[amontobin]

Picked it up a few hours from me. Everything looked good, check her over drove her. levels on the idrive were all good. Oil was full when I left saw no signs of leaks. By the time I got home 4ish hours later the oil was almost empty and the bottom of the engine was soaked. What is the most likely cause to lose that much oil in that amount of time?

[amontobin]

Looks like it is the oil pan gasket. Can that cause that much of a loss?

[unrulyteach]

Originally Posted by amontobin

Looks like it is the oil pan gasket. Can that cause that much of a loss?

Oil anywhere else these cars are know to leaks oil from the gaskets going bad

[jeddo45]

Originally Posted by amontobin

Looks like it is the oil pan gasket. Can that cause that much of a loss?

Yes oil pan gasket would cause that significant loss of oil. I had the same thing happen with mine. Took her on a road trip 1 hour and a half away with full oil. By the time I got there, more than a quart dumped. Refilled it and drove her home, all the oil leaked out.

Definitely your OPG.

[Gamb1t]

Hopefully it's just a poorly installed oil drain plug. Oil starvation in turbo engines is bad. How's the engine bay? Oily? Should be quite easy to spot during any inspection. Hopefully you didn't just bought from a dishonest seller who is passing the woes of an n54 to you.

[amontobin]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

Hopefully it's just a poorly installed oil drain plug. Oil starvation in turbo engines is bad. How's the engine bay? Oily? Should be quite easy to spot during any inspection. Hopefully you didn't just bought from a dishonest seller who is passing the woes of an n54 to you.

I hope not lol, looks clean everywhere except the bottom.

[amontobin]

I will snap some picks in the light tomorrow. turbos spool up nice no rattle so hopefully it is just a shit coincidence and he was not running on low oil.

[Efthreeoh]

Okay, so when you say "almost empty" what to you mean? I'm assuming you mean the engine is almost just a liter low on oil. If that is is the case, then the pan gasket is not leaking that much oil, it's not possible. The oil level in the engine is not above the part line between the engine block and oil pan. I'd look at a loose or stripped oil drain plug. Or worse a blown crank seal or OFHG gasket.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by amontobin

Picked it up a few hours from me. Everything looked good, check her over drove her. levels on the idrive were all good. Oil was full when I left saw no signs of leaks. By the time I got home 4ish hours later the oil was almost empty and the bottom of the engine was soaked. What is the most likely cause to lose that much oil in that amount of time?

If you are 100% positive it's not coming from the top part of the engine, then it's either one or more of the following:

1) bad seal on the oil pan drain bolt (didn't change the cooper gasket)
2) oil pan gasket
3) rear main seal

I'd get a telescopic, led mirror and check out the back side of your VCG. Your PVC valve & hose valve could be bad (they should be changed every 50k); but that won't kick out that much oil.

The OFHG & Crank Case Seal will be Obvious. You'll have oil all over the front of the engine. The crank case is a PITA, as is it's sister (rear main seal).

[amontobin]

Well in the light it looks like it is the front and the bottom and even sprayed the bottom of the hood. I assume that's not good lol

[amontobin]

I did the OFHG myself on my 335xi sedan. still have the massive f-0ff wrench to take off the fan lol. It was in the summer though maybe if it warms up a bit I can start taking stuff apart.

[jwalker87]

From all the crap in that last picture, it's been leaking oil for a while. How many miles? Assuming you are around 100k miles or more, the OFHG and oil pan gasket are both due for replacement, and either could cause this (probably the latter, though). The oil 'spray' up on top of the engine is just due to the turbulent air - if it was leaking while you were driving, it tends to just go everywhere.

Valve cover gasket is the last of the 'trifecta' of oil-leaking gaskets that all tend to fail around the same time.

[amontobin]

128,000 kilometers

[catcher22]

In the third to last pic, it looks like oil is all over your belt. You really don't want that belt to slip off. I'd get it fixed asap.

It could be leaking from anywhere, but people have gone (literally) years with a leaky opg. Something wasn't put back together correctly, I'd start with easy checks like making sure your oil filter is the right one and the o ring is seated. Also make sure the oil drain bolt was put back on. Once I had a shop do an oil change for me while rotating tires (big mistake) and there was oil all over my engine bay. Took me a while to figure it out but the o ring was all crumpled up inside the oil filter

Hopefully something as simple as a botched oil change....

[amontobin]

79k miles** lol

[amontobin]

Ya I am not going to drive it until I figure it out.

[Three35Built]

Oil pan gasket has two "stamp marks" where the silicone seal and the metal meet on the driver front and rear pass corners so-to-say are. If its oem, it will spray oil all over the front and rear corners, seeming to be a rear main. Same thing happened to me.

Pop the rubber sight off the bottom of the trans and if there is oil up in between the trans and in the bellhousing, its rear main. If no oil and your intake tunes are clean of oil (turbo seals), it's your oil pan gasket.

If its rear main, be sure to check your pcv valve in your valve cover. That could clog causing high crank case pressure, in result blowing rear main seal.

