[MathewM4]

I am in the process of fixing an oil leak which I initially was convinced was the rear crankshaft seal.

However, I am not sure after starting to look closer. It appears to be dry inside the hosing around the torque converter and in front of the fly wheel (looking through the round hole in the oil pan). See attached pictures.

(Btw, I cleaned of the worst oil leakage a month or so ago, thats why it doesn't look as bad)

Any input is welcome.

[marvinstockman]

I won't say to ignore your 'weeping', which is not leaking, but you can buy a UV leak detector kit and look for the source of the weep.

[SCS55]

I just did my OPG 600 miles ago and still have a little bit of oil on the exact same bolt as you have. (First pic, vertical long bolt) Everything else is post install drip/weep free so my little dripage baffles me as well? I'm periodically spraying the hell out of the area and
guessing that at 96K, I may have a rear seal leak. I'm letting it slide for a while with the help of a can of Brake Kleen. Not really worth dropping the tranny until it's an out of control leak causing a mess.

[MathewM4]

Originally Posted by SCS55

I just did my OPG 600 miles ago and still have a little bit of oil on the exact same bolt as you have. (First pic, vertical long bolt) Everything else is post install drip/weep free so my little dripage baffles me as well? I'm periodically spraying the hell out of the area and
guessing that at 96K, I may have a rear seal leak. I'm letting it slide for a while with the help of a can of Brake Kleen. Not really worth dropping the tranny until it's an out of control leak causing a mess.

Ok, thanks for the info. Have you checked if you have any oil on the fly wheel if you take the oil pan cap off? Its where the round hole in the oil pan is.

[feuer]

Originally Posted by SCS55

I just did my OPG 600 miles ago and still have a little bit of oil on the exact same bolt as you have. (First pic, vertical long bolt) Everything else is post install drip/weep free so my little dripage baffles me as well? I'm periodically spraying the hell out of the area and
guessing that at 96K, I may have a rear seal leak. I'm letting it slide for a while with the help of a can of Brake Kleen. Not really worth dropping the tranny until it's an out of control leak causing a mess.

Or your OPG is still leaking.

[SCS55]

Originally Posted by MathewM3

Ok, thanks for the info. Have you checked if you have any oil on the fly wheel if you take the oil pan cap off? Its where the round hole in the oil pan is.

I'll check it out Monday or Tuesday.

[SCS55]

Originally Posted by SCS55

I'll check it out Monday or Tuesday.

Possibly but, I re torqued the bolts and that is the only bolt that has oil on it. A flywheel check through the little port hole is coming up as soon as I get it up on Ramps.

[MathewM4]

I got a bottle of dye from autozone today. Hopefully it will reveal the leak. I will post the results

[Efthreeoh]

It's most likely the oil pan gasket at the rear of the pan is leaking into the bell housing. The oil pan gasket starts to leak at the left rear corner, which is the lowest part of the oil pan-to-engine block seam.

The best practice is to replace the oil pan gasket first and clean as best as possible to oil residue in the bell housing. Clean every engine surface during the pan gasket replacement, then keep an eye on the area. If oil still drips from the inspection hole at the bottom of the bell housing, then most likely the crank seal is leaking.

There is no cost savings by pulling the trans and flywheel at the same time the oil pan work is being done.

[MathewM4]

I have been running dye for a few days and no sign yet of an oil leak using a n UV light?

I guess I have to give it some more time.

[SCS55]

Originally Posted by SCS55

Possibly but, I re torqued the bolts and that is the only bolt that has oil on it. A flywheel check through the little port hole is coming up as soon as I get it up on Ramps.

Update. Did a full inspection and the oil leak is gone. It's been 1200 miles since the OPG job and I can only assume there was leftover residual oil dripping from something during the overhaul. That, and another guess is the gasket heated up after several cycles and settled into place sealing it.
To the OP.. Keep spraying it off and monitor it.

[MathewM4]

So, if you want something done right do it yourself! Thanks for all posts and recommendations on this thread.

Background: I had the car in for a smoke test due to an evap leak that I couldn't track down 2 months ago (mid January). The shop said the leak was minor and they couldn't find it. However, they told me that they replaced the valvetronic actuator gasket and charged me accordingly (approx $400). They also recommended to fix the oil leak underneath the engine since this could possibly be part of the problem.

