Tensioner cracked probable cause for cracked block causing weird oil leak?!?

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 02:18 PM

So I did everything In book for this crazy car, I posted about a week ago for an oil leak nobody responded I don’t blame anyone bc this just doesn’t make sense, I took my tensioner pulley off just to see if my block was cracked somehow, bec the leak seems to be coming from the top right under the head gasket moving down the front of the block and I found this.

Tesonier housing was cracked.. looks like maybe the tensioner broke off somehow with the previous owner.

I bought the car 3 months with an oil leak, okay so I replaced everything in the book, OFHG, Valve Cover, Front crank seal, power steering lines, crankshaft position sensor o rings (2) I just replaced the vanos solenoid seals as well but same problem same about of oil, the funny thing is the car doesn’t leak at idle only when you drive it it leaks, I have an oil dye in the car rn but still super hard to pin point. I have pictures where the tensioner sits in the block? I don’t see any visible cracks it could be to small probably, could the tensioner have cracked my block tho?

OTO335i · 01-10-2019, 03:30 PM

Did it snap where to torx bit goes into to pry it? Mine snapped as well when I did changed my belt and I still put it back in place because I needed my car for the next day so waiting for a part wasn't an option at the time... I had forgotten about it lol so I'll change it in spring.

But its really hard to tell by your pictures, I don't see any cracks... Try to clean the area as much as you can and start keeping an eye to see if you can catch where the oil is coming down from. Are you certain that your new OFHG isn't leaking as well?

01-10-2019, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Are you certain that your new OFHG isn't leaking as well?

This.

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Did it snap where to torx bit goes into to pry it? Mine snapped as well when I did changed my belt and I still put it back in place because I needed my car for the next day so waiting for a part wasn't an option at the time... I had forgotten about it lol so I'll change it in spring.

But its really hard to tell by your pictures, I don't see any cracks... Try to clean the area as much as you can and start keeping an eye to see if you can catch where the oil is coming down from. Are you certain that your new OFHG isn't leaking as well?

Pretty sure it’s not. I was thinking the same as well everybody on the forums was telling me it was that it can’t be anything else so I kept changing it and changing and changing must’ve been 6 times and I used the oem bmw gasket no luck I bought maybe 3 gaskets and still no luck

Could it be maybe the gasket needs to set in after driving it for a period of time? I haven’t drove the car pretty much at all for 3 months since I bought bc of this leak just up and down my road to see if it would leak that’s pretty much it

OTO335i · 01-10-2019, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkN54

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Did it snap where to torx bit goes into to pry it? Mine snapped as well when I did changed my belt and I still put it back in place because I needed my car for the next day so waiting for a part wasn't an option at the time... I had forgotten about it lol so I'll change it in spring.

But its really hard to tell by your pictures, I don't see any cracks... Try to clean the area as much as you can and start keeping an eye to see if you can catch where the oil is coming down from. Are you certain that your new OFHG isn't leaking as well?

Pretty sure it's not. I was thinking the same as well everybody on the forums was telling me it was that it can't be anything else so I kept changing it and changing and changing must've been 6 times and I used the oem bmw gasket no luck I bought maybe 3 gaskets and still no luck

Could it be maybe the gasket needs to set in after driving it for a period of time? I haven't drove the car pretty much at all for 3 months9 since I bought bc of this leak just up and down my road to see if it would leak that's pretty much it

No it doesn't need time to set, once done it should be good to go, i did mine (which is why i changed the belt at the same time) and i didn't even get a bmw oem one and I haven't had any issues. You say this happens when you're driving. Would it be possible for you to get someone to rev it at a steady 2k or so while you look for a leak?

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

No it doesn't need time to set, once done it should be good to go, i did mine (which is why i changed the belt at the same time) and i didn't even get a bmw oem one and I haven't had any issues. You say this happens when you're driving. Would it be possible for you to get someone to rev it at a steady 2k or so while you look for a leak?

