Oil all over the oil pan, cross member and transmission
 

My daughter is back home in her 96 318ti. Of course, I do a quick inspection of the car from the engine bay to suspension components.
Last time I saw the car was during Thanksgiving holiday and the engine was dry, but now the whole cross member under the engine all the way to the transmission housing is soaked in oil. The oil level was a little below the top mark so oil level was good but it looks like it leaked a lot of oil under the drivetrain and transmission.

I will clean it up and drive it around to trace the oil leaks.

Could this be an oil pan gasket leak? The engine only has 100k miles. Is there another source of the oil leak I am missing?

Thanks.

Common leak is the junction between the Oil Filter tower and the block, cheap fix takes a couple hours total to do. requires removing alternator partially, and then the bolts from the tower. It looks like a pan gasket or front main seal leak when ya first look at it...

Dave

Yeah it looks scary when you first look at it. I guess there must be a gasket and seals replacement involved. Is this a dealer only parts?

It really looked like an oil pan gasket job, wheeew ! Thank you.
I hate pulling the engine just to do an oil pan gasket job.

You can look the part up in realoem.com to get the part number:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/d/m/7.png

06 Gasket Asbestos Free 1 11421709800 $2.42

PN - 11421709800

You can order from a number of online suppliers (Bavarian Autosport, Pelicanparts.com or getbmwparts.com).

Thanks for the diagram and PN.

I dropped by the BMW dealership and got the gasket and o-ring. Cost me $15.00.

They only had one o-ring though. They said I need two o-rings. Is this true?
But looking at the diagram, I can only see one o-ring item# 5.

Yes you need two o-rings. Just take the one they sold you down to your local auto parts store, I'm sure they'll have one that's close.

She didn't drive over anything, did she?
My significant other has done that to both of her cars over our lifetime together.
Our Mini has now developed a very slow leak and it was the demise of her Datsun/Nissan Sentra.

That was the first thing I asked, if she hit some road debris large enough to hit the oil pan, she said she did not.

I looked at the engine bay again to check, sure enough, I can see oil pooling just below the oil filter housing and running down the engine block to the oil pan.

Now I have to clear my garage so I can work in a warmer space. I am going to clean the engine oil pan as much as I can. I hate working on a dirty engine.

Thanks guys.

Got the housing off the block.
I can see the two o-rings are in the relief assembly
Now it's just a matter of putting everything back on.
Question: Do I need a gasket adhesive of any type that's oil resistant?
The fix is not too bad for half a day.

I used permatex on the gasket to hold it in, don't know if that's recommended, but the first o-ring set lasted 15 years so I don't figure to be back in there again.... :)

I used the BMW o-rings, I've been burnt too many times in other
applications by o-rings made out of the wrong rubber compound not holding up. Not like its a atrocious job so not a big deal in this case, now if it was a front transmission seal or something nasty to get to I'd insist on the OEM part.


Good Luck!

Dave

Thanks. I do not have permatex, so I'll just use the Hylomar I always use for my Porsche valve cover gaskets.

Looking at the gasket, I do not think the gasket failed. The gasket is pretty much still intact. The oil leak is coming from higher up so I believe the o-rings in the relief are hard and are not seating properly anymore. I got the parts from the dealer so I should be good for another 15 years as long as she does not overheat and blow up the head.

I cranked it up and let it run on the lift for a few minutes and yeay, no more oil leaks.
This is a great site, thanks for all the help. Got it fixed in a day and that is awesome for getting quick replies to my post.

Killer man. You should probably bleed her cooling system while she's home, just for a little added peace of mind:wink:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27983

thanks
 

my car started leaking thinking it was the same issue (oil pan) but after reading this i looked and sure was the oil filter housing

Yeah, I better do that too. I better get some distilled water because I noticed the coolant level in the radiator reservoir was below the minimum. Good thing I already replaced the electric radiator fan a while back

I also checked the alternator voltage regulator and brushes while it was out and it was getting worn and barely sticking out so I took the VR from the spare alternator with a bad bearing and swapped it.
So everything is good on the 190k mile body with a 100k mile engine unless the fuel pump goes.

I wonder how long the fuel pump lasts. :biggrin::?: