I picked up a fairly clean-bodied '91 318is a few months ago. I've been working through a number of issues and now I'm onto the oil leaks. The M42 has 134K miles on it and doesn't burn any oil, but it will leave 6-10 drops of oil on the garage floor overnight.
I've replaced the valve cover gasket, spark plug tube gaskets, and valve cover fastener rubber washers with OEM BMW parts. I replaced these because the gasket was leaking and the spark plug tubes were filled with oil. 1,500 miles and no leaks here since replacing these gaskets.
I've replaced the lower oil pan gasket with a Victor Reinz gasket, which already leaks (even after re-torquing the bolts). While I was replacing the lower pan gasket I helicoiled 6 of the upper pan threads, chased all the others with a TAP, and installed all-new BMW hardware in the lower pan. I also checked the torque on the upper pan bolts and all were still good.
The upper pan gasket is leaking oil. The front timing cover is leaking oil. There doesn't appear to be any leaking *yet* from the rear main seal.
It's my understanding to replace the upper pan gasket I'll need to separate the engine and transmission so access two rear bolts on the upper pan. Is this correct?
I'm not sure if it's worth replacing the other gaskets at this point. I'll eventually need to replace the clutch. I assume this would be a good time to also replace the upper pan gasket?
I've replaced the valve cover gasket, spark plug tube gaskets, and valve cover fastener rubber washers with OEM BMW parts. I replaced these because the gasket was leaking and the spark plug tubes were filled with oil. 1,500 miles and no leaks here since replacing these gaskets.
I've replaced the lower oil pan gasket with a Victor Reinz gasket, which already leaks (even after re-torquing the bolts). While I was replacing the lower pan gasket I helicoiled 6 of the upper pan threads, chased all the others with a TAP, and installed all-new BMW hardware in the lower pan. I also checked the torque on the upper pan bolts and all were still good.
The upper pan gasket is leaking oil. The front timing cover is leaking oil. There doesn't appear to be any leaking *yet* from the rear main seal.
It's my understanding to replace the upper pan gasket I'll need to separate the engine and transmission so access two rear bolts on the upper pan. Is this correct?
I'm not sure if it's worth replacing the other gaskets at this point. I'll eventually need to replace the clutch. I assume this would be a good time to also replace the upper pan gasket?
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