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Mysterious Oil Leak Woes!!!

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    Mysterious Oil Leak Woes!!!

    I don't exactly know how much oil an E30 should go through in a week or so, but it seems that recently I have been consuming quite a bit. I first thought it was unusual and prayed I wasn't burning oil. But there are no signs of that as my car doesn't smoke at all.

    Okay, so if it is not burning it, then it must be leaking it from somewhere. But unlike my other E30 which had a worn oil pan gasket, which would cause it to leak in parking lots, my current E30 did not show any signs of a leak either. She left nothing but dry pavement underneath her. So where was this oil going?

    It would be every week or so that the Low Oil light would appear on the check panel. I assumed that maybe my sensor was playing tricks on me. But it wasn't, because when I checked the dipstick, sure enough she was running low. But after a top off, it didn't seem to mind, and the car always ran fine, no hesitation or signs of loss in compression.

    So the other day my Falken Azenis RT-615s came in and I went to get them mounted yesterday. After the mounting and balancing I requested an alignment done. They (NTB) said it couldn't be done due to a loose right tie rod. That made enough sense to me so I went home to place an order for some replacements.

    After that I went out for some spirited driving to try out the new tires, and boy are they fun! I completely owned my favorite twisty road with the tires not squealing at all while taking those corners faster than I ever have. Parked the car after a couple runs and chilled with my friends, not seeing any leakage anywhere.

    On my way to work this morning, things suddenly made a turn for the worse. I noticed upon acceleration, with the sun light beaming down on the pavement behind me, I noticed a trail of hazey smoke that appeared to be emitted from my cars ass. My low oil light came on as well, when just that last night, I added a quart to it. In disbelief, I told myself maybe it was just hazey outside and my mind was playing tricks on me, but the check control panel told me otherwise.

    I wanted to turn around and go back home, but work is important, so I continued my short commute to the metro station since I was closer to that than my house. So 3 minutes later I get to the parking lot there, turn off the car, and check underneath it to see what was causing the smoke. My heart sunk when I saw a rapid drip of that thick, dark oil coming off my subframe. I had no time to really diagnose it, but I did pop my hood to see if I could spot a common leak. There was oil all over my A/C compressor, tie rod, and steering rack. I don't know how it got on the A/C compressor, but I'm going to assume the oil pan gasket has a severe leak at the moment.

    She is definitely getting towed home tonight, I don't want to R3V the bitch. In terms of the oil pans state, I have only managed to lightly scrape the oil pan at less than 3 mph on one of those long gradual speed bumps. That occured almost 3 weeks ago, so I doubt that was the cause of this. I have not touched asphalt with the pan since, so what could've caused this mess? I feel like shit because just the other night I felt what the car was truly capable of and now she will be sitting idle until this thing is sorted out.

    Any ideas on what could've gone wrong? Can gaskets (oil pan) blow a hole under pressure perhaps?

    Me =
    Claus Luthe is my hero.


    #2
    I know it's a long read, but pretty clear and easy to comprehend. I just tried to keep it as detailed as possible. :)
    Claus Luthe is my hero.

    Comment


      #3
      check your valve cover gasket. I had a similar problem where I could smell the oil burning but it was not leaking. What was happeneing in my situation was that the oil was leaking on the exhaust and evaporating before it could hit the ground. And when I was driving I never saw the smoke because it was disapating in the air as I drove down the road.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Jscotty View Post
        check your valve cover gasket. I had a similar problem where I could smell the oil burning but it was not leaking. What was happeneing in my situation was that the oil was leaking on the exhaust and evaporating before it could hit the ground. And when I was driving I never saw the smoke because it was disapating in the air as I drove down the road.
        No no, it's not that. In my second to last paragraph, it states that the oil was rapidly dripping at the bottom off the subframe. It's gotta be down on that end. I am more concerned as to how the motor could've gone from bone dry to bleeding oil overnight.
        Claus Luthe is my hero.

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          #5
          I have a 318is and had a similar problem. I do not know the partics of the 325 but here goes.

          On the 318 oil filter cannister there is a sensor. Mine was old leaked. The leak ran down the engine and along the exhaust and it smoked from the ass end.

          Just throwing that out. Good luck.

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            #6
            wow i just posted a thread on the exact same problem,and im lost too. and sad
            Getting there

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              #7
              So I just got off the metro and walked to my car... This shitty metro lot leaves me with no good luck. I just spotted a huge new door ding!

              My oil problem is solved though! I checked the oil filter and that was on there nice and snug, then spotted the oil cooler lines beside it. Wiggled it around and noticed an excessive amount of play. Reached for the nut and whaddya kno, fuckin thing vibrated completely loose!

              So my buddy is gonna swing by here, we'll grab a wrench and some oil, tighten the bitch down and fill her up, and roll!

              Thanks for everyones help!
              Claus Luthe is my hero.

              Comment


                #8
                i guess thats my next step to look for too
                Getting there

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