possible valley pan and oil leak question

[jyosh]

2003 4.6is 95kmiles

i usually park backed into my garage space so the front end is lower than the back. the other day i was in a rush so i parked the other way. next morngin the temps dropped significantly and i noticed a small puddle of fluid, and it looked like oil.

now i am realizing that when the car is fully warmed, at the at the hole near the bottom part of the bell housing where it mates to the block, oil drips. in addition to the oil, steam is fully blowing out from that hole.

from searching, it appears that when the valley pan leaks, coolant leaks from that hole area. also, when the temps drop the OSV freezes up and will typically blow the VCs.

is it possible that the VCs blew and the valley pan is leaking slowly so that steam can be produced from the heat of the block so that i am consistently dripping oil from the bottom portion of the bell housing and a stream of steam literally blows out of that hole near the bottom of the bell housing?

just gauging people's opinions before i tear the car apart and do the valley pan, WP, tstat, real coolant seal, OSV, VCs, and intake port seals.

pretty sure its not trans fluid cus its brownish.

TIA.
Jesse

[jyosh]

i guess what i am really asking is for someone to tell me that the rear main seal is not where the oil is coming from.



as you can see, it looks like oil thats dripping, however, it looks cleaner than the oil on the dip stick, ive never seen the color of the trans fluid in the x5, but i know they are usually redish in color. at first i thought it was oil vapor and water vapor being evaporated out of the oil and and leaking out of the OSV, but all the lines look good and are all in tact.

[taosx5]

Jyosh, do a quick search on my posts and you will find what I just have experienced. Your issues sounds similar to what I recently experienced. I am not sure how to copy my post but it was pretty recent. Good luck, pm me if you have any questions.

Originally Posted by jyosh

2003 4.6is 95kmiles

i usually park backed into my garage space so the front end is lower than the back. the other day i was in a rush so i parked the other way. next morngin the temps dropped significantly and i noticed a small puddle of fluid, and it looked like oil.

now i am realizing that when the car is fully warmed, at the at the hole near the bottom part of the bell housing where it mates to the block, oil drips. in addition to the oil, steam is fully blowing out from that hole.

from searching, it appears that when the valley pan leaks, coolant leaks from that hole area. also, when the temps drop the OSV freezes up and will typically blow the VCs.

is it possible that the VCs blew and the valley pan is leaking slowly so that steam can be produced from the heat of the block so that i am consistently dripping oil from the bottom portion of the bell housing and a stream of steam literally blows out of that hole near the bottom of the bell housing?

just gauging people's opinions before i tear the car apart and do the valley pan, WP, tstat, real coolant seal, OSV, VCs, and intake port seals.

pretty sure its not trans fluid cus its brownish.

TIA.
Jesse

[jyosh]

thanks taosx5, ive read your thread already, my issue is further back near where the trans mates to the engine block, between the front wheels. i believe your leak was near the front oil filter canister.

I guess i will just have to do the valley pan and hope the oil is coming from the VCs and dripping at the lowest point.

[jyosh]

ok, so looking at this thread http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-has-pics.html, its prob the VCs since my oil is leaking less compared to some of the pics. still just hope the rear main seal is good. anyone know when they seem to go?

[taosx5]

Originally Posted by jyosh

thanks taosx5, ive read your thread already, my issue is further back near where the trans mates to the engine block, between the front wheels. i believe your leak was near the front oil filter canister.

I guess i will just have to do the valley pan and hope the oil is coming from the VCs and dripping at the lowest point.

jyosh, I had two separate issues. Twice I had an oil leak at the oil filter cannister that was most likely caused by a failing oil separator. It would leak then stop.

The other thing I was experiencing was first noticed by a burnt coolant smell upon start up. It only would smell when the car had a chance to sit and when the engine warmed up it burned what little drippng coolant had accumulated. Then it would stop smelling after the engine had reached normal operating temps. I never had any coolant drips on the garage floor but there was a crusty residue on the aluminum skid plate. This was all caused by a failed valley pan gasket. good luck

[jyosh]

Originally Posted by taosx5

jyosh, I had two separate issues. Twice I had an oil leak at the oil filter cannister that was most likely caused by a failing oil separator. It would leak then stop.

The other thing I was experiencing was first noticed by a burnt coolant smell upon start up. It only would smell when the car had a chance to sit and when the engine warmed up it burned what little drippng coolant had accumulated. Then it would stop smelling after the engine had reached normal operating temps. I never had any coolant drips on the garage floor but there was a crusty residue on the aluminum skid plate. This was all caused by a failed valley pan gasket. good luck

gotcha, thanks for the info, i thought you were talking about the canister leak. hopefully the valley pan and vc are the two things leaking.

[va8341]

Originally Posted by jyosh

gotcha, thanks for the info, i thought you were talking about the canister leak. hopefully the valley pan and vc are the two things leaking.

Hi Jyosh, I am wondering if you have the leaking fixed. Upper oil pan gasket replacement?

I had oil leaking from vc and driver side vano seal before. I fixed them by diy. I now notice there's still oil leaking down to the alternator rear area (the corner area of front driver side of the reinforcement plate).

The lower oil pan seems to be ok, no leaking. So I am wondering if it's upper oil pan gasket problem. Or maybe timing cover gaskets, which I did not replace when I was doing vc gasket.

Please shed some light from your experience.

[jyosh]

Originally Posted by va8341

Hi Jyosh, I am wondering if you have the leaking fixed. Upper oil pan gasket replacement?

I had oil leaking from vc and driver side vano seal before. I fixed them by diy. I now notice there's still oil leaking down to the alternator rear area (the corner area of front driver side of the reinforcement plate).

The lower oil pan seems to be ok, no leaking. So I am wondering if it's upper oil pan gasket problem. Or maybe timing cover gaskets, which I did not replace when I was doing vc gasket.

Please shed some light from your experience.

yes, i was able to get the leaking to stop. the two issues were combined into the oil and water/steam dripping down the back of the block (closest to the firewall side of engine). indeed, the valve covers and valley pan gasket was leaking oil and water, respectively.

i dont have any experience with timing cover gasket leaks so i cannot shed any light on that issue.

only thought that pops into my mind is, were the V/C gaskets properly installed? i know when i did mine it took a couple tries, especially the driver's side was a lot more difficult for the gasket to stay seated and clear all the things in the way, and all the while keeping the sealant on the edges of the half moon from getting rubbed off.

one more thought, are you sure its oil and not power steering fluid? i know i had a small leak from that and thats where the power steering fluid would gather.

hope you get it all sorted. also, just traded the X5 in for a jetta sportwagen TDi so i am looking forward to the better MPG

[Wholeo1955]

Please let me know what it was that you changed to fix the eleaks, I did have a leak from the hose under my power steering fill, so0 there is still something that do not leak much, so its like trying to find a needle in the ocean!!!! I want part the you replaced, also did you do them....