Help - Leaking oil (timing cover)

[wackotecho]

Hi all, I am currently going through the process of repairing a oil leak but no have a odd question. How do I replace the gasket this is between the upper and lower cover?

The question is does the head need to be removed to change it?

See picture11980

[Switters959]

Thats the timing chain cover. There are two metal gaskets and a bottom thick rubber one. There are also 2 metal gaskets on the inside to separate the chain area from the water inlet housing. Those are a bear to line up. Just replace the cover with those in place and a little silicone on the side metal gaskets (a little will do) and make sure the bolts are tight. Be careful not to over-tighten as the block is aluminum and strips easily.

[wackotecho]

I seem to be able to pump out 200-300ml of oil in around a minute. To me it seems like I have a leak that has oil pump pressure, is this even possible??????

I checked the timing chain tensioner but it does not appear to be the source of the leak, how i wish i could see this area rather than trying to guess the origin of the oil.

[cooljess76]

The oil filter housing is a common leaking point on these engines. When it leaks, the oil gets splashed onto the crank pulley and sprayed on the front of the engine. There's two o-rings and a paper gasket that seal the filter housing onto the block. The two o-rings are the culprit. check the knowledge base section on this forum, there's a good writeup on replacing the filter housing gasket and o-rings.

[wackotecho]

This is making my head hurt, as it looks dry on the filter housing side, well i better check that too. lol

I guess if i don't laugh about this i will loose my mind.

[cooljess76]

Well yours might not be leaking from the filter housing then. I'm just saying it common on these engines and people often confuse it with valve covers, timing covers and crank seal leaks. Trust me, you don't want to remove the timing cover unless you absolutely need to.

[wackotecho]

I am hoping to stop the leak without touching that cover but at this stage it is looking very bad, i was told by someone i should check the pressure relief valve at the back of the engine as it could be due to the engine building up pressure but if i have the oil filler cap off I still have this problem, so I guess it can't be that?

So sad to have this oil leak as it runs so nice with the Rotex C30 Supercharger bolted to it.

[JonathanJ.]

I can´t see any bolts holding the inner lower timing case to the head, so probably the head does not have to be removed, though a tech at Pelicanparts said yes. I have my M44 engine torn down on an engine stand to the block/head/timing components. With 190k I am wondering if I should replace the seal the OP is pointing to, or not bother with taking the timing components off...for $10 the seal is not expensive...yet not leaking either.

it´s this seal: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/imgdsply.cgi?pn=11141247849-M17

# 11-14-1-247-849

[cooljess76]

On my S52, there were two or three bolts underneath the cam sprockets that threaded into the lower timing cover. It wasn't until after I removed all of the forward facing exterior bolts, that I realized something else was holding the timing cover on. Luckily, I didn't pry or pull on it or I could have easily damaged the head and the timing cover. If you remove the cam sprockets, you're opening a whole other can of worms, but if you already broke the torque on the other timing cover bolts, there's really no turning back.

[JonathanJ.]

I have not removed the chain nor the inner lower cover which mates to the block. All that is off now is the outer upper and lower covers.

[cooljess76]

I'll add that the Bentley manual made no mention of these bolts. It said remove the bolts surrounding the timing cover and that's it. The Haynes manual did show the bolts.

[JonathanJ.]

I checked again tonight and could not see any bolts behind either of the cam sprockets...maybe it´s possible?

Bentley seems to be more flaky with the e36 compared to the e30.

[cooljess76]

Yeah, not really sure about the M42/M44. On my S52, I had to remove the cam sprockets to get to the three hidden bolts. Here's a pic:

[wackotecho]

Lucky for me I have two of the engines, so rather than pull apart the one in the car which is running but with the oil leak, I have decided to pull apart my old engine that dropped number 3 cylinder to fine out what I am up against. Well after some mucking about i have found out how to pull it all apart with minimal fuss, sadly I think it will not be easy to put together as i will need to squash the rubber gasket while trying to place all the bolts back into place. And this will mean the sump needs to be loosened to allow me to get it back in and possibly use it to push the gasket up far enough to line everything else up.

I guess that is to be expected for a engine which is engineered well beyond what is really needed for a street car.

[JonathanJ.]

Lucky for me I have two of the engines, so rather than pull apart the one in the car which is running but with the oil leak, I have decided to pull apart my old engine that dropped number 3 cylinder to fine out what I am up against. Well after some mucking about i have found out how to pull it all apart with minimal fuss, sadly I think it will not be easy to put together as i will need to squash the rubber gasket while trying to place all the bolts back into place. And this will mean the sump needs to be loosened to allow me to get it back in and possibly use it to push the gasket up far enough to line everything else up.

I guess that is to be expected for a engine which is engineered well beyond what is really needed for a street car.

Hmmm, this makes sense. I guess I will just leave it and hope it doesn´t leak...but what with replacing every other seal on the engine...makes me sad not to do this one...grrrr...haha

Does anyone experience it to leak??

[wackotecho]

Well I am going to try even possible sealant to try to stop the leak rather than try to replace the seal at this point as it looks like a horrible job while in the car.

[wackotecho]

Well today, i spent some time with Maxx Grey RTV Sealant and my 318ti, well the M44 anyway, so here is the good news, it appears to no longer leak (quick test performed about 3 hour after application of sealant), will check it around lunch time as that will be fully cured by then.

[JonathanJ.]

Where did you apply it?

[wackotecho]

I applied it to the outside after a degrease and scrub of the area. My next door neighbour uses it to seal any leaks on his drag engine.

My leak was just under the timing chain tensioned bolt area it was the seal you posted the pic of, what a pain in the rear end.

If this stops the leak long enough for my original engine to be fully rebuilt with all new seals I will be happy.

[JonathanJ.]

Let us know if that was the seal leaking...I am hoping mine is ok!

You are fortunate to have a 2nd engine.

[wackotecho]

I can tell you it was definitely that seal, looks like someone tried to replace all the timing gaskets and seals and damaged that one in the process.

If you do plan on changing yours I would recommend you lower your sump and loosen the head to allow clearance to get that seal in.

I will post a pic of my old engine which was most helpful with this issue.

Give me about 10 minutes to take the photo of the seals and engine.

[wackotecho]

I hope this is helpful for you.

[drummond07]

I have the same leak issue with my 98 318Ti and I'm wondering if the silicone sealant is holding and solved your oil leak. Thanks.

[wackotecho]

The leak is under control, I did notice that the crack case breather was not functioning and this was also part of the problem, basically positive pressure had no place to go and forced oil out of seal.

Have sorted this crank case pressure problem out and found the leak is now completely gone.