Oil leak

[ProfCJJ]

During my recent Scotland trip (1,350 mile round trip) I began to smell the distinctive smell of hot oil when stationary. At first I assumed that as I had dribbled a bit of oil when I refilled oil just before the trip it was that burning off. But as the smell persists I took a look and I can see a clear small “stain” on the manifold which is smoking. Looking directly above it I can see evidence of a small leak - as in the photos.

Is this likely to be a case of tightening bolts in the first instance? Or best to take it a garage? The oil level still reads at MAX it’s clearly a very small leak - but best nipped in the bud.

Any suggestions anyone?

Ta.

 

[firebobby]

Looks like the the rocker cover gasket is leaking

 

[Chris_D]

During my recent Scotland trip (1,350 mile round trip) I began to smell the distinctive smell of hot oil when stationary. At first I assumed that as I had dribbled a bit of oil when I refilled oil just before the trip it was that burning off. But as the smell persists I took a look and I can see a clear small “stain” on the manifold which is smoking. Looking directly above it I can see evidence of a small leak - as in the photos.

Is this likely to be a case of tightening bolts in the first instance? Or best to take it a garage? The oil level still reads at MAX it’s clearly a very small leak - but best nipped in the bud.

Any suggestions anyone?

Ta.

Assuming you haven't grossly over-filled, which will yield all sorts of nightmares, it will probably be your cam cover gasket gone south.
DIY FTW.
What engine?

 

[ProfCJJ]

During my recent Scotland trip (1,350 mile round trip) I began to smell the distinctive smell of hot oil when stationary. At first I assumed that as I had dribbled a bit of oil when I refilled oil just before the trip it was that burning off. But as the smell persists I took a look and I can see a clear small “stain” on the manifold which is smoking. Looking directly above it I can see evidence of a small leak - as in the photos.

Is this likely to be a case of tightening bolts in the first instance? Or best to take it a garage? The oil level still reads at MAX it’s clearly a very small leak - but best nipped in the bud.

Any suggestions anyone?

Ta.

Assuming you haven't grossly over-filled, which will yield all sorts of nightmares, it will probably be your cam cover gasket gone south.
DIY FTW.
What engine?

Thanks - it’s an sdrive 30i MSport.

I don’t think I overfilled as I measured out the amount (6.5l if I remember correctly?). There was a little dribble but that was tiny and would have burned off after 1,000 odd miles! (Would the system indicate if I had overfilled?? It shows a hard MAX on the screen).

I am reasonably adept at DIY as long as it doesn’t involve specialised tools. Are there any pointers to a DIY thread please?

Best

 

[Chris_D]

During my recent Scotland trip (1,350 mile round trip) I began to smell the distinctive smell of hot oil when stationary. At first I assumed that as I had dribbled a bit of oil when I refilled oil just before the trip it was that burning off. But as the smell persists I took a look and I can see a clear small “stain” on the manifold which is smoking. Looking directly above it I can see evidence of a small leak - as in the photos.

Is this likely to be a case of tightening bolts in the first instance? Or best to take it a garage? The oil level still reads at MAX it’s clearly a very small leak - but best nipped in the bud.

Any suggestions anyone?

Ta.

Assuming you haven't grossly over-filled, which will yield all sorts of nightmares, it will probably be your cam cover gasket gone south.
DIY FTW.
What engine?

Thanks - it’s an sdrive 30i MSport.

I don’t think I overfilled as I measured out the amount (6.5l if I remember correctly?). There was a little dribble but that was tiny and would have burned off after 1,000 odd miles! (Would the system indicate if I had overfilled?? It shows a hard MAX on the screen).

I am reasonably adept at DIY as long as it doesn’t involve specialised tools. Are there any pointers to a DIY thread please?

Best

Not sure about DIY info for a four-banger.
Maybe Smartbear could chime in as he is also the proud owner of such a cylinder-deficient beast :lol:

Write up your results if you decide to tackle it yourself as it's hugely rewarding when a DIY solves the issue. And saves your wallet too!
I replaced my own M54 cam cover gasket having never never changed one before. Easy if you get clued up on the procedure and go slow and steady.
Good luck!

 

[ProfCJJ]

Assuming you haven't grossly over-filled, which will yield all sorts of nightmares, it will probably be your cam cover gasket gone south.
DIY FTW.
What engine?

Thanks - it’s an sdrive 30i MSport.

I don’t think I overfilled as I measured out the amount (6.5l if I remember correctly?). There was a little dribble but that was tiny and would have burned off after 1,000 odd miles! (Would the system indicate if I had overfilled?? It shows a hard MAX on the screen).

I am reasonably adept at DIY as long as it doesn’t involve specialised tools. Are there any pointers to a DIY thread please?

Best

Not sure about DIY info for a four-banger.
Maybe Smartbear could chime in as he is also the proud owner of such a cylinder-deficient beast :lol:

Write up your results if you decide to tackle it yourself as it's hugely rewarding when a DIY solves the issue. And saves your wallet too!
I replaced my own M54 cam cover gasket having never never changed one before. Easy if you get clued up on the procedure and go slow and steady.
Good luck!

Ta, I’m doing some research - it’s a straight 6 though not a 4 pot

 

[Mr Tidy]

I have an E86 3 litre, so the same N52 engine, and I'm pretty sure they take 6.5 litres.

If you end up having to replace the Cam-cover gasket just make sure you buy new single-use bolts.

 

[Cees Klumper]

I did an oil + filter service on my 35i engine last week and although it has the same 6.5 liter capacity I decided to start with 6 liters and check level first. It reads 'full'. That said, your gauge would warn you if you had overfilled so that's probably not it. It does look more like your camshaft cover gasket is failing. Probably do-able to replace yourself, but I would look for some you tube tutorials, or in the how-to here, before diving in.

