[forumman83]

Hi everyone, I was driving my 2009 328i with 265,000km on it down the highway yesterday when I heard a loud bang and my car started sputtering. I pulled over to the side of the road thinking I may have blown a tire only to see a trail of oil behind my car. My car was not drivable so I called a tow truck. It's important to note that I have been smelling an odor of oil in my cabin the last two days, but didn't think much of it.

The tow truck driver suggested I may have blown a gasket. Can anyone offer any guidance?

[Wolf 335]

Did you open to hood to take a look?

Any pics of the engine?

[Suvorovo]

Originally Posted by forumman83

Hi everyone, I was driving my 2009 328i with 265,000km on it down the highway yesterday when I heard a loud bang and my car started sputtering. I pulled over to the side of the road thinking I may have blown a tire only to see a trail of oil behind my car. My car was not drivable so I called a tow truck. It's important to note that I have been smelling an odor of oil in my cabin the last two days, but didn't think much of it.

The tow truck driver suggested I may have blown a gasket. Can anyone offer any guidance?

This isn't good... Do a visual inspection and come back. It sounds like a rod blew a hole through your engine. Were you driving with low oil/very old oil?

If you leaked oil all over the road, there's a hole somewhere underneath. Did you change your old oil? Given the rarity of rod bearing issues on N52, I'm wondering if you didn't tighten the oil drain plug properly and the oil drained when the plug went MIA.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

I mean without you looking under the car we are all just guessing but yeah the fact you heard a bang and then a big trail of oil sounds like something went through your block ha.

Should be easy to spot once you look.

[forumman83]

Thank you all for your replies! I had the car towed to the shop where it is now. I'm not really a "car guy" so I have limited knowledge. I did open the hood and didn't notice anything of consequence, but I was only able to take a quick look because of traffic.

I am awaiting the shop to send me a diagnosis report, will keep you updated, but doesn't sound good lol

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by forumman83

Thank you all for your replies! I had the car towed to the shop where it is now. I'm not really a "car guy" so I have limited knowledge. I did open the hood and didn't notice anything of consequence, but I was only able to take a quick look because of traffic.

I am awaiting the shop to send me a diagnosis report, will keep you updated, but doesn't sound good lol

Just want to confirm that in fact it was oil you saw and not coolant.

My coolant tank exploded last year and it was like a bomb went off under the hood.

[ryan stewart]

Yeah not a gasket, smelling oil is not good and sounds like someone made a getaway. New engine time.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Yeah not a gasket, smelling oil is not good and sounds like someone made a getaway. New engine time.

He's been smelling oil for some time. Thats a leaking valve cover.

[forumman83]

UPDATE: Shop just called me and said the oil smell was likely from leaking valve cover. Common BMW issue. He theorizes that while I was driving, I lost a significant amount of oil (not sure why or how) and that caused the engine to seize up. Now that it's seized, it is beyond repair.

Does this sounds accurate? Wonder what caused the oil loss :/

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by forumman83

UPDATE: Shop just called me and said the oil smell was likely from leaking valve cover. Common BMW issue. He theorizes that while I was driving, I lost a significant amount of oil (not sure why or how) and that caused the engine to seize up. Now that it's seized, it is beyond repair.

Does this sounds accurate? Wonder what caused the oil loss :/

Man this is why I hate shops so much. Did they not diagnose/locate the source of where the oil poured out? Did they raise the car? Is the drain plug still there? Is there a hole in your block? Where did the oil come from? I don't understand how they can tell you that but also don't know where the oil came out from.

But smell wise yeah, valve cover leak eventually smells into the cabin.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by forumman83

UPDATE: Shop just called me and said the oil smell was likely from leaking valve cover. Common BMW issue. He theorizes that while I was driving, I lost a significant amount of oil (not sure why or how) and that caused the engine to seize up. Now that it's seized, it is beyond repair.
Does this sounds accurate? Wonder what caused the oil loss :/

Your initial post states:
"I was driving my 2009 328i with 265,000km on it down the highway yesterday when I heard a loud bang and my car started sputtering. I pulled over to the side of the road thinking I may have blown a tire only to see a trail of oil behind my car."

