2004 X5 4.4 OIL LEAK VERY LITTLE

[cjsit960]

I have a X5 2004 4.4 With 110K miles on it. I have a Very Little oil leak just trying to get information on where it is coming from. If the car sits for about 10 Hours I get One drip of oil under the motor right in the center i have cardboard under it to see where it Drips. Any Suggestion on where it is coming from. It seam like one of the gaskets. Just want to get it fix. THX


THX

[romeokc10]

Unfortunately there's no such thing as a little oil leak on an X5, especially a V8 engine...lol! Look inside your stiffener plate, that's the silver plate bolted underneath the engine, it's probably full of oil and road sand. The plate will actually catch and hold the oil over time preventing it from dripping on the ground, hope I'm wrong though.

[Rewmer]

Not sure if its applicable to your engine, but the non valvetronic engines have a an oil seperator cyclone at the back of the engine. The pipes to this degrade and fall apart. There is a small bore pipe at the bottom of the cyclone that will drip oil if its holes or fallen off.

[Skyline]

Check all around your valve covers as well. That is a very common leak point.

[cjsit960]

Thx- Is it tuff to take the off?

[cjsit960]

Is this the same as a 2004 X5 4.4?

http://www.xoutpost.com/article/BMW%...n%20Gasket.pdf

[Skyline]

Originally Posted by cjsit960

Is this the same as a 2004 X5 4.4?

http://www.xoutpost.com/article/BMW%...n%20Gasket.pdf

No...that is for the M62 engine. You have a different engine, (N62). But it is very similar with respect to what must be done. Also, replacing the valley pan gasket is not necessary if all you have is a leaky valve covers. You do NOT have to take the intake plenum off. So doing just your valve cover gaskets will be one or two degrees of difficulty less than the job you linked.

[Skyline]

No...the valve covers are not easy to take off. There are some great tutorials online here that will show you how to do it. But basically, the coil packs must come out, and their harnesses pulled back. Injectors must be unplugged and the fuel rail moved out of the way. There a whole bunch of other items on top of the engine, (vacuum line, etc.,) that must be removed. Driver side access is VERY tight, and removing a few heater hoses is very helpful. Intake must come out. Cabin filter box must come out.

You need to not only replace the valve cover gaskets...but all the rubber rings around all the bolts and nuts. A torque wrench, (preferably 1/4" drive) is essential, as well as a good sized telescopic inspection mirror, (to make sure the back of the gasket that you can not see is seated properly). For someone who has never done this, and is pretty mechanically handy, expect it to take about a whole day, with the online tutorials at hand. I've heard of indy mechanics charging over $1k for this, and dealer much more. If you are not used to working on your cars, this is probably not a good first job...but check out the tutorials and see if it looks manageable.

To determine if they are leaking, run your hand all the way around, especially in the back.

[romeokc10]

Originally Posted by Skyline

No...the valve covers are not easy to take off. There are some great tutorials online here that will show you how to do it. But basically, the coil packs must come out, and their harnesses pulled back. Injectors must be unplugged and the fuel rail moved out of the way. There a whole bunch of other items on top of the engine, (vacuum line, etc.,) that must be removed. Driver side access is VERY tight, and removing a few heater hoses is very helpful. Intake must come out. Cabin filter box must come out.

You need to not only replace the valve cover gaskets...but all the rubber rings around all the bolts and nuts. A torque wrench, (preferably 1/4" drive) is essential, as well as a good sized telescopic inspection mirror, (to make sure the back of the gasket that you can not see is seated properly). For someone who has never done this, and is pretty mechanically handy, expect it to take about a whole day, with the online tutorials at hand. I've heard of indy mechanics charging over $1k for this, and dealer much more. If you are not used to working on your cars, this is probably not a good first job...but check out the tutorials and see if it looks manageable.

To determine if they are leaking, run your hand all the way around, especially in the back.

I just replaced the valve cover gaskets on my 2002 4.6is back in November, I did not...repeat, did not remove the coil packs, fuel rails or unplug the injectors, it can be done. The passenger side is so easy it's ridiculous, the drivers was a lot tougher, the main thing is to remove the three heaters hoses that are connected at the firewall. I've been meaning to post pics and do a write-up, just been too busy. You mentioned the intake, don't know if you're talking about the intake manifold, but even the harder write-ups I read through did not have you removing the intake manifold.

[Bulk]

Originally Posted by romeokc10

I just replaced the valve cover gaskets on my 2002 4.6is back in November, I did not...repeat, did not remove the coil packs, fuel rails or unplug the injectors, it can be done. The passenger side is so easy it's ridiculous, the drivers was a lot tougher, the main thing is to remove the three heaters hoses that are connected at the firewall. I've been meaning to post pics and do a write-up, just been too busy. You mentioned the intake, don't know if you're talking about the intake manifold, but even the harder write-ups I read through did not have you removing the intake manifold.

That's just lovely, however we are talking about an N62 engine and that does need to have the coil packs removed. However the fuel rail does not need to be removed but make sure you don't force the cam covers, you can easily break off the eccentric shaft sensor and destroy its mounts (Which personally I have to remove prior to pulling the cam cover forward out of the engine bay as there is just not enough clearance). These bad boys are expensive to replace..... If you need to remove these in order to get the cam covers out, there are three screws which face the back of the car so you need to get a star bit around the back.