oil filter housing gasket on 616/617

[JHZR2]

Hello,

Anyone familiar with the oil filter housing gasket on the 616/617 engine? Does one have to remove the oil cooler lines completely to be able to undo the allen bolts and sufficiently move the housing to replace the gasket?

How difficult is it to clean the gasket? When I did turbo drain grommets, the gasket on the turbo was the worst part (besides fitting the pipe back), because it was impossible to get the surfaces perfectly clean from those angles.

Also, is there a "telltale" sign that the housing gasket is leaking? It seems that the oil down there may be leakage from the backside of the valve cover gasket - the old one was hard.

Thanks!