A "loud bang" and "trail of oil behind car" indicate something MUCH more drastic than a leaking Valve Cover. So NO, the statement you attribute to the "Shop" is NOT accurate if your original post was accurate (which I PRESUME it was ;-). If the engine is in fact "seized", and YOU are not able to replace it yourself, the cost to pay someone else to install a replacement used engine MAY make repair economically inadvisable. That should probably be your first consideration.

However, assuming you have NO prior contact with the "Shop" in question, I would suggest that you take some photos of the Engine & Engine Compartment and also answer following questions, BEFORE you make a decision:

1) How many seconds elapsed between the "bang" and the time you let the engine go to Idle RPM? What was your approximate speed when BANG occurred?
2) Did the Red Oil Pressure Light appear on Instrument Cluster BEFORE you shut off engine (or it stalled), and if so how many seconds was Red Oil Pressure Light on BEFORE engine turned off/ stalled?
3) Did you try to "Crank" Starter (press START button to activate Starter) after engine turned off/ stalled? If so, what did you experience?
4) As others have suggested, a LOUD BANG, followed by engine sputtering and then stalling, with OIL TRAIL behind vehicle suggests a Connecting Rod broke and punched a hole in the Crankcase or even Sump. You, or someone in your behalf, should examine, take photos of, the Crankcase & Sump for HOLES that should be readily apparent IF the sides of the Crankcase, and the Sump (after removal of splash shield) can be examined.

It does NOT sound good, but if you are able to deal with the situation in an objective manner, at least a "bad situation" will NOT be made WORSE by failure to properly assess. At least you can have the satisfaction that you took the time to learn how to deal with adversity.
George

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by Wolf 335

He's been smelling oil for some time. Thats a leaking valve cover.

Well yeah, but also a bang an puddle under the car...

So OP both things could be true, and likely are. You were slowly losing oil via a valve cover leak, and it pools often in the cover so it was probably going longer and just spilling over.

But that wouldn't have caused the seize. You should have gotten both a low oil and an oil pressure notification before the seize if it was just a valve cover leak.

Either the valve cover is unlreated or you had another issue combined, but eventually you reached the bang, which is the end of your engine. Especially with the puddle under the car, likely there is going to be a hole in your crankcase or oil pan.

Like said though, shame/lazy they didnt communicate that. Should be easy to spot.

[forumman83]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

Your initial post states:
"I was driving my 2009 328i with 265,000km on it down the highway yesterday when I heard a loud bang and my car started sputtering. I pulled over to the side of the road thinking I may have blown a tire only to see a trail of oil behind my car."

A "loud bang" and "trail of oil behind car" indicate something MUCH more drastic than a leaking Valve Cover. So NO, the statement you attribute to the "Shop" is NOT accurate if your original post was accurate (which I PRESUME it was ;-). If the engine is in fact "seized", and YOU are not able to replace it yourself, the cost to pay someone else to install a replacement used engine MAY make repair economically inadvisable. That should probably be your first consideration.

However, assuming you have NO prior contact with the "Shop" in question, I would suggest that you take some photos of the Engine & Engine Compartment and also answer following questions, BEFORE you make a decision:

1) How many seconds elapsed between the "bang" and the time you let the engine go to Idle RPM? What was your approximate speed when BANG occurred?
2) Did the Red Oil Pressure Light appear on Instrument Cluster BEFORE you shut off engine (or it stalled), and if so how many seconds was Red Oil Pressure Light on BEFORE engine turned off/ stalled?
3) Did you try to "Crank" Starter (press START button to activate Starter) after engine turned off/ stalled? If so, what did you experience?
4) As others have suggested, a LOUD BANG, followed by engine sputtering and then stalling, with OIL TRAIL behind vehicle suggests a Connecting Rod broke and punched a hole in the Crankcase or even Sump. You, or someone in your behalf, should examine, take photos of, the Crankcase & Sump for HOLES that should be readily apparent IF the sides of the Crankcase, and the Sump (after removal of splash shield) can be examined.