I decided to fix the oil leak so that's why I started this thread.

I cleaned off everything underneath the engine and put dye in the oil. I probably drove 50-100 miles. I then put the car on jack stands in the garage got underneath with the engine running and realized the there's no oil coming out of the bell housing or around the pan gasket but the burning oil smell was still present. Looking between the exhaust and the engine, I realized the oil was coming from valve cover area and seeped down at the rear of the engine and subsequently eventually to the area where the first pictures was taken.

I decided to check the valve cover gasket and the valvetronic actuator gasket and found oil underneath the actuator. The pictures show the new OEM gasket next to the one that was supposed to have been replaced. Most of the oil accumulated on the vc had been removed at the time of the picture.

[SCS55]

Originally Posted by MathewM3

So, if you want something done right do it yourself! Thanks for all posts and recommendations on this thread.

Background: I had the car in for a smoke test due to an evap leak that I couldn't track down 2 months ago (mid January). The shop said the leak was minor and they couldn't find it. However, they told me that they replaced the valvetronic actuator gasket and charged me accordingly (approx $400). They also recommended to fix the oil leak underneath the engine since this could possibly be part of the problem.

I decided to fix the oil leak so that's why I started this thread.

I cleaned off everything underneath the engine and put dye in the oil. I probably drove 50-100 miles. I then put the car on jack stands in the garage got underneath with the engine running and realized the there's no oil coming out of the bell housing or around the pan gasket but the burning oil smell was still present. Looking between the exhaust and the engine, I realized the oil was coming from valve cover area and seeped down at the rear of the engine and subsequently eventually to the area where the first pictures was taken.

I decided to check the valve cover gasket and the valvetronic actuator gasket and found oil underneath the actuator. The pictures show the new OEM gasket next to the one that was supposed to have been replaced. Most of the oil accumulated on the vc had been removed at the time of the picture.

I'm a little confused... are you saying they DID NOT replace that gasket when they should have? And, residual oil from that job was dripping onto the exhaust?

[MathewM4]

Originally Posted by SCS55

I'm a little confused... are you saying they DID NOT replace that gasket when they should have? And, residual oil from that job was dripping onto the exhaust?

Correct, sorry if I wasn't clear in my post. Basically, the shop told me they replaced the gasket (for the evap leak) and charged me for it.

Obviously they didn't replace the gasket as you can tell from the pictures.

[SCS55]

Originally Posted by MathewM3

Correct, sorry if I wasn't clear in my post. Basically, the shop told me they replaced the gasket (for the evap leak) and charged me for it.

Obviously they didn't replace the gasket as you can tell from the pictures.

Got it. That's what I figured.

FWIW...I did my wife's VCG on her 335i (N55) and invariably there's always some residual oil that gets either, dropped, smeared, or splattered during the removal. After replacing the VCG, It seemed like I still had a leak towards the rear which made me second guess myself. Anyways... everything ended up either sealing or drying up through use and a can of Brake Kleen spraying off old oil here and there. Basically same process happened on the e90.
Sorry for the rant.

[mainbearing]

That definitely looks like an old gasket with sludge and varnish that was NOT replaced. I would say the shop is not honest.

When I had oil pooled up in plug wells #3 and 4 I first tried resealing the poorly designed valvetronic motor gasket (football gasket) with RTV. That cut down on the oil leak and at least smoke wasn't coming out from under the hood, but the foul oil smell persisted.

There was no oil any more in the plug wells, but some was still going off the side of the valve cover (around that metal L bracket) and onto the exhaust pipe (therefore it was not the gasket leaking).

I suspected maybe an ultrasonically sealed seam on the OEM valve cover broke loose. A new Uro valve cover was installed and problem solved. Now I just have to find the time to fix the oil pan gasket seepage. Not for a while though as it is not too bad at the moment. It is like playing whack-a-mole with oil leaks on this engine.

To me that football valvetronic gasket was obviously poorly designed. I think that junior engineer who came up with it should be fired. That person most likely did not know how to work on cars before getting the job.

My post #16 sealing the new Uro football gasket:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1597467

Originally Posted by MathewM3

So, if you want something done right do it yourself! Thanks for all posts and recommendations on this thread.

However, they told me that they replaced the valvetronic actuator gasket and charged me accordingly (approx $400).