need ideas for oil leak location

stackz · #1 11-25-2013, 10:03 AM

ok, I've only had this 01 3.0 x5 for a couple months. its only got 136k on it and overall in really nice shape. I've slowly been doing maintenance that was neglected by the yuppy mom that owned it before me.

just routine stuff that never got done such as brakes, belts, etc.

anyway, noticed the past month or so that every now/then I'd shut the car off and smell oil burning. I'd immediately pop the hood and would get just a quick wiff of it and then it'd be gone, so I couldnt really focus on any particular area to help zone in on it. kinda like a slow leak I would guess.

while I had the fan/shroud and such off while doing the belts I was looking around and I can see "some" evidence of oil leakage on the front of the engine as well as accessories but nothing overly "aha".

Also, on the intake manifold in the top middle there is oil soak showing at this goofy divider looking thing right in the top middle. anyone know what that is?

The only other evidence...and what I'm leaning to as the source is the heat shields for the exhaust manifold. The rear one especially looks wet to the touch even though you know it gets pretty hot from the exhaust manifold. I'm thinking the valve cover is leaking pretty decently onto the heat shields and its burning off there.

NO evidence of front/rear seal or oil pan leaks or massive leaking as I park on my driveway all the time and it is nice and clean.

drove from charleston to clemson and back this weekend for a game and had to add 1/2 quart at the halfway mark and then 1/4 quart once I got there. then another 1/2 quart halfway home...so its definitely going somewhere.

Its not burning in the cylinders either. I checked the plugs in the freezing cold this morning and they are all showing normal. no signs of oil burning on them.

gonna get a valve cover gasket at lunch and put it on this afternoon and then pressure wash the engine and start looking seriously in a couple of days after I drive it around some more.

I've heard the vanos seals go out at about this mileage as well. could I be losing oil there? how hard is a rebuild on that? from youtube it looks like just a main gasket and some o-rings on the two cylinders but I havent really got into my research on it anymore than that.

oil leaks are really easy to fix once you find them and I cant stand them as it is. irritates me that people will run an otherwise good engine without oil and burn it up over a stupid $20 gasket and some of their time to replace it.

any problem spots to look at will be greatly accepted. I'll take some pics this afternoon of some of the areas I've noticed so people can help me ID sensors, etc and whether I can put teflon, etc on them.

I've got the bentley manual as well but only really used it twice for when I was changing the belts and rear brakes...if its as useless as it was when I did those, I'm fearful of larger items.

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luvmy03E53 · #2 11-25-2013, 10:23 AM

If you can smell burning oil, then oil is somehow getting onto the exhaust manifold. I'll be willing to bet that replacing the valve cover gasket will take care of your problem. After you've done that, if you still see oil on the lower part of the engine, below the filter housing, then you'll need to replace the filter housing gasket as well. I had to do both to solve my oil leak problems.

Good luck!

BTW, you mentioned driving up to Tigertown this past weekend... are you a Clemson grad? Class of '84 here...

Brandon002 · #3 11-25-2013, 10:38 AM

At 136K I wouldn't be surprised if the oil filter housing gasket were leaking. It's not a hard job to replace, just a little time consuming as you have to get a bunch of stuff out of the way to replace it.

luvmy03E53 · #4 11-25-2013, 10:41 AM

Replacing the valve cover gasket and OFHG in one afternoon is definitely doable!

stackz · #5 11-25-2013, 11:16 AM

I have yet to change the oil personally on this car as the dealer I got it from did an oil change as part of their service. these things have an oil filter housing gasket? so they are cartridge type filters instead of sealed canister? ugh, cartridges are a pain lol.

is the gasket you guys are talking about for the filter cap or there's one where the housing mates to the block as well?

and yeah, class of 01...havent been back in 6 years or so...soo many things have changed lol. johnstone F where I was in the overhang as a freshman is now a field lol.

upallnight · #6 11-25-2013, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stackz

I have yet to change the oil personally on this car as the dealer I got it from did an oil change as part of their service. these things have an oil filter housing gasket? so they are cartridge type filters instead of sealed canister? ugh, cartridges are a pain lol.

is the gasket you guys are talking about for the filter cap or there's one where the housing mates to the block as well?

and yeah, class of 01...havent been back in 6 years or so...soo many things have changed lol. johnstone F where I was in the overhang as a freshman is now a field lol.

OFHG is located between the oil filter housing and the engine block. It's about a 4 hours job since you need to remove the alternator in order to access the 6 bolts to remove the oil filter housing. It's about a 6 buck gasket but a 500 bucks repair due to the time involved.

Ricky Bobby · #7 11-25-2013, 11:25 AM

the OFHG is the gasket where the housing mates to the block, 4 dollar part from the dealer, couple hours to replace it, but not hard.

the actual canister uses an o-ring on the cap which is replaced with each oil change, fairly simple really. I'm just glad the canister is face up so I can remove and let the oil drain downwards towards the pan, on my '99 vw the canister faced downward so every time you loosened the filter cap for an oil change you'd get a fistful of oil on the removal!

luvmy03E53 · #8 11-25-2013, 11:30 AM

A word of advice when buying the OFHG and valve cover gasket... buy OEM... no need to economize on such critical gaskets!

stackz · #9 11-25-2013, 11:40 AM

yeah I've noticed there's a bunch of parts on these that you can get stupid cheap from the dealer vs online...especially the weatherstrip clips lol.

is the alternator on these the water cooled ones like I've seen on some of the youtube videos?

also, quick question. While I'm in there I'll probably do the timing cover gasket as well and was thinking about swapping the water pump for a new one and doing a coolant flush. should I stay with the oem one with the plastic impeller or get one of the aftermarket ones with the metal impeller?

luvmy03E53 · #10 11-25-2013, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stackz

is the alternator on these the water cooled ones like I've seen on some of the youtube videos?

also, quick question. While I'm in there I'll probably do the timing cover gasket as well and was thinking about swapping the water pump for a new one and doing a coolant flush. should I stay with the oem one with the plastic impeller or get one of the aftermarket ones with the metal impeller?

Check Realoem.com to see if your car has a water-cooled alternator. I don't expect that it does.

I would recommend going with the metal impeller water pump. I replaced my pump with a plastic impeller pump almost 3 years ago and haven't had any issues, but in hindsight, I'd suggest the metal impeller type.

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