[Professor_Raiden]

Hello all,

-2010 BMW 328i xdrive SULEV (N51) with GM Trans (I believe)

Pre-Issue:
Recently had a no-start condition, it turns out the water pump was failing and shorted the DME fuse #37 30 amp that controls a bunch of other things, I got the coolant flushed, a new water pump and thermostat, a new fuse, a new throttle body (throttle body was not responding on live data), full compression test reading 190,195,190,200,195,200 (1-6 respectively.)

Currently have CEL for P0300(303,305,306) P2098, and P2273. I put in new OEM sparkplugs, swapped coils, new fuel injectors, a new air filter, and oil change every 3000 miles using Castrol 5W-30.

Issue:
I now have rattling that occurs under light and heavy throttle conditions, along with a noticeable power loss and unfamiliar acceleration. In addition, I have a noticeable smell of oil in the cabin, though I did remove the cowl so that may have aided in that. My driveway looks like a polka dot shirt indicating multiple drip points so I checked today and sure enough, the underside of the car and it has more oil under there than makes sense, and none of it is coming from the drain bolt.

My research on this forum has suggested the noise that I hear is similar to those found when the vanos gear bolts have shorn off and rattle around. It might have been the DISA valve but I just took it off and checked it today as well and I cannot turn it (which is good), it actuates solidly and there is no missing gasket. The throttle body is clean as it was installed ~3-5k miles ago by a reputable Euro shop in my area. I know one of the symptoms is internal oil leakage and I have been topping up my oil around 2-3 times a month which is out of the norm for me. My only guess for the oil is the oil pan gasket, but the primary issue is the rattling noise and vanos possibility.

If anyone knows of completed threads on similar issues, feel free to point me in the right direction.

P.S. I have already lodged a complaint with the NHTSA so that they can add my car to the recall for the vanos gear bolts but I have yet to hear back and will start to apply pressure after this weekend and holiday.