[cochran]

So I've been leaking oil for about 6 months now on my 09 335i. Every month or so I have to fill up about 1L worth of oil. Do i still need to do an oil change if i don't plan on fixing this oil leak anytime soon?

My thought process behind this is that if i do an oil change, I'll end up losing the oil in about 60 days time, and will have to top it off with more oil. Not sure if this made sense haha

[TemjinX2]

i dont really understand your question? are you asking if you still need to do a oil change since your refilling the oil every month it'll equal basically same as a oil change?

if this is the case...yes you still need to do a oil change. oil change removes potential debris other then just used oil.

1L a month is a lot of oil and those gaskets should be changed.

[cochran]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

i dont really understand your question? are you asking if you still need to do a oil change since your refilling the oil every month it'll equal basically same as a oil change?

if this is the case...yes you still need to do a oil change. oil change removes potential debris other then just used oil.

1L a month is a lot of oil and those gaskets should be changed.

Yes, that is exactly what I was asking! Thank you!

[cochran]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

i dont really understand your question? are you asking if you still need to do a oil change since your refilling the oil every month it'll equal basically same as a oil change?

if this is the case...yes you still need to do a oil change. oil change removes potential debris other then just used oil.

1L a month is a lot of oil and those gaskets should be changed.

Are there any risks associated with not getting this oil leak fixed, but rather continuously topping off with oil whenever low?

[TemjinX2]

Originally Posted by cochran

Are there any risks associated with not getting this oil leak fixed, but rather continuously topping off with oil whenever low?

depends on which part is leaking. leaky OFHG can cause the serpetine belt to come off and go into the crank and destroy your engine.

leaky valve cover can cause misfires from oil getting into spark plugs.

i would say, the only one that is not a huge priority would be the oil pan gasket....that will just leave oil stains on your drive way.

if its the OFHG, i would get it fixed asap.


this isnt a corolla...you can't just keep ignoring the problem and drive it for 7yrs. Unfortunately with the german cars...you gotta fix it asap or it can causes damages usually 4 figures if you take it to a shop.

[Paanzerfaust]

Originally Posted by TemjinX2

i would say, the only one that is not a huge priority would be the oil pan gasket....that will just leave oil stains on your drive way.

if its the OFHG, i would get it fixed asap.


this isnt a corolla...you can't just keep ignoring the problem and drive it for 7yrs. Unfortunately with the german cars...you gotta fix it asap or it can causes damages usually 4 figures if you take it to a shop.

Exactly this. I would almost guarantee if you bought a higher mileage example you have at least a leaky valve cover gasket, and if you're losing a full litre a month then you probably also have a leaky oil filter housing gasket too.

One point Temjin missed in regards to the VCG is that they often will drip oil on to your catalytic converters too, so even aside from the performance loss you're putting your vehicle at risk of setting on fire.

Nowadays with the low cost if the N54 and stupid amounts of power you can make cheaply, people are buying them just wanting to throw Bolt ons on it and spank most cars on the street without doing maintenance stuff first because of the cheap power adders, and quite frankly that's a horrible idea. The cars were ~50k new, so your repairs will still be expensive if you ruin something.

OP, just do yourself a favor and replace both gaskets and the belt while you're at it, you'll get thousands of miles out of them after that and not have to worry about it. I genuinely don't want to sound like an asshole, but if you really don't want to fix maintenance stuff like oil leaks or leaking injectors because you want to make power first then honestly you'd be better off selling the N54 and going with a different platform.

[marcvtec]

Originally Posted by Paanzerfaust

Exactly this. I would almost guarantee if you bought a higher mileage example you have at least a leaky valve cover gasket, and if you're losing a full litre a month then you probably also have a leaky oil filter housing gasket too.

One point Temjin missed in regards to the VCG is that they often will drip oil on to your catalytic converters too, so even aside from the performance loss you're putting your vehicle at risk of setting on fire.

Nowadays with the low cost if the N54 and stupid amounts of power you can make cheaply, people are buying them just wanting to throw Bolt ons on it and spank most cars on the street without doing maintenance stuff first because of the cheap power adders, and quite frankly that's a horrible idea. The cars were ~50k new, so your repairs will still be expensive if you ruin something.

OP, just do yourself a favor and replace both gaskets and the belt while you're at it, you'll get thousands of miles out of them after that and not have to worry about it. I genuinely don't want to sound like an asshole, but if you really don't want to fix maintenance stuff like oil leaks or leaking injectors because you want to make power first then honestly you'd be better off selling the N54 and going with a different platform.