It does NOT sound good, but if you are able to deal with the situation in an objective manner, at least a "bad situation" will NOT be made WORSE by failure to properly assess. At least you can have the satisfaction that you took the time to learn how to deal with adversity.
George

1. It was almost immediate that I pulled over, let's say within 10 seconds

2. No oil light appeared at any time prior to, or after, I pulled over

3. I did not try to start it again

4. This is a great point! I will take a trip to the repair shop and try to get some photos.

The reason they didn't spend futher time diagnosing is because the cause was not immediately apparent and they figured that, unless I was willing to spend several thousand fixing the car, it may not be worth spending the time finding the cause. He basically said the engine is shot and it won't ultimately matter what caused it (which I agree AND disagree with).

[forumman83]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Well yeah, but also a bang an puddle under the car...

So OP both things could be true, and likely are. You were slowly losing oil via a valve cover leak, and it pools often in the cover so it was probably going longer and just spilling over.

But that wouldn't have caused the seize. You should have gotten both a low oil and an oil pressure notification before the seize if it was just a valve cover leak.

Either the valve cover is unlreated or you had another issue combined, but eventually you reached the bang, which is the end of your engine. Especially with the puddle under the car, likely there is going to be a hole in your crankcase or oil pan.

Like said though, shame/lazy they didnt communicate that. Should be easy to spot.

Agreed, thanks. Wondering what possible causes of this sudden "explosion" could have possibly been. Doesn't seem like it was a simple leak, like most have said here.

[bmwbob89]

Get a second opinion!

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by forumman83

Agreed, thanks. Wondering what possible causes of this sudden "explosion" could have possibly been. Doesn't seem like it was a simple leak, like most have said here.

A rod letting go and exiting your engine, stage right.

You can get a second opinion but looking down with a mirror and a light should tell you really quickly with the oil puddle as there is going to be a hole somewhere in your engine.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by forumman83

... I will take a trip to the repair shop and try to get some photos. The reason they didn't spend futher time diagnosing is because the cause was not immediately apparent and they figured that, unless I was willing to spend several thousand fixing the car, it may not be worth spending the time finding the cause. He basically said the engine is shot and it won't ultimately matter what caused it (which I agree AND disagree with).

If NO warning light (Oil Pressure or Oil Level) came on, and you "Lifted" Throttle and turned it off within 15 seconds of the Bank, "Seizing" from oil starvation is rather unlikely. If the crankcase has a hole in it and the Rods need replacing, you're looking at an engine SWAP or Salvage. So questions are:
1) Is the Block damaged? WHAT caused the "loud bang"? Take several BRIGHT flashlights and even an endoscope/ borescope if you have one, as access to that area to visualize or take pics is VERY difficult due to Manifolds; You may even have to Jack vehicle, place stands, get beneath, remove splash shield and visualize from beneath; Challenging.

2) Can YOU locate a decent replacement engine and are you able to do Engine Swap yourself. If NOT, then probably NOT worth repair, but get a quote from Shop anyway (if they can do such things).
Good luck,
George

[forumman83]

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies!

Very good info here and this community is awesome.

After discussing further, I am going to forego repairing the car, after speaking further with mechanics, the engine is completely shot and it was likely rods breaking in the engine as mentioned here. But not going to bother with further diagnosis.

Going to try to part it out and move on to something new.

Thanks again, everyone!

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by forumman83

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies!

Very good info here and this community is awesome.

After discussing further, I am going to forego repairing the car, after speaking further with mechanics, the engine is completely shot and it was likely rods breaking in the engine as mentioned here. But not going to bother with further diagnosis.

Going to try to part it out and move on to something new.

Thanks again, everyone!

Just curious where in Canada you are? If you are in Torotno area, what shop did you take it to?

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by forumman83

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies!

Very good info here and this community is awesome.

After discussing further, I am going to forego repairing the car, after speaking further with mechanics, the engine is completely shot and it was likely rods breaking in the engine as mentioned here. But not going to bother with further diagnosis.

Going to try to part it out and move on to something new.

Thanks again, everyone!

Thanks for the update. Wish we could have found at least a reason why your engine shot a rod. I don't believe that is typical for this platform lol.

My theory was that maybe your oil drain bolt maybe fell off but then, you pressure sensor/switch would've at least alerted? Oh well.