BMW E92 320d oil leak
Discussion
Hi all,
First time using this so apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place.
Bought a 2010 E92 320d with 70K mileage off a private seller last week. Drove less than 200 miles in the car when I took it for wheel alignment and thought I'd take a look at the bottom of the car. Turns out there was a whole load of fresh engine oil on the floor cover so I took it to a mechanic who had a look and said he can't see what the source of the leak is. A large portion of the starter motor was covered in oil which he wiped off. He suggested it was originating from "behind the chain" and he would need to "take things apart" to take a proper look and sort the problem which he quoted me £500 for. He also said my rear diff was leaking but that he thought that was a minor job compared to the other leak. When I got home, I noticed the oil level had dropped to just over the "min" mark on the dipstick so I topped it up with 1ltr of oil and it went all the way up to the "max" mark. There was also a small pool of oil on the floor where I was parked for about an hour.
I am planning on taking the car elsewhere for a second opinion on the weekend.
1. Does what I have been told by the first mechanic make sense? Any ideas what the issue could be based on that limited info?
2. Anyone else experienced a similar leak in the past? If so, what was the issue and how much did it cost to rectify?
3. Would it be safe for me to drive about 6-10 miles to and back from the second garage in the current condition provided that I regularly keep on top of the oil to make sure it doesn't dip below the "min" level.
4. When I was driving home from the garage, the engine seemed a bit louder than usual, almost like a tractor. I checked the oil level but it was fine. The BMW manual says to check the oil level when the car has been driven for about 6 miles and then cooled down for about 5 mins. Am I being paranoid or could there be another issue causing the engine to sound louder than normal if the oil level is fine?
5. Please advise what the best thing would be for me to do. It seems obvious that the previous owner sold it to me fully aware of this issue as I have literally barely covered 200 miles the car but as it's a private sale, I don't think I have any rights.
First time using this so apologies if I'm posting in the wrong place.
Bought a 2010 E92 320d with 70K mileage off a private seller last week. Drove less than 200 miles in the car when I took it for wheel alignment and thought I'd take a look at the bottom of the car. Turns out there was a whole load of fresh engine oil on the floor cover so I took it to a mechanic who had a look and said he can't see what the source of the leak is. A large portion of the starter motor was covered in oil which he wiped off. He suggested it was originating from "behind the chain" and he would need to "take things apart" to take a proper look and sort the problem which he quoted me £500 for. He also said my rear diff was leaking but that he thought that was a minor job compared to the other leak. When I got home, I noticed the oil level had dropped to just over the "min" mark on the dipstick so I topped it up with 1ltr of oil and it went all the way up to the "max" mark. There was also a small pool of oil on the floor where I was parked for about an hour.
I am planning on taking the car elsewhere for a second opinion on the weekend.
1. Does what I have been told by the first mechanic make sense? Any ideas what the issue could be based on that limited info?
2. Anyone else experienced a similar leak in the past? If so, what was the issue and how much did it cost to rectify?
3. Would it be safe for me to drive about 6-10 miles to and back from the second garage in the current condition provided that I regularly keep on top of the oil to make sure it doesn't dip below the "min" level.
4. When I was driving home from the garage, the engine seemed a bit louder than usual, almost like a tractor. I checked the oil level but it was fine. The BMW manual says to check the oil level when the car has been driven for about 6 miles and then cooled down for about 5 mins. Am I being paranoid or could there be another issue causing the engine to sound louder than normal if the oil level is fine?
5. Please advise what the best thing would be for me to do. It seems obvious that the previous owner sold it to me fully aware of this issue as I have literally barely covered 200 miles the car but as it's a private sale, I don't think I have any rights.
I had an E90, 320d that was covered in oil underneath but it was my fault!
I did an oil and filter change on the car and when I put back the cap on the filter housing the rubber ring got twisted and out of position. The rubber ring is the seal and it let the oil p!ss out without me knowing it. I drove about 25 miles when I got the bing and the oil level low warning. I put in a litre of oil to get me home and it was a simple fix to straighten the rubber ring, but .then the oil was everywhere under the engine
You should check the oil filter housing for leaks. If you don't know it, it's up high on the passenger-side of the block near the bulk-head, If you need to take off the plastic engine cover, it just pulls up and off.
The leak in the diff does not look too serious in those pics. I think it would be OK to just top it up at each service.
I did an oil and filter change on the car and when I put back the cap on the filter housing the rubber ring got twisted and out of position. The rubber ring is the seal and it let the oil p!ss out without me knowing it. I drove about 25 miles when I got the bing and the oil level low warning. I put in a litre of oil to get me home and it was a simple fix to straighten the rubber ring, but .then the oil was everywhere under the engine
You should check the oil filter housing for leaks. If you don't know it, it's up high on the passenger-side of the block near the bulk-head, If you need to take off the plastic engine cover, it just pulls up and off.
The leak in the diff does not look too serious in those pics. I think it would be OK to just top it up at each service.
Thanks for your responses everyone. I'll suggest this to the mechanic when I take it in tomorrow. Roughly how much would you expect to pay to get the oil leak sorted as well as the getting the diff leak fixed? The first mechanic I went to quoted me £500 but seems like he just plucked that out of thin air. Also, is it ok for me to drive the car 6 miles to the garage tomorrow in its current condition? When I called the mechanic, he suggested I get it recovered to avoid further damage
- *Update***
-one from the rear main oil seal
-oil sump
I was told there is a leak coming corner one corner, going through the starter motor and going onto the floor. In terms of cost, I have been quoted £450 for labour as the job would involve taking the gearbox out, and lifting the engine 6 inches. Gaskets, seals, oil and filter I have been quoted £150 so in total £600 to fix this issue.
However he did say he didn't think it was that excessive and I could live with it for a year or so but suggested I get the car serviced instead for about £200.
Having bought this car last week and having driven less than 200 miles in it so far, I don't really want to be spending £600 on the car at this stage unless I absolutely have to especially as I ended up buying a car a couple grand over my initial budget.
Is this an issue anyone has come across before and is that a good price for sorting the issue? Also, I'm wary that I might pay £600 and it might not even fix the problem which would be the worst possible scenario. Is there anywhere else the leak can be coming from? What would happen if I left it alone and just monitored the oil level? Please advise..
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