[Ohio Enthusiast]

Recently purchased a 2011 335i E93 (N55) with about 45,000 miles. PPI was good except for a recommendation to replace the oil pan gasket, but they told me no rush on that, can do it in a year or two.

Today I did an oil change. Removed the belly pan and checked out the seepage. Looks like it's located at the rear of the engine, with the transmission having some oil on it and only the rear of the belly pan showing signs of oil. It looks to me like the oil seepage is from higher up than the oil pan gasket, and I'd like a second opinion about the need for replacing it (as it shouldn't be an issue with such low miles based on my readings). Then again, this is my first BMW and the shop that did the PPI is a respected indy specializing in European cars, particularly Porsches and BMWs.

[TriumphTim]

Honestly, the underside of powertrain looks very clean and seepage is minor for this family of engines.

I would wash everything down, clean the pan off, enjoy the car for a year, and check again.

If you look around this forum, you will see what a leaking N51-55 engine looks like, lol.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

1500 miles later, I inspected the bottom of the engine again. The front looks fairly clean, but the same spot at the rear had some drops of oil on the bolt and around the rubber cover. I cleaned it again and also cleaned the undertray, so I can better track the amount of seepage. I still don't see how this might be the oil pan gasket as it seems to be further back from it, but I may be wrong. Any thoughts on a leak in this specific area?

On top of this, the water pump is covered in a thin sheen of oil. Reading on that suggests the oil filter housing gasket (OFHG). Hopefully that's just a very early sign as the top front of the engine and the belt area appear to be free of oil. I'll add the OFHG to my todo when I'm a little closer to an oil change.