Good luck. If it ends up being oil pan gasket, I'm sorry. Subframe has to atleast be lowered to replace. Trans is easier to pull (for me atleast) than subframe dropping. So if it is oil pan gasket, make sure the installer puts black silicone sealant on the corners of it where I explained above.

[amontobin]

Originally Posted by Three35Built

Oil pan gasket has two "stamp marks" where the silicone seal and the metal meet on the driver front and rear pass corners so-to-say are. If its oem, it will spray oil all over the front and rear corners, seeming to be a rear main. Same thing happened to me.

Pop the rubber sight off the bottom of the trans and if there is oil up in between the trans and in the bellhousing, its rear main. If no oil and your intake tunes are clean of oil (turbo seals), it's your oil pan gasket.

If its rear main, be sure to check your pcv valve in your valve cover. That could clog causing high crank case pressure, in result blowing rear main seal.

Good luck. If it ends up being oil pan gasket, I'm sorry. Subframe has to atleast be lowered to replace. Trans is easier to pull (for me atleast) than subframe dropping. So if it is oil pan gasket, make sure the installer puts black silicone sealant on the corners of it where I explained above.

Awesome thanks. There is a guy in my city that I use he always did well with my 08 335xi one diagnosis and done, not the oh we fixed this but it was this BS lol.

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by amontobin

Awesome thanks. There is a guy in my city that I use he always did well with my 08 335xi one diagnosis and done, not the oh we fixed this but it was this BS lol.

How many miles on the car ?

Has the OFHG ever been changed? If so, when?

It's either the OFHG or the front crank seal.

You won't know for sure, until you take off all the plastic coverings, spray it down with some brake fluid and then let it run a little.

How old is the belt & pulleys?

This would be a good tome to update the rubber gaskets on the Vanos Solenoids "while you are in there".

I wouldn't go changing the FCS if it's not leaking, that seal can be a can of worms. The OFHG is pretty straight forward.

[mrucker71]

I'm willing to bet it is the rear main seal. i was literally leaving a trail driving the highway. I 5hough it was the oil pan gasket, so I replace it. the leak still exist. pulled the car up on the ramps, left It running and crawled under it and shined my flashlight. yep it was the rear main seal.
The oil pan sets on the engine in an almost 30 to 45 degree angle. when the rear main seal starts leaking, it looks like the oil pan gasket is leaking. the rear main seal is about 2 inches from the oil pan.
let's us know what you find out.
I replaced mine. it was easy but it took about 5 hours doing it for the first time. To do the oil pan gasket, expect it to take 7 to 10 hours.

just re-read your post. yes it could be the crankshaft seal. best way to find out is remove your dust covers. load up your car ramps and head to the car wash. wash the engine top, front and bottom the best you can. monitor the leak for a day or or 2. if lots of oil on the front then your crankshaft seal is leaking. if it is, then there is a reason. most likely three a belt and belts strand in the engine. i just recently did this job on my 07 335i. pull the valve cover to check for belt debris. shine a light down to the crankshaft and see if you have belt strands wrapped around the crankshaft. pull them out. then drop the sub-frame and oil pan to clean it out. replace all your gaskets and crankshaft seal. I used red high temp rtv on my seal. 8t works great.
Let me tell ya, this is a long process. don't get in a hurry. Take your time and do it right. i hate doing anything twice, I'm sure you do as well. Good luck!

[amontobin]

Originally Posted by mweisdorfer

How many miles on the car ?

Has the OFHG ever been changed? If so, when?

It's either the OFHG or the front crank seal.

You won't know for sure, until you take off all the plastic coverings, spray it down with some brake fluid and then let it run a little.

How old is the belt & pulleys?

This would be a good tome to update the rubber gaskets on the Vanos Solenoids "while you are in there".

I wouldn't go changing the FCS if it's not leaking, that seal can be a can of worms. The OFHG is pretty straight forward.

78k Miles.


Oil filter adapter seal replaced late 2015

Valve cover gasket replaced mid 2016

He also has receipt for a Mechatronic valve body repair for $4800 not sure what that is exactly aside from transmition related.

as for the rest probably just safe to assume they are all in need of replacement.

[amontobin]

Originally Posted by mrucker71

I'm willing to bet it is the rear main seal. i was literally leaving a trail driving the highway. I 5hough it was the oil pan gasket, so I replace it. the leak still exist. pulled the car up on the ramps, left It running and crawled under it and shined my flashlight. yep it was the rear main seal.
The oil pan sets on the engine in an almost 30 to 45 degree angle. when the rear main seal starts leaking, it looks like the oil pan gasket is leaking. the rear main seal is about 2 inches from the oil pan.
let's us know what you find out.
I replaced mine. it was easy but it took about 5 hours doing it for the first time. To do the oil pan gasket, expect it to take 7 to 10 hours.

Ya I have been looking at DIY for OPG and it looks brutal lol. especially since im in Canada without a garage so it will be a driveway fix haha.