N62 head gasket oil leak

[collinja]

Hi All,

I have a 2006 X5 4.4 with 125K miles. A local independent dealer recently replaced the rear main seal and still noticed some oil leaking after the replacement. He diagnosed the oil leak as coming from the head gasket at the rear of the engine (see picture). The valve cover gaskets have already been replaced and he saw no signs of leakage from them. I'm done some searching online and haven't come across any discussion regarding this being an issue with the N62s, but perhaps most folks are just getting rid of them when this happens? Any thoughts on the head gasket leaking oil as I'm losing about a quart every 600-700 miles. Given the $5000+ estimate for replacing both head gaskets it may be time to start searching for another vehicle before the leak worsens.