Major oil leak on Z4M
- Thread starter GroundEffect
- Start date
Hope you get it sorted easily and cheaply. Nice looking car.
Sent from my iPad
Sent from my iPad
If it's any consolation by buddy had a similar dramatic failure in his VX220. Oil everywhere, smoke,,etc. turned out to be a cracked oil cooler pipe and was a cheap repair, despite prophecies of doom from 'experts' at a garage. Did a track day a week later on the engine.
Ifit were mine I'd clean it off, top it up and spin the motor with plugs out, so nothing is strained and you'll see it leak quick enough and without risk if there is a more serious internal issue.
Ifit were mine I'd clean it off, top it up and spin the motor with plugs out, so nothing is strained and you'll see it leak quick enough and without risk if there is a more serious internal issue.
Thanks for the replies, guys.
I am not going to test it with cheap oil myself - I don't see a huge benefit from me knowing a bit more but with the risk of damaging the car further. I will let a garage do their diagnosis on it and go from there.
I am not going to test it with cheap oil myself - I don't see a huge benefit from me knowing a bit more but with the risk of damaging the car further. I will let a garage do their diagnosis on it and go from there.
Liverpool
In my (second hand) experience of oil leaks on S54s, the places around that area that can leak are the cam chest gasket (which should be replaced every inspection), the cylinder head gasket, the timing chain cover gasket and the timing chain tensioner gasket.
Steve220 said:
It's not the oil I'm worried about, it's just the potential to do more damage to the motor internally. I'd rather a garage take a look inside it to see what's happened. Yes, I'll be paying money for it but I don't want to mess around with an M engine.
You've probably done this already, but the first thing I would want to do is eliminate the proximate event (i.e., going to the carwash) as a possible cause. Anything unusual happen while you were there? Was the carwash automated or self-operated. If the former, did the car safely clear all the carwash gear? If the latter, did you use high pressure spray in the engine compartment while the engine was still hot?
A few points:
1. If you bought this from a dealer then there is the legal requirement that the car that was sold to you was of "merchantable quality". So if the car has developed an oil leak only 1 week later, something was in poor condition at the time of sale, which caused a leak only one week later. So make this the dealer's problem and seek redress.
2. It's not unknown for a Vanos to fail on a S54 engine, which will spew oil and make a mess.
3. A loss of a relatively small quantity of oil can make a right mess, so check the dipstick to assess how much oil you've lost. If you've still got oil at, or close to, the minimum level mark on the dipstick, you're unlikely to have done any damage to your engine.
Hope the problem is a simple fix.
1. If you bought this from a dealer then there is the legal requirement that the car that was sold to you was of "merchantable quality". So if the car has developed an oil leak only 1 week later, something was in poor condition at the time of sale, which caused a leak only one week later. So make this the dealer's problem and seek redress.
2. It's not unknown for a Vanos to fail on a S54 engine, which will spew oil and make a mess.
3. A loss of a relatively small quantity of oil can make a right mess, so check the dipstick to assess how much oil you've lost. If you've still got oil at, or close to, the minimum level mark on the dipstick, you're unlikely to have done any damage to your engine.
Hope the problem is a simple fix.
@exdos: GroundEffect already said that the oil doesn't register on the dipstick. 
When he said it wouldn't rev, I also thought Vanos. But if it's the failure I think exdos is referring to, there would be oil everywhere. Looks like it pretty much drained straight down, so not under huge pressure. It's hard to say how much oil was actually lost, could be anywhere from 2-5 litres. We're not really sure over what period of time either, could have been a minor leak for some time which suddenly got worse.
If it's closer to the 2 l lost volume, I agree that a gasket failure is a plausible explanation. If it's closer to total oil loss, it's more likely a ruptured hose or pipe. Only the most catastrophic gasket failure would lose that much oil in what, 1/2 mile? I find it strange the engine ran so poorly and yet no trouble lights came on, level or pressure. Just to be sure, GroundEffect should confirm the lamps actually work when the ignition is turned on. That's just a very minor side note. On the real problem, there's little we can do but speculate without being able to actually see it. This has to be a gut wrenching experience, I feel for you mate.
When he said it wouldn't rev, I also thought Vanos. But if it's the failure I think exdos is referring to, there would be oil everywhere. Looks like it pretty much drained straight down, so not under huge pressure. It's hard to say how much oil was actually lost, could be anywhere from 2-5 litres. We're not really sure over what period of time either, could have been a minor leak for some time which suddenly got worse.
