Indeed, it was a bit of a case of things getting progressively worse with the catectomy
Regarding the oil-filter tool - as afar as I can recall, they are only about a fiver, and your BMW stealership should hold them in stock.
I would have though that the clearance around the filter may mean that a socket wouldn't be able to fit into the space in the sump to grip the filter, but I may be wrong
Assuming that you don’t horribly mangle your exhaust gaskets while wrestling your cat out, they should be fine for re-using.
Having said that, I made a real mess of one of mine, but hammered it back into some semblance of normality, and re-used, as I didn’t have any spares to hand. It blows a tiny amount, which I may get round to rectifying, probably at the same time as rectifying the snapped exhaust header bolt
Considering that I’m in Brazil for the foreseeable future, that won’t be very soon
Best of luck though, Rich
