Oil leak pretty significant
 

Ive got a 2006 3.0 with 140k miles - pretty baby. Just recently started to see (probably has been happening for a while just not dripping) drops of oil in the garage and on the last visit at the dealer they advised me of leaking oil filter housing gasket, which i didnt fix at that time. In any case i wanted to change the gasket today, but upon my inspection the oil leak that im concerned about isnt coming from oil filter housing or at least not in my opinion.


Let me ask a question first and then add few more details on my troubleshooting. What are the typical oil leak places for this milage/year/engine?

Now my troubleshooting...
I took out the intake, air filter housing to get a good look at the oil housing. Its little oil dirty, but the dirt doesnt seem to be fresh, definitely some small leak, but not the amounts that im seeing under the car.
Then i took off the reinforcement plate and the padding as well as the plate is soaked, the driver side at the engine bottom is soaked with fresh oil too.
The problem is that the leak is happening above the pan somewhere on driver side, probably above the driveshaft and I cant see where. I cleaned up the mess a bit, ran the engine to see if new drops show up, but no luck. I looked with pinhole camera above driveshaft, but cant tell still where its coming from. So, im hoping that thete is known common place were failure occur and I can better troubleshoot based on those?!

If someone has some ideas on spots to check do please letme know too...

Thanks

Drivers side oil leak above the oil pan, pretty much “sounds” like an oil filter housing gasket leak to me. It ranks very high on the “common” leak list. If you look behind the oil filter housing on the engine block behind it oil usually pools there & is a clear indication that’s your leak.

You have already been informed by a DEALER about the problem, and you expect someone on this forum who haven't inspected the car to find the problem?

Another common leak is the Vanos oil line. If you know anything about the M54 engine, you know that the oil filter housing gasket is the one that connects it to the block, not the o ring around the canister cover.

Commong leaks in M54 engine:

1. #1 is OFH gasket leak. I did mine at 110K miles.
- Use only BMW gasket, no aftermarket!
- Torquing procedure, I posted the tricks in bimmerfest, basically tightening in stages to avoid leak, stripping.
- I also posted a DIY in this forum for the X5.
- Do you best to avoid stripping the aluminum threads!

2. Vanos feed lines usually seep a tiny bit at 120K, no big deal. They don't leak significant until 180K or so.
- I also posted the info on bimmerfest.

3. Oil Pan Gasket...This is your worst nightmare b/c this job is NOT fun as the axle runs through the pan.
- My 1998 528i with M52 and 170K: oil pan gasket still bone dry.
- My 2006 X5 M54 with 127K: oil pan gasket still bone dry.

If the oil filter o-ring was the leak it will be everywhere. Dealer already diagnosed OFH seal as leaking. Replace that clean the engine with some good degreaser and check if there are any other leaks. The engine gets oil everywhere from wind/fan and will be very difficult to find additional leaks.

You can probably confirm the OFH is the source by removing the fan and shroud.

The metal plate and sound foam on the bottom can spend literally months collecting a slow leak until it's a big enough puddle to start dripping in the garage. I left mine off for a week or so while I was finding and fixing my problem. I also replaced the entirely gross oil soaked sponge known as the sound insulation. $55 eBay.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

My 2004 got about 130K+ and I think it's got to be the dreaded Oil Pan Gasket as I'm still seeing a small leak at the pan after doing the following: :(

• Valve Cover Gasket
• Oil Filter Gasket
• Vanos Feed Line
• Crankcase Ventilation and Dipstick o-ring.

You didn't mention oil filter housing but maybe that's what you meant by oil filter gasket. I would put in some florescent trace and invest in a decent black light Flashlight. With minor leaks the wind blows it everywhere making it very hard to locate. Having the newest oil glow in the dark will make it infinitely easier to track down


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes, I meant to say oil filter housing gasket. I may have to try putting a die in the oil to trace down the leak as I certainly want to be certain before changing out the oil pan gasket due the all that labor involved. Thanks for the suggestion :thumbup:

I just replaced my coolant reservoir and I removed my fan and shroud for elbow room. Do the same to look for your leak is night and day difference for visibility. Also remove the airbox filter. Very easy to do. For the fan use a 1-1/4" wrench and big hammer. 1-2 hits to your right when facing car. The upper radiator hose catches the wrench it's so easy to remove I take it off for most front of engine work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I forget the exact name of the part but it puts pressure on the timing chain guide and is an easy fix if the cause. You said driver side but not knowing what country you are in that didn't tell us left or right side. Note: a big oil leak killed my alternator so get your oil leak fixed before it starts taking out other items


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Wife's x5 had a big oil leak was the seal on the right CV


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

If the right o-ring for the hub seal support housing or the hub seal itself was leaking hopefully you went and replace the Differential OIL that leaked out. That is not a seal for engine oil.

Like everyone has said, the OFHG and vanos line are typically done together. Plenty of "while you're in there" items to inspect as well if you DIY this big job. I would say start it early on Saturday AM and finish up by Sunday afternoon. Split into two days.

Here's my OFHG DIY guide on an X5 3.0i

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYCgnUkDvJk

Since so much has to come out, not a bad time to do a water pump, thermostat, belts.

I think I made an incorrect observation. I thought had engine oil on the inboard side of the right CV. I thought it came from the end of the CV but I didn't follow up and the car is still consuming oil I thought it had stopped.

I'm having what seems like drive train noise that could be a drive shaft, CV out now that to mentioned, differential. I need to track that down before I send a gear from the differential out the bottom of the oil pan.

I replaced a worn bearing which helped but didn't eliminate the whirr.

I noticed the other day the outer boot on the right CV split so I wouldn't be surprised if that outer joint is damaged and causing the noise

If the noise appears when you are on the gas, but lessen when you are off the gas or just coasting, the differential crown and pinion gear are burnt due to a lack of lubricant. The wear surface is rough because the gears overheated. I would check the level of the differential fluid to verify that it is up to the oil fill cap so you don't do any more damage to the differential.

The noise doesn't really go away I'm hoping it's just the last of four bearings but it feels like some vibration/noise below me (driver ) indicating drive shaft or transfer case.

It's subtle I will check the dfferential asap. I want to remove the bottom plate to get a good look to squash the oil leak problem with that car. I did not notice oil on the inner side of the right CV after I replaced it but if it was gear oil not engine oil that could be the cause of the noise as it does sound gear-y. (but don't notice a difference power on power off or neutral for that matter). My copy has no drive train noise at all. I can hear wind and tires when I'm driving that's it. Wife's car I hear a subtle moan. It was howling and I determined it was the bearing. A second time also bearing. Third time I changed the suspect bearing and the sound wasn't much different but I was starting to get a vibration in the steering wheel which disappeared. I only have one more original bearing remaining so I'll preemptively replace that but also check the dif oil level (and suck out a bit to examine). Thanks for the feedback I actually wasn't aware the differential used gear oil I thought with the 8 Qt capacity the car used engine oil for the differential.

I have winter tires on the car that have the less than desirable effect of sounding just like a worn bearing at slow speed but wife and I have identical tires and my car doesn't have the drive train sounds wife's car has.

I'm thinking I'll put a remote camera/mic under the car to see if can determine the source before it ever becomes more than subtle


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro