oil on top of ignition coils
 

i'm on my 2nd VCG in two weeks just got it back from the indy about 48hours ago and am getting smoke from the engine bay. i take off the plastic cover where the smokes coming from and my front 3 ignition coils are COVERED in oil. i clean off the spark plug area made sure it was dry and drove the car around. Not 15 minutes into the drive and it's smoking again checked the same areas and found it in the previous condition. how is this possible? where is it coming from? the plastic cover obviously also has oil can this be the filler cap or is it possible somehow some way it's the VCG again? any ideas?

3.0L engine btw

Warped cover. You can replace the gasket 100 times, won't matter until you replace the cover also.

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yea i had a feeling that would be the problem thanks for the confirmation

- Check to be sure the VC is not cracked.

- Oil Filler Cap Gasket: check it. Best is to replace it.

i didn't realize it had a gasket i'll check that out it won't hurt to try worst case scenario is to go ahead with the VC replacement

Also, make sure that all the grommets were replaced as they're not part of the standard VCG kits. Not sure if that could lead to oil on the coils, but it's often overlooked.

The fact that you both have oil on your coils and are getting smoke (indicating leaks to the outside of the valve cover) leads me to believe the VCG job(s) wasn't done right. In addition to the grommets around the bolts, the center seals around the spark plug holes can get pretty crusty. All the residue needs to be cleaned out before the new seal is placed or you'll get big leaks.

This is an unusual oil leak.. I have never seen (or even read about) oil on top of the coils.

If the valve cover is warped - how does oil get on top of coils (on a 6 cyl)? - Not sure about that.

I do think a bad oil filler cap gasket could do it, so check/replace it. BUT it also sounds to me like you might have a lot of excess pressure forcing oil out...What is the condition of your CCV? If old or unknown, you should probably replace it.

Please make sure your mechanic used new grommets. You might also check rest of VCG by running your fingers (w/ rubber gloves) along the passenger rear of engine where Valve cover meets head. That's where it leaks most often and drips on exhaust.

E39touring brings up a good point. The smaller, 3-hole gasket for the front 3 cylinders can slide out of place during installation. I wonder if that is a possibility? but that still doesn't explain oil on TOP of coils.

that's what has me stumped the oil is strictly coming from the topside i don't see how it can go up over the coils and down to the right side? i checked all around the vcg and it's dry and yes i made sure the grommets were replaced.

CCV was replaced with a catch can a few months back

I vote for the warped cover condition as well. Discovered mine cracked at 317,000 miles which lead to external oil leak, improper CCV operation and rough idle.


2002 X5 3.0 370,500 miles
2014 428i 65,200 miles


2004 325i sold at 123,600 miles
2001 325i sold at 66,000 miles


1970 Firebird Under restoration

How did you find the crack?

Diagnosed from CCV malfunction, confirmed during gasket change.

I had good luck with an ebay replacement cover on my e70. After watching a couple of videos, I decided just to replace the valve cover and gasket. Took a bit of fussing to get it back on, but I was pleased with the end result and no more leaks.

Turns out it was a cracked valve cover. Took it off and inspected the hell out of it and found a crack where the cap nuts go so the oil was being shot out from underneath the grommets between the ignition coils i went ahead and upgraded the valve cover to the newer style (among a few other "upgrades") and the issue is solved for the most part although those same grommets in the middle seem melted/completely flattened unlike the outside grommets even though i replaced the gasket with an OE kit from BMW

Glad you fixed it. Grab some pics of you have a chance

Thanks for the follow-up, and glad you got it solved.

On those melted/flattened grommets - are you sure those are Genuine BMW, or at least OEM (Elring, Reinz, ???)? That sounds exactly like how a cheap Chinese substitute would perform - looks good out of the package, installs well, works for a brief period, then the sub-standard material does what it does.