[335iNavyGuy]

Both of the "o Rings" were broken ironic enough.. And i had two rings on the cap on accident, the old one i could barely see causing it to leak thanks for all the heads up and info guys. Mostly a case of me being an idiot! thanks again e90 for the info lol


So ive been trouble shooting my stalling issue and trying to figure out the main leaking oil source.. and today i started the car (havent started it while looking under hood yet been busy). And oil was oozing/pouring out from the oil filter cap

It was on tight, and the gasket is fine what could cause this? And could this cause my stalling issue?

Also when i shut off the car, after a few minutes i opened up the cap and oil was filled to the top and slowly drained out.

[MrSmileyDC]

That looks a little more serious than the normal housing gasket leak that bolts the oil filter housing to the engine block. Did you check both of the o rings on the actual oil filter holder? The big one and the little green one. If those are fine then you might have a crack somewhere as it appears you have a decent about of oil seeping out.

When your car is cold. Wrap up your alternator with plastic and spray down the OFH area with engine degreaser and wash the oil off so you can try to find the exact spot the oil is coming from.

[BMRSEB]

Also, make sure the larger rubber O ring gasket thingy is on the right groove on the oil filter cover/cap. It's easy to put it on the wrong one as it "fits" just fine on the other grooves.. and don't over tighten.. Good Luck..

[X_Drive]

The main o-ring is:
1) old, reused and has "squared."
2)incorrectly installed o-ring on the oil filter cap
3)has snapped during re-installation of the oil cap.
4)not there.

Either one of these scenarios will cause this issue.

Another issue that can happen, although not very common. Is that the cap has cracked due to over tightening.

HTH's

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by X_Drive

The main o-ring is:
1) old, reused and has "squared."
2)incorrectly installed o-ring on the oil filter cap
3)has snapped during re-installation of the oil cap.
4)not there.

Either one of these scenarios will cause this issue.

Another issue that can happen, although not very common. Is that the cap has cracked due to over tightening.

HTH's

The oil is coming from right at the seal. I'm doing an oil change and new filter now

[X_Drive]

Also, drivability issues can occur if the pressure valve is not installed. (It's the oil filter cap core, where the small green o-ring goes onto and where the filter slips on.) Sometimes when doing an oil change, this comes off with the old filter and ultimately does not make it back on to the cap. Check if that is still attached.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyDC

That looks a little more serious than the normal housing gasket leak that bolts the oil filter housing to the engine block. Did you check both of the o rings on the actual oil filter holder? The big one and the little green one. If those are fine then you might have a crack somewhere as it appears you have a decent about of oil seeping out.

When your car is cold. Wrap up your alternator with plastic and spray down the OFH area with engine degreaser and wash the oil off so you can try to find the exact spot the oil is coming from.

I have a video im uploading in just a few.

It literelly moves the oil filter cap gasket out of the way and leaks oil, what could cause that pressure?

Check top just added a video.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by BMRSEB

Also, make sure the larger rubber O ring gasket thingy is on the right groove on the oil filter cover/cap. It's easy to put it on the wrong one as it "fits" just fine on the other grooves.. and don't over tighten.. Good Luck..

take a look at the video i posted in the top ^^

[mike-y]

take a pic of the underside of the cap with the O-ring.

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by mike-y

take a pic of the underside of the cap with the O-ring.

Underside has no damage, i even swapped it out with a cap from my friends car.

[fun2drive]

Well most likely your oil pressure regulator spring has malfunctioned or cap not torqued enough if the O ring is correctly installed. Incorrect installation will allow oil to seep from the cap....

[X_Drive]

oops, question was asked.^^^

When doing the oil change, did you see "bits," in the oil filter housing after removing the filter? There could be a blockage in the oil passages. Just a thought.

[melloww22]

Originally Posted by fun2drive

Well most likely your oil pressure regulator spring has malfunctioned or cap not torqued enough if the O ring is correctly installed. Incorrect installation will allow oil to seep from the cap....

Right on

[MrSmileyDC]

Originally Posted by fun2drive

Well most likely your oil pressure regulator spring has malfunctioned or cap not torqued enough if the O ring is correctly installed. Incorrect installation will allow oil to seep from the cap....

Thinking the oil pressure regulating valve as well. OP, do you have any diagnostic software like inpa?

Found the attached PDF that explains the oil system. It says its for the N55 motor, which should be the same/similar to the N54.

[jin]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyDC

Thinking the oil pressure regulating valve as well. OP, do you have any diagnostic software like inpa?

Found the attached PDF that explains the oil system. It says its for the N55 motor, which should be the same/similar to the N54.

How would the valve affect oil seeping from the cap? Even under high pressure it should not leak out like that. Seems to be either the cap is not on tight or is faulty or needs new o-ring.

OP check the o-ring and torque it to 25nm/18ft-lb.

[MrSmileyDC]

Originally Posted by jin

How would the valve affect oil seeping from the cap? Even under high pressure it should not leak out like that. Seems to be either the cap is not on tight or is faulty or needs new o-ring.

OP check the o-ring and torque it to 25nm/18ft-lb.

OP said they swapped the cap out and it still leaked. Assume they know how to tighten the cap correctly. Mine has two little green lines on the cap and housing that you line up.

If the oil flow exceeds the flow rate of the filter I would think it could be conceivable to leak. I would scan for codes to see if anything shows up. OP said they were having stalling issues as well.

This was in the pdf of my previous post:

"The use of characteristic map control for the volumetric-flow-controlled oil pump enables oil supply in line with
requirements and a reduction in the average pressure level in the oil circuit. The oil pressure control valve enables the
Digital Engine Electronics (DME) to control the fuel delivery rate individually."

[PhaseP]

It was on tight, and the gasket is fine what could cause this?

It is not a gasket that seals the cap and the filter housing. It is an o-ring.
The o-ring should not be in between the cap and the top lip of the filter housing. It should be completely inside the top section of the filter housing when the cap is fully screwed on, because it is an o-ring and it will seal that way. It is not a gasket that will seal between two flat surfaces.

It literelly moves the oil filter cap gasket out of the way and leaks oil, what could cause that pressure?

Again it is not a gasket and can't withstand the pressure and gets moved out of the way when it is placed in between the cap and the filter housing top mating surface, as if it were a gasket. So it moves out of the way when pressure builds up.

From you picture I zoomed a section, in the circled section, isn't that part of the o-ring that is moved out by oil pressure? Then it is in the incorrect place (grove) as I tried to explain above.

This is somewhat common mistake. You should move the o-ring, (better yet to get a new one if you ask me) into the grove one below where it is now. When you are screwing the cap on, the o-ring should be staying inside the walls of the filter housing when it is in the correct grove. And when you fully screw the cap on, there shouldn't be any gap between the cap and the oil fiter housing, and there shouldn't be any o-ring there; it should be inside within the walls of the housing. You should put some oil on the o-ring before screwing the cap on so that it doesn't roll up by friction out of its grove.

Once you place it good, my suggestion is first order a new serpentine belt. Clean all the engine parts that got soaked in oil there, the pulleys etc with a mild engine degreaser. After that install the new serpentine belt. Once the pulleys and the belt is soaked in oil, belt is likely to come off and cause other damage and leave you with no alternator output and no power steering.

If your alternator got soaked with oil too, you may end up with a dead alternator soon. If this happens remove alternator open the brush and slip-ring section, clean up all the gunk there, you may save the alternator. When oil makes it way to the alternator brushes and slip ring section, it causes the copper debris from wear of these parts into a slurry that causes steep wear on them.

Don't ask me how I know these, been there...

If you have run the engine with oil spilling like that and oil level was low, do a new oil change too, with new filter.

[PhaseP]

When your car is cold. Wrap up your alternator with plastic and spray down the OFH area with engine degreaser and wash the oil off so

Good recommendation, the degreaser also if makes it way to alternator brushes may cause them to wear fast. No fluid should get in there.

[jin]

Look at pics 5 and 6 for where the o-rings go - http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...Engine_Oil.htm

[MrSmileyDC]

Glad you figured it out. What about your stalling issue?

[335iNavyGuy]

Originally Posted by BimmerGuyDC

Glad you figured it out. What about your stalling issue?

It was the same issue, the clogged filter caused my oil pressure to get too high which made my engine shut down. Replaced it with a nicer filter and it worked perfectly.

[buzzard]

Something very similar just happened to me. I wish I had posted about it, but it didn't seem important enough. I also had oil seeping out from the oil filter cap when the engine was running. My large O ring was about 4k miles old and looked perfectly fine, but I figured that had to be the problem so I replaced it and that solved the problem. What a relief.