Oil Leak from Under Front Driver Tire

[haydenswitzer]

I had my car (2005 X5 3.0i, 150k miles) running in my driveway for a few hours while detailing my car today and as I was finishing up I noticed a pool of oil under the front driver tire. It looks like its coming out of a drill hole in the back of the wheel well as you can see in the picture here



Here is the pool under my car



The oil does not leak from my car if it is off, only while it is running. If you guys have any knowledge on where the oil may be originating from please let me know! Thanks.

[Bdc101]

This is a tough one because the stiffening plate collects all the oil drips. It probably won't be easy to determine the leak without taking it off. Can you tell if it is power steering fluid or engine oil?



The usual offenders that cause a lot of oil leakage are:
1. The entire power steering system (if it is PS fluid that is leaking)
2. The two oil pan gaskets
3. The oil filter housing gasket
4. The VCG, but this usually drips onto the exhaust

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

This is a tough one because the stiffening plate collects all the oil drips. It probably won't be easy to determine the leak without taking it off. Can you tell if it is power steering fluid or engine oil?



The usual offenders that cause a lot of oil leakage are:
1. The entire power steering system (if it is PS fluid that is leaking)
2. The two oil pan gaskets
3. The oil filter housing gasket
4. The VCG, but this usually drips onto the exhaust

That looks like brake fluid to me, and the brake (and fuel) lines run down that side of the car under the plastic.

Fluid in the stiffening plate is unlikely to travel over there. Edit: I'd be looking under the plastic at the brake lines.

[Bdc101]

Good point nick -- though the pictures look dark and orange to me, especially the first picture which looks like an orange fluid dripping from the panel. That makes me think PS fluid (and the steering rack might leak from that vicinity as well). But we both at least agree that OP needs to get under the car and start taking some covers off to look.

[80stech]

Checking the fluid levels might be a good place to start.

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by Bdc101

Good point nick -- though the pictures look dark and orange to me, especially the first picture which looks like an orange fluid dripping from the panel. That makes me think PS fluid (and the steering rack might leak from that vicinity as well). But we both at least agree that OP needs to get under the car and start taking some covers off to look.

I thought that the X5 took ATF? If it's CHF, it might be that color. Older brake fluid absolutely takes on that color though.

Either way, with fluid in that location, I wouldn't be able to rest without checking the brake hard lines.

[andrewwynn]

That looks like exactly where the brake lines are damaged at the factory just before installing.

[haydenswitzer]

I compared the color of the fluid dripped on the ground to the color of the brake fluid in my reservoir and the oil off my dipstick and it is undoubtedly the brake fluid. It looks like fresh engine oil while the oil in my car has a few thousand miles on it.

I haven't had the chance to take the plastic off to inspect the lines but I will be doing so tomorrow.

I haven't had any problems with my brakes since I bought the car (33k miles ago) and the reservoir is completely full, over the fill line, and after running it for a few hours today I am not noticing any difference in fluid level.

Under my hood it looks like there is fluid running down the side of the servo and dripping onto some other lines underneath it then making its way down to the wheel well. Is this normally what happens to these lines?

[nick325xit 5spd]

Originally Posted by haydenswitzer

I compared the color of the fluid dripped on the ground to the color of the brake fluid in my reservoir and the oil off my dipstick and it is undoubtedly the brake fluid. It looks like fresh engine oil while the oil in my car has a few thousand miles on it.

I haven't had the chance to take the plastic off to inspect the lines but I will be doing so tomorrow.

I haven't had any problems with my brakes since I bought the car (33k miles ago) and the reservoir is completely full, over the fill line, and after running it for a few hours today I am not noticing any difference in fluid level.

Under my hood it looks like there is fluid running down the side of the servo and dripping onto some other lines underneath it then making its way down to the wheel well. Is this normally what happens to these lines?

Well, if your reservoir is overfull, you can push fluid out through the cap. So that could be the source of fluid. The failure is generally leaking lines underneath the car.

You do NOT want the reservoir to stay overfull. Brake fluid can strip paint and damage other things.

[haydenswitzer]

Originally Posted by nick325xit 5spd

Well, if your reservoir is overfull, you can push fluid out through the cap. So that could be the source of fluid. The failure is generally leaking lines underneath the car.

You do NOT want the reservoir to stay overfull. Brake fluid can strip paint and damage other things.

Yep I checked my reservoir and it was full almost all the way to the top. I guess when I got my brakes serviced about a month ago the mechanic filled it all the way up. I took enough fluid out to bring it to the max fill line.

I'm guessing that was the root of my issue and I can probably mark this as case closed but I will reply to this post if the problem persists.

Thanks guys!