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antil33t

[E30]My car doesn't like it's oil.

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So, My cars leaking oil :(

However it's very miniscule... I think it might be the oil sensor seal...

Is there any "common" leak problems with M20's?

Thanks.

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my m20 does it too, couple drips a day, just character with a 25 year old car, don't fret too much

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my m20 does it too, couple drips a day, just character with a 25 year old car, don't fret too much

It's more than that, it's starting to make a mess of the road...

I'm going to try a bottle of "stop leak" to see if it makes the problem go away...

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Guest FrantiC

Well...

Valve cover gasket

End bungs on rockers

oil sump gasket

oil pressure sender

oil level sernder o ring

oil filter housing

rear main seal

are just some of the common places..

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That's helpfull,

Will have a scout around with my torch on my day off methinks...

I'm thinking it's the sender, as oil drips out the tube (where the wire goes into)

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Good plan. Don't use "stop leak" in any variety to stop any sort of leak.

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Good plan. Don't use "stop leak" in any variety to stop any sort of leak.

^^ allright.

any reason why?

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Guest FrantiC

Because that is just Half-assing the job, And it never works right anyways. Temporary fix yeah maybe, But most of the oil leaks will just need a gasket or rubber o-ring replaced, like on the level sensor.

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If it is the oil pressure switch it's easy to replace. They do blow out, I had 2 of them go on my old E30. lucky the cable insulation had split up near the thermostat housing, otherwise I could have had oil in my fuse box.

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^^ allright.

any reason why?

Yeah - what John says - it's half-assed. I reckon that any additive that stops the oil leaking out has a reasonable chance of not being good for your oiling system, which consists of a pump made to very fine tolerances pushing oil through various passageways and orifices, many with very fine tolerances.

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Fair enough, It did seem a little cringeworthy. - I was going to use it as a temporary fix, but will just fix it properly instead.

I'm pretty sure it's that seal... Ahh well.. Day off tomorrow :)

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besides, it specifically warns against using any for of oil additive in the bmw owners manual, didnt stop me using stop-smoke in mine lol, but it didnt work either :(

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Steam clean/degrease the engine first then it's easy to see the culprit

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Steam clean/degrease the engine first then it's easy to see the culprit

Yeah, I'm trolling the yellow pages to find somewhere that would use a steam cleaner for 15 minutes or so....

Or i'll be under the car tomorrow with the cans of degreaser and the hose :P

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Guest FrantiC

Degreaser works wonders, Just degrease from the top down, Don't even really need to hose unless it's dirty.

I painted my block orange so it's easy to see where oil is leaking from lol. Seems to be coming from everywhere at the moment.

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Yeah, painting the block a bright colour is a good idea.

If I ever do a engine transplant, and have to pull the motor apart for any reason, I'd definately do the same thing.

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Right, She's all degreased...

so the steering rack is silver eh? :P

looks like the oil is just coming from that sensor,

I would've taken a picture, but my camera is in my friends car... damnit.

I'll have to drain the oil and figure out what part needs replaced.

The sensor I beleve it is, is the oil level sensor.

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Right, She's all degreased...

so the steering rack is silver eh? :P

looks like the oil is just coming from that sensor,

I would've taken a picture, but my camera is in my friends car... damnit.

I'll have to drain the oil and figure out what part needs replaced.

The sensor I beleve it is, is the oil level sensor.

One other place is the back of the valve cover. Mine was leaking a little there - just re torque the bolts.

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Guest FrantiC

Right, She's all degreased...

so the steering rack is silver eh? :P

looks like the oil is just coming from that sensor,

I would've taken a picture, but my camera is in my friends car... damnit.

I'll have to drain the oil and figure out what part needs replaced.

The sensor I beleve it is, is the oil level sensor.

Nah dude, None of the sensors need the oil drained to be replaced.

is it the oil pressure sensor under the oil filer housing on the block??

Or the oil level sensor on the part of the oil pan the protrudes? (intake side)

Edited by FrantiC

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Nah dude, None of the sensors need the oil drained to be replaced.

is it the oil pressure sensor under the oil filer housing on the block??

Or the oil level sensor on the part of the oil pan the protrudes? (intake side)

Whoops, never noticed this :)

Yeah, it would be the pressure sensor in this case. it's to the left of the oil filter. (but below)

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My car leaks there to, is it an easy fix ?

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My car leaks there to, is it an easy fix ?

Haven't tried yet :P

Finally got the time now that it's the holidays

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Went to VTNZ for a warrant of fitness - asked the inspector if he saw where me car was leaking oil - Hi reply was its a BMW thats normal and here was I thinking that was only Fords and British motorbikes that leaked oil :D

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