conventional threaded bolt, and the drill is: new plug every oil change — they’re single-use by design, pennies each, and usually in the proper filter kit. Don’t reuse the old one and don’t take a socket-and-muscle approach; the pan strips long before your arm tires.
Known weakness of the design — cracked pans and stripped plug seats are common enough that an aluminium conversion pan exists as a popular aftermarket fix. Not urgent if yours is healthy, but worth knowing if you ever find a drip.
Known weakness of the design — cracked pans and stripped plug seats are common enough that an aluminium conversion pan exists as a popular aftermarket fix. Not urgent if yours is healthy, but worth knowing if you ever find a drip.