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      05-29-2016, 10:56 AM   #1
roundle
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OK to drive without engine cover & filter tray?

Hi All,

I'm trying to diagnose a small oil leak (valve cover versus oil filter housing). I've taken the engine cover and interior air filter housing / tray off the car.

I've cleaned up the bits of oil.

Any issue if I drive the car for a week or two with these items removed?
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      05-29-2016, 11:00 AM   #2
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Nope. Might get some debris in your interior air system like dust etc but otherwise no.
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      05-29-2016, 12:36 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roundle View Post
Hi All,

I'm trying to diagnose a small oil leak (valve cover versus oil filter housing). I've taken the engine cover and interior air filter housing / tray off the car.

I've cleaned up the bits of oil.

Any issue if I drive the car for a week or two with these items removed?
no,

but i would get the BMS air filter covers... its just easier to do maitenance on the car...
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      05-29-2016, 12:56 PM   #4
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The BMS filter covers stop leaves etc from getting into your ventilation ducts. Still don't see an issue. Just be careful to avoid getting leaves falling between the hood and windshield.
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      05-29-2016, 02:06 PM   #5
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Most of us who built full stage 3 Audi's back in the 2.7TT days (internals, bigger turbos, etc) tossed the engine covers. You see this on a lot of e9x race cars as well.

The tray I would leave as Fundguy noted, but the cover over the VC, well, I'm convinced all that does is trap heat and may be a leading cause of the cracked VC's so many people have problems with (not to mention making the wiring brittle). That thing is purely decorative/destructive.
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      05-29-2016, 07:37 PM   #6
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I've been driving without my engine cover for an extended period of time >6 months....only downfall is that the heat fabric on the hood has started to warp a tad. I don't know if the 2011 has the heat fabric on the hood though...
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      05-30-2016, 05:34 AM   #7
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OP, my only concern is water. Without the filter tray and the cabin air filter installed you'll get water directly into the HVAC system.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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      05-30-2016, 08:25 AM   #8
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Agree with Efthreeoh. Water would be by main concern whether it's from rain or a car wash.
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      05-30-2016, 08:42 AM   #9
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He's only doing it for a short stink to find an oil leak. A few hours driving should be plenty. Going without these for a few hours won't hurt anything. He's not looking at this as a permanent modification which most replies seem to imply.

OP. You shouldn't need a couple weeks to see an oil leak. A few hours running should suffice.
Don't do it on a rainy day.
Be careful not to park under any debris falling areas or use some painters tape and spare window screen to stop big stuff getting into the vent intakes, and check after each ride to see any changes indicating the leak.
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      05-30-2016, 03:36 PM   #10
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Yeah, so it rained pretty hard this afternoon.

No rain in the HVAC but some water found its way on the valve cover which pooled in the deepest parts of the valve cover. Nothing a few shop towels could not mop up.

I've put the tray and HVAC filter back on but left the engine cover off.

Car goes to dealer on 9th June.

In terms of oil leaks, call me crazy, but I think that the oil filler cap is a source. Is this common?
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      05-30-2016, 08:38 PM   #11
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The cap shouldn't leak if somebody with a brain did your last oil change. The housing seals are known to leak (mine currently is lol) and will pool up and run down the side of the motor.
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      05-31-2016, 04:47 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roundle View Post
Yeah, so it rained pretty hard this afternoon.

No rain in the HVAC but some water found its way on the valve cover which pooled in the deepest parts of the valve cover. Nothing a few shop towels could not mop up.

I've put the tray and HVAC filter back on but left the engine cover off.

Car goes to dealer on 9th June.

