FML- valley res is leaking
 

so today my friend and my mechanic lifted up my X and found that the Valley Res is leaking.... FML! you need to drop everything to fix the seal.
i guess its a common problem with the E53 V8. anyone has had this issue?

Do you mean the "Valley Pan Gasket"? If so, that is accessed from the top of the engine in the 'valley' of the V8. I've replaced mine. Bav Auto has a parts kit for the repair.

My mechanic just noticed the same thing when I brought mine in for power steering pressure hose. I did a quick search on here and I guess it is a common problem and that needs to be replaced.

yeah its common, just changed mine. There are DIYs how to do it, not hard at all its just time consuming. Prepare to work on it for a wholee day.

you might as well do the rear coolant log gaskets and hoses that go back there. good time to do the water pump if you have over 100k miles.

I got all the hoses replaced too while I was at it. I am only at 58K miles so I still have a bit to go before I hit 100K.

well i decided not to do it but then.....

I needed to do my Axle because it was starting to go... while doing the axle, my friend noticed that my dust boot was blown up like a balloon. Well it happened that my power steering rack was leaking, FML some more... so that needed to be done BAD. Since all that stuff above needs to come out, we did the Valley Pan too...
So we changed the water pump (beginning to go bad from the looks of it), the axle, the valley pan, the power steering rack and the parts at wholesale cost around $2000.... + alignment... How much do you think the labor cost?

I have an X5 leaking from what looks like between the block and the transmission. Anyone experience this?

Yup! Could be so many things. The valleypan is notorious for going bad(fiber gasket). I'll be working on mine this week. I love this bitch

see what fluids you are leaking...

oil, coolant, power steering (just incase it sprayed), or fuel

take a picture of where you think it is leaking... look for pictures of Valley pan leak

The mechanic looked into it with a plumbers camera and didn't see anything behind or on top of the tranny. He's almost certain that there is a leak under the bell housing on the tranny and is planning on removing it to see whats going on under there. I did read some other comments that there is a coolant hose that can't be reached unless the tranny is out. Thanks for your responses

I've always said this...if you're around 100k, you need to replace EVERYTHING that coolant touches. Hoses, waterpump, thermostat, radiator, expansion tank, valley pan gasket, etc. 5 and 7 owners have learned that doing parts here and there repairs on the V8 is more of a headache. Once one part wears out and is replaced w/ something new, another part of the system is soon to follow. A complete cooling system overhaul may be the most expensive option, but it's cheaper to spend $1000 now that $12,000 on a blown engine when it overheats....ask myself and tons of others on the other boards.