I tried that as well And didn’t see anything for a good half hour , maybe I tighten the bloats on the housing to much? I don’t have a torque wrench but still I didn’t over tighten them but I will give this another try this is making me go crazy and this time i will barely tighten the housing I will let you Guyana know tomaro

OTO335i · 01-10-2019, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkN54

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

No it doesn't need time to set, once done it should be good to go, i did mine (which is why i changed the belt at the same time) and i didn't even get a bmw oem one and I haven't had any issues. You say this happens when you're driving. Would it be possible for you to get someone to rev it at a steady 2k or so while you look for a leak?

I tried that as well And didn't see anything for a good half hour , maybe I tighten the bloats on the housing to much? I don't have a torque wrench but still I didn't over tighten them but I will give this another try this is making me go crazy and this time i will barely tighten the housing I will let you Guyana know tomaro

Well if it's not the cause then changing it again won't do much. That's the shitty part here, if you're not sure where its coming from then just throwing parts will just burn a hole in your wallet

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Well if it's not the cause then changing it again won't do much. That's the shitty part here, if you're not sure where its coming from then just throwing parts will just burn a hole in your wallet

I do all work myself, plus I have a left over gasket that was bought from bmw that my friend gave me so let’s give this one more try after this idk just sell this car

IllSic_Design · 01-10-2019, 06:56 PM

Doesn't look like its coming from the tensioner area, it's probably from the ofhg. When you pull it off again use a straight edge and make sure that both surfaces(the engine block and oil filter housing) are flat where the gasket sits, and make sure there is no burrs or surface defects causing the two parts to not seal fully/correctly.

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

Doesn't look like its coming from the tensioner area, it's probably from the ofhg. When you pull it off again use a straight edge and make sure that both surfaces(the engine block and oil filter housing) are flat where the gasket sits, and make sure there is no burrs or surface defects causing the two parts to not seal fully/correctly.

what Does burr mean? Like the marking left over from the old gasket?

OTO335i · 01-10-2019, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkN54

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Well if it's not the cause then changing it again won't do much. That's the shitty part here, if you're not sure where its coming from then just throwing parts will just burn a hole in your wallet

I do all work myself, plus I have a left over gasket that was bought from bmw that my friend gave me so let’s give this one more try after this idk just sell this car

Then in that case give it a shot! Hope it turns out for the best!

IllSic_Design · 01-10-2019, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkN54

what Does burr mean? Like the marking left over from the old gasket?

A burr is a rough edge or ridge left on an object (especially of metal) by the action of a tool or machine. It's not likely there is one but something to check for. But also be sure to remove all the old leftover gasket, by use of something like a rag with carb cleaner or similar applied or a plastic razor.

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OTO335i

Then in that case give it a shot! Hope it turns out for the best!

Thank you! Me to man can’t wait to drive it, thanks to everyone as well for the tips! Will let you guys know tomaro afternoon or so.

Bimmer_Engineer · 01-10-2019, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkN54

Thank you! Me to man can’t wait to drive it, thanks to everyone as well for the tips! Will let you guys know tomaro afternoon or so.

Silver lining here is that you can now change OFHGs lightning quick...

srey · 01-10-2019, 09:16 PM

If I were in your shoes I would throw a bead of RTV on the gasket. I know BMW doesn't spec it with RTV, but if it's a gasket that's prone to failure why wouldn't you use some extra insurance?

IllSic_Design · 01-10-2019, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srey

If I were in your shoes I would throw a bead of RTV on the gasket. I know BMW doesn't spec it with RTV, but if it's a gasket that's prone to failure why wouldn't you use some extra insurance?

I was just thinking that too, with how many he has changed it wouldn't hurt.

MarkN54 · 01-10-2019, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

Silver lining here is that you can now change OFHGs lightning quick...

So true!

ScottB4857 · 01-11-2019, 08:54 AM

You mention the OFHG, but if you have the oil cooler did you also change the cooler bracket gasket, the o-rings on the oil cooler lines, and did you double check the oil pressure sensor switch isn't leaking?

MarkN54 · 01-11-2019, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottB4857

You mention the OFHG, but if you have the oil cooler did you also change the cooler bracket gasket, the o-rings on the oil cooler lines, and did you double check the oil pressure sensor switch isn't leaking?

No oil cooler, and oil switch is dry

01-11-2019, 10:31 AM

Let's have more pics of the engine bay...oil is obviously coming down from the top.

