[Dustz]

Recently I had to top off my engine with a quart of oil, as I thought was normal for turbo engines to burn oil. I haven't realized any drops on the floor but today I saw this leak which I think is oil by the passenger wheel. Could it be the result of the oil filter head gasket leaking? Anybody have any ideas? I also think the oil has leaked from the bottom but not dripping by the oil nut compartment, will take pictures of under the car when I get a chance. Anybody have any ideas? 07 E90 335i. 51k miles Non-Sport



Edit: Check again today and it seems to be leaking forsure, not sure how long this has been going on for. Got some pictures from different angles, car will go on a lift Thursday hopefully :d I will check the front turbo send/return line and the windshield reservoir hose, and also the cracked valve cover I will address all of these issues.

Took this picture from the front under the engine bay. See a couple different spots I have never seen before.


Took this picture from the same angle I did yesterday by the front passenger wheel, definitely some sort of fluid leak happened over night.


This picture is taken from under the front passenger side. I see a spot where the leak could be possibly coming from?


Another shot from the passenger side, including the drain plug compartment. Seems to be oily everywhere down here


Will be taking her to a reputable shop this Thursday, just seeking any opinions or knowledge before going in. Thank you all for the help!

[N54King]

Possibly oil cooler if yours has one? its hard to tell orientation of everything from the picture.

[Dustz]

No oil cooler here.

[ashmostro]

Check oil lines going to-from the turbos, since they are close to that area...

[pwr hungry]

That leak is coming from forward of where you took the picture. The oil is on the outside of the plastic above all the mounting hardware and plastic trim separation line. And based off where the undertray mounts up front, I would go with oil cooler too, but you said it doesn't have one. My next best guess based off that picture would be front turbo oil sending or return line. Or, if it's coolant, the WP has a bunch of different hoses just forward of that location on that side.

[ashmostro]

Good point on coolant. If it's not oil, it could also be the windshield reservoir hose, assuming it's cracked and you have it filled to the brim. I'd say this is the least likely scenario though. I'd be looking at those turbo oil lines myself...

[Uzi_335xi]

As foolish as it may sound, check your valve cover. I had a leak on the passenger side running oil down the wheel wells, ended up being a cracked valve cover.

[Dustz]

Thank you all for the help! Uploaded more pictures

[ashmostro]

Good luck buddy... hope it's nothing expensive!

[pwr hungry]

Check the aluminum mating surface between the oil filter housing and cylinder head, take a pic and post it...that would be where I would look right now.

[Tiago@VRSF]

That's definitely oil. As with any leak, start from the top and work your way down.

[Josh1a1h]

It could be anything mate....

I just had my cam shaft seal replaced, oil sump seal, turbo oil line gaskets, oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket and a whole bunch of other bits done.

They couldnt 100% tell where it was coming from so they did everything lol

Love BMW extended Warranty

[Dustz]

Will be taking her into the shop tomorrow, hopefully nothing big but its gonna break the bank anyways. It makes me kinda wish I had an extended warranty on it ;c still can't believe it didn't have one on it when I got it around 45k mi

[ashmostro]

Crossing fingers for ya...

[pwr hungry]

If taking it in is going to break the bank, it's either time for a less expensive car or, my opinion, time to invest in some tools and start learning. Most of servicing and repairing cars is very easy. You just have to have the right tool for the job, some time, and a little bit of patience.

[Tiago@VRSF]

Fortunately the seals and gaskets are all relatively simple and don't require many tools, they can be a bit time consuming but it's actually something that's required on any car after a certain amount of mileage