BMW leaking oil

Asked by GuruQXX1P Nov 15, 2019 at 10:42 PM about the 2001 BMW 3 Series 318i

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Car is leaking oil from the drip tray bit. Checked everything
including taken half the engine out but no luck. Everything
is clean and cant see any signs of a leak but oil is still
leaking when parked. Even at the gas station for 15minutes
there is a puddle when I leave. The oil puddles are in about
three places, have checked everything possibly imaginable,
any ideas??

1 Answer

41,120

Are you sure it is oil and not trans fluid or power steering fluid? There are four main areas to check for oil leaks. The valve cover gasket, you have to remove the cabin filter tray and use a mirror to check the backside and along the exhaust side as it drips onto the little drop shield, if it is wet and black from oil, change it. If you have over 90K miles and it's original, change it. The second is the OFHG, or oil filter housing gasket IT's the waffle plate on the driver side below the alternator, if it is wet, change it out. Plenty of DIY's online. Third is the oil pan gasket. Forth is the rear mail seal, which is located between the engine and transmission. Sometimes the CCV or crankcase vent hoses can leak, check the area around the dipstick tube. Maybe the O-Ring is shot where it slides into the oil pan. Again, plenty of DIY's online for all of those fixes.

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