Help with oil leak
 

Woke up today to see oil on the ground. Not to knowledgeable about the X and its engine. It's underneath dead center. Looks like to toward the rear of the engine. There is the cover plate and a circular opening of where it's leaking. Probably about 4-5" in diameter. I have an appointment for next Tuesday but wanted to know what I might expect.

I have a 07 4.8 which I feel has been nothing but problems. I have around 101k miles.

See this thread...
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...icks-info.html

Welcome to the club. Your Oil Thermostat Gasket is leaking. They go bad on all N62 engines (what you have). I just did the repair over the weekend. It's a $6 part that the dealer will charge you about $800 because of all the labor involved.

See this thread https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...k-2007-x5.html
I detailed out the steps (at the end of the thread) if you want to attempt it yourself.

Lol serious. Did I do a descent job describing where it's at? Anything else I should have them check/replace while there in there?

That is where mine was leaking. There isn't much there to replace, other than 2 O-rings for the oil lines that bolt onto the thermostat assembly.

Edit: it is also possible that your oil filter housing is leaking, since you mentioned it is dead center. Usually the oil thermostat gasket will leak a little bit more to the driver side. Mine had oil dripping from everywhere on that aluminum skid plate/pan. With 100k miles, I'd be surprised if it wasn't your oil thermostat gasket.

Thank for the 411. I really hate this X5! Always had bmws and this X5 is the worst. I want to upgrade next year to the new X.

Yeah... the E70 has some issues. especially the 4.8L. Very oil and coolant leak prone from several places. Not just the oil cooler thermostat. If that's all that is leaking on your X and you want to get rid of it, I would get that fixed and then dump it for something else. These cars aren't friendly to folks that bring it to the dealership. They begin to cost a lot of $$$ around your mileage. If the valve covers haven't been done, expect those to go out soon. Oh, and the valley pan, and valley pipe, upper timing gaskets, maybe a few other things...

I had the valve covers go out at 62k miles!

Just out of curiosity, there hasn't been an oil leak during the last 2 days. I have some cardboard boxes underneath the x in my garage. Any advise?

Off topic, I've noticed my heater/fan speed is all over the board. Have it on high and it blows like a beast then all of a sudden it reduces a lot even though on high. Crazy thing is I feel like it fluctuates during turns. Wondering if I need a new blower motor or something like that.

Sounds like your blower motor resistor. The motor itself is likely fine. If the fan speed is jumping around then it's the resistor. Mine went out on my E46. Not sure if its a common problem or not on our E70's. But what your describing matches the symptoms exactly.

As far as the oil leak, just keep a close eye on it. If it was leaking before it didn't magically repair itself. deposits may have plugged or slowed the leak temporarily. If it was leaking before, it will leak again.

It looks like the resistor bolts directly onto the blower motor.

http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psewmdtdxx.jpg
http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/...psqhxhkkf8.jpg

The blower motor quit on my '08 a few weeks ago. Like most, I suspected the speed controller was the culprit. The blower is relatively easily removed for testing. The resistor is mounted on the fan, so it comes out with the fan. You should then remove/disconnect the resistor and test the blower motor. If the motor does not spin with 12v directly applied, you know it is faulty. If it spins, reconnect the resistor and temporarily plug it back into the vehicle. If the fan then runs normal, you need a new blower motor, not resistor. If the blower does not work, you need a new resistor.

The issue can be that the motor brushes wear and loose contract with the armature. The act of removing the fan and testing it causes the brushes to regain contact and the motor runs. This is temporary and the motor will soon not run again. The above test procedure accounts for this scenario.

For me, the fan ran with direct voltage applied and then again when reconnected to the car. I replaced the blower motor and all is well.

New fans come with a new speed controller. So, my suggestion is always simply replace the fan and get a new speed controller (i.e. resistor, FSU, etc) as a bonus. Cost is about $215 (after 20% discount and before taxes).

:dunno: That sounds very counter intuitive... If you replaced the whole assembly then there is no way to know for sure what the exact issue was in your case. Testing it just like you stated should prove the blower is ok. If you hook it up to a 12 volt and it runs nice and steady for a couple minutes then it should be fine. If there is an intermittent problem with either part, just plugging it back into the vehicle to run it doesn't prove anything. The fault could simply not be occurring at that time.

If OP's issue is that the speed is jumping all over the place then it is likely the resistor. Hence "speed controller". However, if OP is going to pull the blower it would probably be better to just replace the whole assembly to be sure just like in your case, so I guess unless you are really strapped for cash my argument is invalid...

My E46 was doing the exact same thing as OP's car. All I replaced was the resistor and had no more issues all the way up until I sold the car.

Any recommendations of where to buy the blower motor/controller? Thanks for the help guy!

LOL

We just dont know yet what the F15 has in store for those owners...it WILL be something

And it will most certainly be harder to fix, whatever that something(s) is(are).

oh ye of little faith...

So I put in the blower motor and control. The air is still fluctuating. Any recommendations? Also, underneath the passenger side next to the light, there is a little box that has access on the panel. What is it?

Another part I don't know and I need a little help with is next to the blower motor. Makes some noise once I turn of the ignition. What is it? I unscrewed a few of the t20 screws an noticed that the hexagon insert what a little worn.

No, my test proved the brushes on the blower motor were worn to the point where inadequate contact to the amature is being made. tapping on the blower motor or disturbing it will cause the brushes to make contact for a short time. If you replace the blower motor, you get the speed controller with it.