valley pan Monologue updated Pg. 1
 

well, just finished installing a new guibo on the front driveshaft. I noticed a mix of oil and antifreeeze all over the top of the aluminum reinforcement plate under the vehicle. My question to those: If the valley pan gasket leaks is it just coolant? Maybe my rear main seal is leaking as well. thanks in advance


Update: I finally cam around to doing the valleypan gasket. One needs to remove the intake induction hood, the air intake, fan,fan shroud, the engine cover. once i did this I started to dismantle the fuel rail and ignition boxes(one on each valve cover). once all that is removed you are left with the intake manifold. I removed the crankcase vent on the rear of the manifold so I could clean it. here is a pic once everything is off of the top of the manifold. the injector clips to pull off each ignition box was the hardest thing.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...DSCF0425-1.jpg

Next i proceeded to remove the intake manifold which was about 12 bolts lightly tightened. After removing the intake manifold now I had to work on removing the belts and the water pump pulley so I could reach the two bolts behind it. once the water pump was off i was able to remove the old gasket and remove the two coolant tubes from the rear manifold.

here is a pic of the valley pan: its about 14"x5" and there are about twentyfour bolts. make sure to clean the surface that the gasket is going to sit on and then reapply new gasket. I tightened the bolts in a similar sequence as bolting a cylinder head, starrt in the middle and work out.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...DSCF0429-1.jpg

this is really a straightforward procedure just dont follow my synopsis, get yourself a nice bentley manual and read the directions, most diyer's can do this and probably save 1500 or more at the stealership.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0430.jpg

Yes the yalley pan is just coolant, but there are so many places that can leak oil... as well as other places back there that can leak coolant. Sometimes it takes getting all under it with a few cans of parts cleaner spray to clean it all off and see where the oil comes from.

im going to start from the top rear of the engine and work down. I really hope its not the rear main seal. but traces of blue and brown are visible. I wonder if I should change the water pump that i put on three years ago?

There is a phosphorescent dye that can be put into oil that will show up under a black light - makes diagnosing leaks easier.

remove the top plastic cover and check for coolant next to the valve covers and valley.

I'll start once the weather breaks again. Thanks all for the advice. When faced with a problem with the m62, many heads r better than one. I'll drink to that

probably the valley pan... sigh... it sucks to do...

It does suck. I wonder if it's as bad as re-sealing the vanos'

bump

I think I found your problem. There is a loose nut in your engine bay. :bustingup

Thanks for sharing, I know this is going to be next big repair myself.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...8/DSCF0430.jpg[/QUOTE]