If it's closer to the 2 l lost volume, I agree that a gasket failure is a plausible explanation. If it's closer to total oil loss, it's more likely a ruptured hose or pipe. Only the most catastrophic gasket failure would lose that much oil in what, 1/2 mile? I find it strange the engine ran so poorly and yet no trouble lights came on, level or pressure. Just to be sure, GroundEffect should confirm the lamps actually work when the ignition is turned on. That's just a very minor side note. On the real problem, there's little we can do but speculate without being able to actually see it. This has to be a gut wrenching experience, I feel for you mate.
bcworkz said:@exdos: GroundEffect already said that the oil doesn't register on the dipstick.
I should've re-read the whole thread before posting.Since the oil temp didn't rise, the engine revs didn't go above 2k rpm and no warning lights came on, hopefully, most of the oil was lost when the engine was switched off. My fingers are crossed for him.
Sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days - work is hectic.
The car is in the garage but they haven't diagnosed it yet (they said it might take until friday for them to have the time).
Please don't scare me with VANOS talk
The leak is definitely low down (sort of in-line with the block to sump joint)
Going back to the picture:
What is the component in the centre of the image that has the most oil on it? I have looked at countless drawings and images but I cannot work it out. It appears to have been coming from that area.
Also to note: the EML and engine warning light DO work as I checked them after I stopped it by turning to Ignition stage 2 but can you please confirm if those lights go out if you leave it with the ignition on for an extended time? They stay on....not sure if they should do this on this car.
The car is in the garage but they haven't diagnosed it yet (they said it might take until friday for them to have the time).
Please don't scare me with VANOS talk
The leak is definitely low down (sort of in-line with the block to sump joint)Going back to the picture:
What is the component in the centre of the image that has the most oil on it? I have looked at countless drawings and images but I cannot work it out. It appears to have been coming from that area.
Also to note: the EML and engine warning light DO work as I checked them after I stopped it by turning to Ignition stage 2 but can you please confirm if those lights go out if you leave it with the ignition on for an extended time? They stay on....not sure if they should do this on this car.
Looks to be this, an adjuster pulley for climate control/alternator/water pump
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BT92&mospid=49344&btnr=11_2263&hg=11&fg=18
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BT92&mospid=49344&btnr=11_2263&hg=11&fg=18
Thanks for working it out, guys. That shouldn't be leaking engine oil...
So we can rule that out. I can only thing it might be a broken sump gasket or a fractured sump. I called the garage today and whilst they'd looked at the car, they hadn't diagnosed it fully yet as there's so much stuff in that area. They will finish tomorrow and call back with a report and a cost to repair. Let's hope it's not gut-wrenching...
So we can rule that out. I can only thing it might be a broken sump gasket or a fractured sump. I called the garage today and whilst they'd looked at the car, they hadn't diagnosed it fully yet as there's so much stuff in that area. They will finish tomorrow and call back with a report and a cost to repair. Let's hope it's not gut-wrenching...
don't worry about Vanos. This mostly affected Pre 2001 M3s as far as I gather. Its just very well documented and publised in forums so naturally we tend to think its a weekspot.
If the car is a week old, I'd definately take it back to the garage and get them to sort it out. They opught to have done at least a service or a good all round check before selling it. An angine doesnt just piss oil everywhere like that without showing signs of weep or wear.
Seriously though, I understand it must have you pretty disappointed but do not let that affect your ownership experience or emotional attachement to the car. If a car has not been well maintained, these things can happen. BMW have build 1000's of these units and as the vast majority of people on this forum will testify the S54 is a bombproof unit. A few track their cars and there are even a few nutters that supercharge them (
Beeedub) without any problems.
Performance cars with hiughly strung engines require decent knowledgeable garages to look after them.
JUst to give you an idea a mate of mine had his new (2nd hand) phase 1 997S blow the engine. €12k, he was gutted. The break was on a well known issue. It means it was not thouroughly checked after at some ppoint. All sorted on guarantee now.
Keep the faith.
If the car is a week old, I'd definately take it back to the garage and get them to sort it out. They opught to have done at least a service or a good all round check before selling it. An angine doesnt just piss oil everywhere like that without showing signs of weep or wear.
Seriously though, I understand it must have you pretty disappointed but do not let that affect your ownership experience or emotional attachement to the car. If a car has not been well maintained, these things can happen. BMW have build 1000's of these units and as the vast majority of people on this forum will testify the S54 is a bombproof unit. A few track their cars and there are even a few nutters that supercharge them (
Beeedub) without any problems.Performance cars with hiughly strung engines require decent knowledgeable garages to look after them.
JUst to give you an idea a mate of mine had his new (2nd hand) phase 1 997S blow the engine. €12k, he was gutted. The break was on a well known issue. It means it was not thouroughly checked after at some ppoint. All sorted on guarantee now.
Keep the faith.