In terms of oil leaks, call me crazy, but I think that the oil filler cap is a source. Is this common?
Do you mean the cap on the valve cover, or the cap on the oil filter housing. The cap on the oil filter housing can be over torqued and crack and leak, or the big o-ring is not correctly installed. The cap on the oil fill hole on the valve cover shouldn't leak; there really is not enough oil pressure in the valve cover to overcome the seal.
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A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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      06-01-2016, 03:49 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh View Post
Do you mean the cap on the valve cover, or the cap on the oil filter housing. The cap on the oil filter housing can be over torqued and crack and leak, or the big o-ring is not correctly installed. The cap on the oil fill hole on the valve cover shouldn't leak; there really is not enough oil pressure in the valve cover to overcome the seal.
Oil fill hole cap.

Cleaned the crap out of it last night. Will drive around a few days to see if the oil slick comes back.
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      06-09-2016, 10:47 AM   #14
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Quick update: Turns out the leak is a result of a broken 'external head bolt'.

It's the one near the oil filter housing. Kind of annoying to replace as the intake manifold needs to come off.

Question: If the external head bolt is broken, what are the chances that my other head bolts are having trouble?

Also, as my car is a 2011 (built in May 2010), I thought that the head and head bolt issues were resolved. Any chance BMW will fix this for me?

Here's a pic of external head bolt in question:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...mall/pic01.jpg
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      06-09-2016, 10:50 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roundle View Post
Yeah, so it rained pretty hard this afternoon.

No rain in the HVAC but some water found its way on the valve cover which pooled in the deepest parts of the valve cover. Nothing a few shop towels could not mop up.

I've put the tray and HVAC filter back on but left the engine cover off.

Car goes to dealer on 9th June.

In terms of oil leaks, call me crazy, but I think that the oil filler cap is a source. Is this common?
Mine is actually out and I did drive the car a couple of times, but left the hvac OFF. I actually broke off one of the 3 tabs for the wiring loom when I took out the stuff for the ABS pump job. But I gorilla glued it back and seems tough--really, I think if it broke again it would be not where the glue is. I just wanted to take some pics--I took this stuff out when doing the plugs and did not break anything, but maybe rushed it when doing the ABS.
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      06-16-2016, 11:38 AM   #16
roundle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roundle View Post
Quick update: Turns out the leak is a result of a broken 'external head bolt'.

It's the one near the oil filter housing. Kind of annoying to replace as the intake manifold needs to come off.

Question: If the external head bolt is broken, what are the chances that my other head bolts are having trouble?

Also, as my car is a 2011 (built in May 2010), I thought that the head and head bolt issues were resolved. Any chance BMW will fix this for me?

Here's a pic of external head bolt in question:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...mall/pic01.jpg
***update***

My dealer contacted BMW HQ who refused to pay for the repair.

So my dealer just called and said that they would pay for the repair given that I am such a loyal customer.

Shout to to BMW Den Haag (Netherlands)!
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      06-17-2016, 06:42 AM   #17
John 070
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roundle View Post
***update***

My dealer contacted BMW HQ who refused to pay for the repair.

So my dealer just called and said that they would pay for the repair given that I am such a loyal customer.

Shout to to BMW Den Haag (Netherlands)!
My friend got a lot of that with a Porsche he used to have, and I always wondered if it were a "front" where the dealer was making itself look good....because the paperwork would say WARRANTY. Really, I just wonder if BMW is as evil as the dealers and customer make them out to be, look at how they're handling Takata...$64/day is their contracted rate to Enterprise, to provide cars to even those out-of-warranty?

Anyhow sounds like you are in good shape and all's well that ends well.
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      06-19-2016, 03:32 AM   #18
roundle
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John 070 View Post
My friend got a lot of that with a Porsche he used to have, and I always wondered if it were a "front" where the dealer was making itself look good....because the paperwork would say WARRANTY. Really, I just wonder if BMW is as evil as the dealers and customer make them out to be, look at how they're handling Takata...$64/day is their contracted rate to Enterprise, to provide cars to even those out-of-warranty?

Anyhow sounds like you are in good shape and all's well that ends well.
I live in a land where customer service does not exist. The fact that they're even trying to be nice about -- rather than telling me to suck it -- is totally shocking.
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