 

[ProfCJJ]

I am going with the assumption that I haven't overfilled as I think there would be some indication if I had, perhaps a few errors and car would not run as sweetly as it does(?!)

Before I go ahead and start ordering parts I'll take the cover off and see if I can pin point the source a bit more accurately but it does look like its the gasket at the rear so far.

Looking online there are a few good videos on changing N52N valve cover gasket which is tempting me to take my time and do it myself.

I looked up the part number (of the gasket) and from the following parts supplier there are a variety of makes that supply the part - does anyone know who the OEM supplier is for BMW so I go with OEM as much as I can please?

https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/11127582245.html

PS: Here is a video which I think talks about the same engine I have, seems nicely detailed and talks about the steps to take very well - I think I too have the plastic cover (meaning that I don't need new bolts) but I will confirm that when I take the outer cover off for a closer look.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DlFKo2809I

Cheers

 

[ProfCJJ]

Before I commit to changing the valve cover gasket I wanted to check and see in a bit more detail where the oil could be coming from. So I removed the plastic cover and took all the connections on the left side off plus the coils packs. I took a good close look and whilst there is the oil lower down on the corner as I posted earlier further up, around and underneath the Valvetronic Motor Actuator there was PUDDLES of oil - I took the actuator out and then the gasket and there is no “obvious” massive leak - but I cleaned everything up and refitted the gasket and the actuator (after first smearing fresh oil on the mating surfaces) - I also cleaned up as much as I could of the pooled oil and all over the valve cover. Put everything back together started up the engine, burned off all the degreaser etc and looked for any obvious major leaks. None apparent.

Tomorrow I have a 250 mile round trip to do so after that I am guessing if it’s going to leak it will then I’ll get a clearer picture of where the leak might be.

I have to say that right now it looks more likely to be the Valvetronic Motor Actuator Gasket ... I think I’ve read that these are known to go too(?)

 

[firebobby]

Looks like you got it sorted, hope the old gasket holds out for you. If it does leak again, just get a new one and you should be sorted.
It's a nice feeling when you DIY, well done

 

[ProfCJJ]

Looks like you got it sorted, hope the old gasket holds out for you. If it does leak again, just get a new one and you should be sorted.
It's a nice feeling when you DIY, well done

Thanks - I guess it’s not over yet though. If it is that gasket, it leaked before so I guess it will leak again. I think I’ll get a new gasket on standby. I’ve seen people saying to put gasket sealer too to help things along - is there any recommendation for a sealer to use please?

Cheers

 

[firebobby]

Looks like you got it sorted, hope the old gasket holds out for you. If it does leak again, just get a new one and you should be sorted.
It's a nice feeling when you DIY, well done

Thanks - I guess it’s not over yet though. If it is that gasket, it leaked before so I guess it will leak again. I think I’ll get a new gasket on standby. I’ve seen people saying to put gasket sealer too to help things along - is there any recommendation for a sealer to use please?

Cheers

If it does leak again, just get a new gasket and make sure everything is clean before you put it back together.
Did they use sealant in the factory ??

 

[ProfCJJ]

Looks like you got it sorted, hope the old gasket holds out for you. If it does leak again, just get a new one and you should be sorted.
It's a nice feeling when you DIY, well done

Thanks - I guess it’s not over yet though. If it is that gasket, it leaked before so I guess it will leak again. I think I’ll get a new gasket on standby. I’ve seen people saying to put gasket sealer too to help things along - is there any recommendation for a sealer to use please?

Cheers

If it does leak again, just get a new gasket and make sure everything is clean before you put it back together.
Did they use sealant in the factory ??

No, however I’ve seen many posts (on the N52 engine not necessarily the Z4) that state that in some cases this gaskets goes and gets replaced 2 or 3 times in a row and using sealant is usually the answer ...

However, I’ll have a new one on standby - if I see oil reappear there I’ll put a new gasket on and see how it goes

 

[ProfCJJ]

Well 250 miles later and apart for a short time at startup when the remnants of oil were burnt off the manifold, the burning oil smell when stationary has stopped. I can't take a look under the cover as its chucking it down right now but I will try and see if there is any evidence of a leak over the weekend. I have ordered a new Gasket so I have one just in case I see evidence of fresh leakage.

So, so far - so good

Thanks for the encouragement to taking a look myself - so far I saved myself at lest £100 charge for a "diagnostic" from BMW!

Cheers

 

[ProfCJJ]

A few hundred miles after my last post I decided to take the engine cover off and take a closer look to see if there was any evidence of any further leaks. There was nothing obvious - so I took the motor and old gasket off, I could see what looked to me to be a trickle of oil at the lower part of the seal.

Since I already had a new gasket and I was there I decided to mop up any evidence of oil and pop on the new gasket. It’s all done now. After a few more hundred miles I’ll check again to see if it’s now fixed.

The only thing I noticed is that the left hand torx bolt holding the gasket on (image below) tightens but will not tighten all the way - I’m wondering if the thread has been knackered before?? We shall have to see if the problem persists ...

 

[ProfCJJ]

BTW, I don’t know if this is common knowledge but I found that in order to remove the pooled oil in the cover next to the coil tubes, instead of faffing around forever with cloths and tissues to suck up the oil, I used the central “pump” from a disposal hand soap pump - it works brilliantly sucking up the oil and spitting it out onto a cloth in no time!

Thought I might share in case it proved useful to anyone.

Cheers