Irrelevant response - its not the question he asked.
You need to join the Doctor Phil forum

[=C=]

Originally Posted by Paanzerfaust

Exactly this. I would almost guarantee if you bought a higher mileage example you have at least a leaky valve cover gasket, and if you're losing a full litre a month then you probably also have a leaky oil filter housing gasket too.

One point Temjin missed in regards to the VCG is that they often will drip oil on to your catalytic converters too, so even aside from the performance loss you're putting your vehicle at risk of setting on fire.

Nowadays with the low cost if the N54 and stupid amounts of power you can make cheaply, people are buying them just wanting to throw Bolt ons on it and spank most cars on the street without doing maintenance stuff first because of the cheap power adders, and quite frankly that's a horrible idea. The cars were ~50k new, so your repairs will still be expensive if you ruin something.

OP, just do yourself a favor and replace both gaskets and the belt while you're at it, you'll get thousands of miles out of them after that and not have to worry about it. I genuinely don't want to sound like an asshole, but if you really don't want to fix maintenance stuff like oil leaks or leaking injectors because you want to make power first then honestly you'd be better off selling the N54 and going with a different platform.

good advice

[r4dr]

Originally Posted by marcvtec

Irrelevant response - its not the question he asked.
You need to join the Doctor Phil forum

OP's later post:

Originally Posted by cochran

Are there any risks associated with not getting this oil leak fixed, but rather continuously topping off with oil whenever low?

Loose petrochemicals in a confined space with hot metal is never a good idea.

[cochran]

Originally Posted by Paanzerfaust

Exactly this. I would almost guarantee if you bought a higher mileage example you have at least a leaky valve cover gasket, and if you're losing a full litre a month then you probably also have a leaky oil filter housing gasket too.

One point Temjin missed in regards to the VCG is that they often will drip oil on to your catalytic converters too, so even aside from the performance loss you're putting your vehicle at risk of setting on fire.

Nowadays with the low cost if the N54 and stupid amounts of power you can make cheaply, people are buying them just wanting to throw Bolt ons on it and spank most cars on the street without doing maintenance stuff first because of the cheap power adders, and quite frankly that's a horrible idea. The cars were ~50k new, so your repairs will still be expensive if you ruin something.

OP, just do yourself a favor and replace both gaskets and the belt while you're at it, you'll get thousands of miles out of them after that and not have to worry about it. I genuinely don't want to sound like an asshole, but if you really don't want to fix maintenance stuff like oil leaks or leaking injectors because you want to make power first then honestly you'd be better off selling the N54 and going with a different platform.

I've had the oil pan replaced maybe 10k miles ago. I'm assuming it's either the valve cover or OFHG.

Is there any proper way to diagnose where the oil leak is coming from? My knowledge is that oil leaks show no codes, only way to find out where the leak is is to clean and wait for oil to reemerge?

[arhoads335i]

Originally Posted by cochran

I've had the oil pan replaced maybe 10k miles ago. I'm assuming it's either the valve cover or OFHG.

Is there any proper way to diagnose where the oil leak is coming from? My knowledge is that oil leaks show no codes, only way to find out where the leak is is to clean and wait for oil to reemerge?

lol at no codes for an oil leak. But you could easily search this on you tube.
valve cover will show some oil near spark plugs, but I'm guessing you don't know what those are either.

[Jerain]

Don't save money on such things, get the leak fixed first before it gets worse or something.

[Newb_bimmerE92]

Also, you need to remember that when you change the oil you also change the filter... Regardless of if you decide to completely drain the oil or not, that filter still needs replaced.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by cochran

I've had the oil pan replaced maybe 10k miles ago. I'm assuming it's either the valve cover or OFHG.

Is there any proper way to diagnose where the oil leak is coming from? My knowledge is that oil leaks show no codes, only way to find out where the leak is is to clean and wait for oil to reemerge?

Could you take a few photos of your engine for us to take a look at:

-pic from the front close to the oil filter housing.
-pic from the passenger side overseeing the area above the turbos.

if you're topping up that much and the leak is from oil filter housing, it will be very evident as you will have lots of oil spatter on the charge pipe right below the radiator upper hose as it slings off the belt. Valve cover is a sneaky bitch that will trickle down the back, eventually getting to the point of dripping on the downpipe and burning.

please take a few photos for us to see.