What's the status of your PCV system? Could oil be pushing it's way through the Valve Cover? These are the things you need to be looking for, especially since this only seems to happen when there's load placed on the engine itself.

fredcase · 01-11-2019, 10:42 AM

OFHG

MarkN54 · 01-11-2019, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fredcase

OFHG

Okay just replaced ofhg again same stupid problem...

01-10-2019, 02:18 PM	#1
MarkN54 Private 17 Rep 85 Posts Drives: Bmw 335xi 2008 Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: new York iTrader: (0)	Tensioner cracked probable cause for cracked block causing weird oil leak?!? So I did everything In book for this crazy car, I posted about a week ago for an oil leak nobody responded I don’t blame anyone bc this just doesn’t make sense, I took my tensioner pulley off just to see if my block was cracked somehow, bec the leak seems to be coming from the top right under the head gasket moving down the front of the block and I found this. Tesonier housing was cracked.. looks like maybe the tensioner broke off somehow with the previous owner. I bought the car 3 months with an oil leak, okay so I replaced everything in the book, OFHG, Valve Cover, Front crank seal, power steering lines, crankshaft position sensor o rings (2) I just replaced the vanos solenoid seals as well but same problem same about of oil, the funny thing is the car doesn’t leak at idle only when you drive it it leaks, I have an oil dye in the car rn but still super hard to pin point. I have pictures where the tensioner sits in the block? I don’t see any visible cracks it could be to small probably, could the tensioner have cracked my block tho? Attached Images Last edited by MarkN54; 01-10-2019 at 02:37 PM..
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01-10-2019, 03:30 PM	#2
OTO335i Lieutenant 151 Rep 506 Posts Drives: 2010 335I Join Date: Aug 2017 Location: Ottawa, Ontario iTrader: (0)	Did it snap where to torx bit goes into to pry it? Mine snapped as well when I did changed my belt and I still put it back in place because I needed my car for the next day so waiting for a part wasn't an option at the time... I had forgotten about it lol so I'll change it in spring. But its really hard to tell by your pictures, I don't see any cracks... Try to clean the area as much as you can and start keeping an eye to see if you can catch where the oil is coming down from. Are you certain that your new OFHG isn't leaking as well? __________________ 2010 335I Xdrive You're not really driving if you don't have 3 pedals.
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01-10-2019, 06:56 PM	#9
IllSic_Design Colonel 2125 Rep 2,759 Posts Drives: 12 E92 328i Join Date: Jun 2016 Location: Northern California iTrader: (1)	Doesn't look like its coming from the tensioner area, it's probably from the ofhg. When you pull it off again use a straight edge and make sure that both surfaces(the engine block and oil filter housing) are flat where the gasket sits, and make sure there is no burrs or surface defects causing the two parts to not seal fully/correctly.
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01-10-2019, 09:16 PM	#15
srey Lieutenant 224 Rep 418 Posts Drives: 2007 E90 335i 6mt Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Idaho iTrader: (0)	If I were in your shoes I would throw a bead of RTV on the gasket. I know BMW doesn't spec it with RTV, but if it's a gasket that's prone to failure why wouldn't you use some extra insurance?
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01-11-2019, 08:54 AM	#18
ScottB4857 Enlisted Member 4 Rep 30 Posts Drives: 2007 335i Jet Black Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Columbia, SC iTrader: (0)	You mention the OFHG, but if you have the oil cooler did you also change the cooler bracket gasket, the o-rings on the oil cooler lines, and did you double check the oil pressure sensor switch isn't leaking? __________________ 07 E90 335i Jet Black / Black Dakota / Sport / Performance / 19" Beyern 5's / Conti DWS / StopTech rotors / Cool Carbon / Procede / 6 spd MT
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01-11-2019, 10:31 AM	#20
FCobra94 Guest 0 Rep n/a Posts Drives:	Let's have more pics of the engine bay...oil is obviously coming down from the top. What's the status of your PCV system? Could oil be pushing it's way through the Valve Cover? These are the things you need to be looking for, especially since this only seems to happen when there's load placed on the engine itself.
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01-11-2019, 10:42 AM	#21
fredcase Captain 261 Rep 776 Posts Drives: Bmw=trash Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Noyb iTrader: (1)	OFHG
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