I don't know much about cars, i'm only 20 and trying to learn. was looking under the car today and saw this stuff leaking. anyone know what it could be? oil pan leaking? power steering fluid?

05 S with around 43k on it.

 

Possibly a passenger side motor mount? They have been known to fail a time or two.

 

Possibly either an oil pan gasket or the crank position sensor gasket.

 

+1.

Be sure to monitor your oil level with the dipstick.

(Nice photos by the way!)

 

Already replaced the motor mount a few months ago

I think it's the oil pan....I think I remember the dude saying something about that when getting the motor mount replaced last time. Arghhhh and now the power steering fan is taking a ****.

Thanks! They were taken with my iphone. I could ask my dad .... but how high should the oil level be on the dipstick? It looked to be around 1/2 when I pulled it out earlier today. I changed the oil myself about ~3k mi back.

 

Good news----the fuse was burnt for the PS fan, went to BMW bought a $3 fuse and problem solved, the fan is working now.

(Maybe) bad news? the radiator fan keeps running into high low every 15/20 seconds when the AC is on. whats causing this? maybe there is an issue with the PS fan????

 

There is a mega-thread on this. Do a search for "fan resistor". Make a pot of coffee. Read all 19-20 pages.

Bottom line is your low-speed fan circuit has a resistor (to lessen the 12V current) which burns out over time, and you can't replace just the resistor (which resides in the fan assembly housing). In the above-mentioned thread, you'll see options for either changing out the entire fan assembly (just to replace the resistor) or a Band-Aid fix that will add a separate resistor to the wiring to accomplish the same thing.

GL on your leak!

 

Check the oil pressure sensor. My '06MC was leaking similar to this and the dealer said this was the problem. The O-ring corrupted and oil was coming out. No codes just a leak. The mechanic fixed it in about 1 hour, charged 2.1 hours and $238 for a $5.38 part. Unfortunately I didn't have any other way to repair it.

 

That's called flat-rate - Any good mechanic or bodyman can beat flat rate, but they get paid the full hours - and you get charged the full hours.

As for the OP's leak - wipe everything clean and try to see where it's coming from.....

 

Yea its the oil pan they said. they also just called me and said the radiator fan and resistor (??) or something is on its way out, and needs to be replaced for $650. I thought I read something on here about the radiator fan being 80-90 bucks...maybe i'm missing something but how did he get up to 650?? I only hear the radiator fan kicking into high/low high/low when the AC is on...so maybe I don't use the AC for a while then? ....cause on top of new tires (~410), new front brakes (~495), new back brakes (~450), I can't do it.

I need to graduate college soon so I can get a job to afford everything on this car

So far what I need:
-What I mentioned above
-Back brakes
-Control arms in another 20k
-Oil Pan
-Leaking PS line


F M L

 

You can get the fan assembly for less than $85 from a number of on-line vendors. Dealer retail is probably in excess of $200, plus 3 hours of labor to change it out.

 

The new fan (with resistor) is only about $80, and they're available in many places. If you have the car at the dealer for repair, then yeah their part is almost $300, plus labor to put it in. You can do the install yourself in about an hour instead. You'd have to put your car in "service mode" (remove the front bumper and supports) but that sounds more daunting than it really is. Again, do some searching and you'll save yourself a ton of money.

You could probably do the oil pan gasket yourself pretty easily (a little messy, but...)

 

It is at an independent german repair shop. DAMN, I guess I might try to do it myself, theres no way I can spend 600 on this.

Guess I'll wait a little while to do that.

 

Funny thing happened. decided to take a drive with the pops to the local mini dealer. found an 05 S like mine, asked to turn the AC on and see what sound the radiator fan makes, and sure enough it cycles from higher speedto lower speed every 15 or so seconds just like mine. and supposedly mine is "on it's way out" because of that cycling, sounds as if it's normal. Maybe the shop doesn't know what they're talking about.......

 

I found two great shops that do work for me when I can't or don't have the time. They both prefer me to buy the parts and then they do the work. The catch here is me diagnosing the problems. With my oil leak I wasn't confident they could do the work so I went with the dealer. It's more expensive, but I trust their work in critical areas. Yes, it'll be expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Regardless good luck Nd hope things work out for your car. Do some more research on your problem before you start spending money too. I dont know much about cars either, but I do my best to figure it out. Get a Bentley repair book too. They are worth their weight in assistance.

 

That cycling is not normal, and it's nothing that's "on its way out". The low-speed circuit resistor is burned out, period. That dealer either doesn't want to admit this (they'd have to fix it) or the salesman doesn't know what he's talking about. It could also be the low-speed relay in the fuse box, but unlikely.

As to any shop's claim that anything is "on its way out": it's not, it's already "out" as much as its going to be. Once the resistor burns out, that's that - no low-speed fan. The high-speed cycling on and off will do the job for awhile but it will put unnecessary stress and wear on the fan motor over time. While driving down the road (especially in moderate weather), that forced air would accomplish the same thing that the low-speed fan would (while the A/C is on) by forcing air over the radiator and A/C condenser, and the high-speed fan circuit would probably not kick on until the coolant temp reaches whatever degree it's supposed to. But that's an engine cooling thing, not A/C.

 

I talked to him today while having my back breaks done and he said that the resistors all tested good and were working properly. just that the cycling isnt normal. so I'm not sure

 

Alright, I'm not there looking at it. If he did, in fact, check the large green resistor which resides in the top of the plastic fan assembly and found it to be good, then your only other likely culprit is the relay.

(If you have the car in possession, you can check the power to the fan yourself: with the A/C on and engine running, just unplug the connector where the fan harness joins the car's wiring (top of the radiator, driver's side). There are 3 wires: high speed, low, and ground. Using a simple circuit tester light see if there's power to either of the striped ones. If you have power to both wires, your resistor is likely shot, no matter what the mechanic tells you he checked. If no power to one of the wires, the relay is your next bet. Note - you don't have to necessarily unplug the connector if you have a circuit tester that can stab through wire sheathing.)

Fuse box under the hood: down the middle, there are a series of four (IIRC) large relays. The two closest to the windshield are for the high- and low-speed fan circuits (there's a diagram). Once your high-speed fan kicks on, pull that relay and see if the fan stops (probably will). Then you know that relay is good. Switch relays with the one next to it and see if that good relay fires the low-speed fan circuit (make sure the A/C is turned on and the car's running) and if/or the other relay fires the high-speed circuit like the one you just removed.

If the low-speed fan kicks on with the other relay installed, the relay you just pulled is your problem.

If it doesn't, I'd suggest your mechanic do a little reading on these threads. But if I were you, I'd get the car back after he fixes the leak and do some quick checking yourself. It's a moot point, really. If he's charging you to replace the fan assembly, then you're getting a new resistor anyway.

And apologies for the long post(s). I'm bored.

 

No problem, I appreciate any additional info on this thing. ill check it out : )