[cochran]

Originally Posted by arhoads335i

lol at no codes for an oil leak. But you could easily search this on you tube.
valve cover will show some oil near spark plugs, but I'm guessing you don't know what those are either.

I know what spark plugs are brotha

[cochran]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

Could you take a few photos of your engine for us to take a look at:

-pic from the front close to the oil filter housing.
-pic from the passenger side overseeing the area above the turbos.

if you're topping up that much and the leak is from oil filter housing, it will be very evident as you will have lots of oil spatter on the charge pipe right below the radiator upper hose as it slings off the belt. Valve cover is a sneaky bitch that will trickle down the back, eventually getting to the point of dripping on the downpipe and burning.

please take a few photos for us to see.

I will take some soon. Thank you.

[GEOS07335i]

Here are my .2 I had a small VC-Valve Cover leak and after doing some very hard pulls' the oil that was caught in the oil pan catch tray CAUGHT FIRE! Oil leaks are not to be messed with. It was a flash fire but scared the crap out of me. Hopefully your mechanically inclined but first determine where the leak is coming from typically, VCG, OFHG and Oil Pan are the main culprits.

How much is it costing you to put a court of oil in every month? The VCG is only $32 and the OFHG and Oil Cooler Gasket are like $36. Very cheap parts but if you have to have an indy do it then LOL good luck with that. Go join a club and find a member that will do it on the cheap side.

[Paanzerfaust]

Originally Posted by marcvtec

Irrelevant response - its not the question he asked.
You need to join the Doctor Phil forum

And you need to take a 4th grade-level reading comprehension lesson, but I wouldn't expect any less from someone with vtec in their name

@OPs more recent question - if you have sludge on the front part of your oil filter housing, or where the housing connects to the block, or on your belt or pulleys (generally just that entire area tbh) then you have a leaky OFHG.

Remove your engine cover and if there's any oil on your plugs, in any crevices on the side of your engine, or if you ever smell or are burnt oil smoke in your engine area after a long or particularly hot drive then you probably have a cracked VCG. The actual valve covers themselves can crack too but if you aren't having any idle/driving/rpm hunting issues then you might be okay there.

[cochran]

Originally Posted by Paanzerfaust

And you need to take a 4th grade-level reading comprehension lesson, but I wouldn't expect any less from someone with vtec in their name

@OPs more recent question - if you have sludge on the front part of your oil filter housing, or where the housing connects to the block, or on your belt or pulleys (generally just that entire area tbh) then you have a leaky OFHG.

Remove your engine cover and if there's any oil on your plugs, in any crevices on the side of your engine, or if you ever smell or are burnt oil smoke in your engine area after a long or particularly hot drive then you probably have a cracked VCG. The actual valve covers themselves can crack too but if you aren't having any idle/driving/rpm hunting issues then you might be okay there.

yeah i do smell burnt oil when idling or after a drive and i'm getting out of the car

[Cabdriver]

Originally Posted by cochran

So I've been leaking oil for about 6 months now on my 09 335i. Every month or so I have to fill up about 1L worth of oil. Do i still need to do an oil change if i don't plan on fixing this oil leak anytime soon?

My thought process behind this is that if i do an oil change, I'll end up losing the oil in about 60 days time, and will have to top it off with more oil. Not sure if this made sense haha

A risk with a car leaking oil include potential for fire if it gets near hot exhaust. You'd be surprised what surface tension does to draw liquids into strange places. There is also the potential for oil to get on the belt, causing it to spin off and wind up at the crank seal, getting sucked into the crankcase. Was talking to my buddy SA at a BMW dealer and he said it's real and happens often enough. 3-4k, assuming the crank hasn't been damaged.

Also, your oil filter needs to be changed, oil is the lifeblood of a cars engine, so I recommend keeping it in the engine, replace the gaskets as soon as possible and fix the leaks. My take...

[dawhiz]

Any smoke? My car was eating lots of oil when my turbo was on it's way out before it just gulped it. Now with my 5k oil change interval on this oil, I have to add another quart (2 in total so far) with another 2k left, from oil pan leak. Much slower.

[Some Asian Guy]

Something I don't think that has been mentioned is that sometimes the ofhg can leak oil into the coolant passage as well. Introducing dirty oil into your coolant will cause a lot bigger and more expensive problems down the line.