E70 4.8 Oil Leak- Help!
 

Info- 08 x5 4.8i with 95,000 miles. Owned the car for 5 months now.

So this week I changed my oil cooler thermostat gasket (alternator bracket for non oil cooler cars).

Question is the car is still leaking oil. It is not an alarming amount or rate, but still noticeable on the garage floor. Ive noticed oil dripping from the bottom of the alternator and dripping from the diff cover, same as it was before I changed the gasket. Any ideas?

Not sure where the oil would be coming from since there is not an "alternator bracket"on here because of the oil cooler. Possibly leaking from above.

My thoughts on possibilities: Valve cover gasket, upper timing cover gasket

The oil thermostat gasket was not cracked or have an evidence of leaking, however, it was rock hard.

Would like to give a shout out to gregg3gs and bdcanetti for their write ups. Made life a lot easier.

I will post pics below, they are prior to removing the Oil cooler thermostat gasket.

Thanks for any insight provided :thumbup:

Vacuum pump?

View of alternator prior to removal
Attachment 65917
Bottom bracket that is mounted to alternator face
Attachment 65918
Alternator removed
Attachment 65919
Alternator is removed. Coolant spilled everywhere when removing expansion tank line.
Attachment 65920
View of timing cover
Attachment 65921
Everything has been reinstalled. Still dirty on the bottom, however, fresh oil can be seen on the alternator and lines.
Attachment 65922

Vacuum pump is on the passenger side. My leak is happening on the driver side. Does not mean that it is not leaking as well. I will take a look at it.

Anyone have any experience doing the valve cover gaskets?

I have a feeling you unknowingly did your alternator bracket gasket as preventative maintenance.

From the location of the oil I'd say, in order of likelihood; upper timing cover, valve cover gasket, one of the 2 sensors o-rings under the u shaped brackets in pic 5.

With that mileage I would just do all 4, they are all related work wise and a piece of cake compared to what you just did.

This guy in NY does all that (good reviews): Valve stem seals done for $2500! - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

I have done valve cover gaskets on a couple cars - very doable for an occasional DIYer like me.

:iagree:
You are correct that I unknowingly did the gasket. I ordered the valve cover gaskets and timing cover gaskets. Planning to do them this Sunday.

Thanks for the insight.

Im hoping the gaskets will be easier than the alternator gasket.
Does anyone know of a DIY for the 4.8i x5 valve cover gasket? Ive seen plenty of general n62 DIYs but would be nice to see one of the e70.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-n62-4-8l.html

This is the closest DIY I have found to get at the valve covers.
Thanks again.

I did mine a while back and didn't make or follow a DIY. I just ran through the one you linked and you can follow it all the way to the point where he removes the fuel rail. You'll need to disconnect the fuel line and probably lift the drivers side out of the manifold but I don't think you have to completely remove it.

The bolts holding the VC on bottom out and rubber grommets apply the sealing pressure (when you examine the new ones you'll see what I'm talking about). The old ones will be rock hard and a few will probably break when you remove them. Once you get the VC off you need to meticulously clean out any of the broken pieces from inside the head. Getting it off is tricky as there's barely enough clearance and you have to dislodge any spark plug tubes that stuck onto the VC before you can remove it. You can try pushing them down and off with your fingers or a flat blade screwdriver if necessary.

To bad you don't live in SoCal, I've done this and need to do my alternator gasket. Speaking of which, did you have to lift the engine up to get at yours?

What are your car specs? On the 4.8i n62tu there is an oil cooler thermostat gasket. Non oil cooler cars have alternator brackets. For mine, I did not even need to jack the car up. I was able to access everything from the top. Granted this was a PITA to do since you can not see what you are doing.

If you have the actual alternator bracket, then you will need to lift the motor to get the engine mount out of the way.

Once the alternator is out, move the power steering pump over just a tad and the bracket is accessible. Follow the two oil lines down with your hand and you run into the bracket.

Just followed the two links below and was not to bad. Did not need any special tools or attachments other than what is listed.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...k-2007-x5.html

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...lp-needed.html

When doing the valve covers, which side was easier to remove? Did you follow the steps from the other link I posted on removing the Valvetronic motors?