Hey guys... I was seeing if maybe someone would be able to identify where my oil leak seems to be coming from. I have oil on the bottom of the transmission case but doesnt seem to be any other oil anywhere else. I've been under the car a couple of times now and cant seem to nail down where its leaking from. I've wiped down all the areas and came back a day later to see if I could find it but still no luck. Dont think its the turbo oil line cause I replaced that a few months back with the Detroit Tuned version. Also replaced the valve cover about 2 months back as well. Must be a pretty substantial leak though cause right now... I'm going through 1.5 quarts of oil every 1200 miles or so. Any help is greatly appreciated... and I have posted pics to help with the diagnosis.

 

I've got the exact same issue. Also changed the turbo oil line. I'm thinking of changing the pan gasket as it looks easier than the oil filter housing

 

The newer cars, do not use an oil pan gasket. They have the oil pan glued on using a flange sealant L-5970. I recently fixed my oil solenoid leak and had the pan off.

 

Yeah well from what I have researched.... if you have a R56 the oil pan doesnt use a gasket anymore... just some sealant that you can get from the dealer or from ECS. I'm just not looking to buy a bunch of parts and hope its fixes it. I'm thinking its the oil pan... but who knows. Been wrong before about things.

 

If the areas below the oil filter and chain tensioner is dry, it probably is from the pan. I used a hi-temp sealant from the local parts house --- Napa, etc. Bright orange stuff, and the excess looks nasty, but it's not readily visible.

 

Thank you! I've used the bright orange gasket maker before on a old Mazda I used to have. Ill give it a shot and see what comes from it.

 

If your pan was glued on, it's a pain in the butt to clean the old glue off. I would use the
BMW approved sealant to put it back on.

 

What could be the differences between the 2 besides price/the fact its BMW approved & whatever agreement they have with loctite? Ive seen nothing but great things about the permatex stuff for oil pans. Just curious.

 

You need to clean it off really well with brake clean and then watch to see where it is leaking from. We've seen oil leaks in this area that turned out to be the block itself leaking. It leaks where the 2 parts are put together and a huge job to repair.

 

If you are going to do this job, replace the seal against the block and also reseal the halves Way is talking about. It is a big job. I have a independent, ex MINI tech, working on my car and he's pretty slick. He did this for me as I recall for less than $500.

 

Looked like it was leaking from the corner closet to the transmission case in picture 4 and 5 from what I can see.

 

I was either going to do the work... or have a friend whos a tech at a independent shop do it for me. Just resealing the pan and installing it didnt seem like that big of a job to me. But now that you have scared the crap out of me with other seals that I didnt even know where there... I may just put the thing back to stock and trade it in on a Honda or something. Or may just take it to BMW and have them fix it under my extended warranty and hope they honor it.

 

WAIT, you have an extended warranty?? If so don't do any of the work yourself. Have them do it.

 

If you have extended warranty, go to the dealer. Tell them you have leakage front drivers side on your garage floor and it looks like its coming from every where. They will fix it all, at least mine did. Keep taking it back until it is all resealed.

 

Just looked at my paper work for it and it was for 50k miles or 24 months. Its been 48k miles and ended on 8/28/2014 hahaha. I didnt use the thing one time. Figures it'd be expired when I finally needed it.

 

Does it leak from the drivers side and only when the car is running? Do you smell oil burning she the car is idle? I had the same problem it was the oil filter housing dripping down the front if the block, on the down pipe and on the oil pan.
You can get some oil dye from local autoparts store and either rent AC leak light or buy a little black light (unless you have one in your room left over from the 70's). Then wipe all oil off start the car using the black light look glowing oil dripping.
If it's the oil filter housing as mine was the new gaskets where only $40 but to make the job easier I removed the entire front made it easier to remove heat shield but then needed to recharge the AC. I suppose you could access everything with the car in front end maintenance but again it was easier to just take it off.
Regards

 

Tracking oil leaks is easier working from the top down. By the time oil pools on the bottom of the tranny, it could have been coming from just about everywhere.
Work your way upwards, liberally spraying brake cleaners on all the surfaces. Star the engine, watch for the usual leak spots:
- oil filter housing
-
- oil filter banjos on the engine block (the last item your touched!)

 

Tracking oil leaks is easier working from the top down. By the time oil pools on the bottom of the tranny, it could have been coming from just about everywhere.
Work your way upwards, liberally spraying brake cleaners on all the surfaces. Watch for the passenger-side oil leak usual suspects:
- oil filter housing (very common on 50+K mile cars)
- tranny oil pan gasket
- oil turbo line banjo connection on the engine block - the last item your touched!
--> did it leak as much before the DT turbo oil line job ?

Good luck,
a

 

UV Leak dye? I had a mechanic use that to find a leak, however I did an internet search and found the leak before he did. An $8.00 O-ring he wanted to charge me $400 for. Found someone else to install it for me and clean everything up for $75.

 

Yeah I've been looking at different things online regarding both the oil pan gasket and the oil filter housing.... I really think its the pan thats leaking and have come to the conclusion that maybe cause the car is lowered and there are some scuff marks on the pan, that maybe that contributed to the leak? Thats just me thinking outside the box here. I also dont see any oil dripping down the block or anywhere around the oil filter housing area or anything... If you look at the pics I uploaded... I believe its leaking around the corner closet to the transmission case. Look at pics 4 & 5. Thanks for the helpful hints with the dye and everything though... really appreciate it. I was a 80's baby btw lol

 

I guess the reason I dont think its the oil filter housing is that I dont really see any signs of oil around the oil filter housing or anywhere around that area. To me it almost seems like it would have to do something that I really dont even know how to explain lol. The car does have 78250 miles on it and never replaced the oil filter housing. I've also been pretty **** about checking the turbo oil line cause I did that as a preventative maintenance type of thing hearing all the horror stories. So no I didnt notice it leaking before replacing it. I've been so **** about checking it cause it was a terrible experience doing the install. I already had all the heat shields off from doing the downpipe but the one covering the turbo oil line. Got the line off the block... and fed the new one down... and for some reason just couldnt get the bolt back into the block. Took me over 4 hrs till finally it just fell into place. Then if I wasnt frustrated already... I forgot to tighten the banjo bolt fittings... so after I filled her back up with oil and turn the car on... I'm sure oil started flying everywhere and found it all on the ground. Just a really bad experience.

 

I would get the car up in the air and wash the entire area down with brake cleaner. Put a sheet of cardboard down to catch the mess.

On my car, the oil filter housing was leaking (the gasket was split at the block joint), and the oil went down onto the exhaust. I also pulled the pan and have not had any leakage issues replacing it. It was not encouraging to see a couple of plastic pieces from the timing chain.

Not that you want to hear this, but the heat shield project goes much quicker the second time. It could also be the banjo bolt again.

Mike

 

Thanks for the advice. I may just take the car someplace and see what they say. Way to cold to be getting under it and trying to find it... then spending hours fixing it. Speaking of cold... I do not envy you guys up in New York right now! 50 inches of snow! Thats crazy!

 

Just to update this... finally got the car in to get looked at. Its the oil filter housing gaskets and the water pump is leaking a little bit as well.

 

Two birds and only one stone, it's always nice to catch things early on!

What is the frequency of the oil filter housing leaks? I hope it's nowhere near as often as thermostat housing, it was cold in Big Bear today!