[dbsiphone]

Thx to all (and to the OP that had the 3rd gear synchro problem that gave me the royal purple name drop). I finally got under there and did the deed. I had drivin it home from work so it already had its warm up period so it was shifting "fine". I put he purp in it and it seems "better" but i wont know for sure till it sits the rest of the day and i get to go to work with it cold. But i have to say it feels less smooth now, more "mechanical" i can feel the out of first and into second on the shifter and it seems alot more "sure of itself". *edit* I ended up using the 75w-140 purple stuff (cuz they were out of Sunny D) i thought i wanted Synchromax, just cuz i thought my synchro was the problem but the guy at the shop showed me the chart that said : BMW 1998 & newer no label (SHC 630) Max-Gear 75W90 and i used the heavier. Should i drain it now? haha

Bad news is I thought my oil leak was at the valve gasket (its squishy like the PO opened it up) so i turned the bolts down just a tad to make sure it was on tight. While i was under the TI i could see fresh oil coming off the front of the engine, not gushing or nothing and i been checking it every fill up and havent noticed any loss, but definatly fresh oil under it unlike the old oil i found up top. So i got my buddy (who knows less about BMW than i do if thats possible, but WAY more about engines to poke around) and his best guess is the front seal. If ur standing under the front tires looking radiator to tranny there is a pully right at the very bottom of the engine and it seems to be coming from behind that.

I keep a close eye on the driveway everyday (before this) and i cannot find "an oil stain" maybe a drop or two of discoloration but nothing I can claim as mine. So obviously if i worry this much about changing the tranny fluid, no way i can tackle the front seal on my own, and my buddy didnt even want to climb under it to give me advice. How bad is it? I'm not worried about running it dry or nothing just trying to figure out price bad, time away from car bad.