Bad Leak

[DJGyron]

Hi All!

I have a problem with my 2003 BMW 320i E46. It started leaking a clear almost odderless oil of some sort. The leak seams to come from just where the engine meets the gearbox I presume. I suspected it could be the transmission oil but I'm not a 100% sure. The car shifts fine and the clutch doesn't seem to be slipping. Can anyone give me an idea of what this maybe or if you have experienced a similar thing?

 

[Philip Foglar]

Give us a bit more background about this car and the maintenance, mileage etc.

If you have a drop in engine oil level at the same time, then it is most likely the rear engine seal. These engines are known to develop oil leaks in common places, and this being one of them, another is the valve cover gasket and this tends to often be towards the rear driver's side of the engine. If so, the oil can slowly seep down to the bell housing.

Best is to get the car on a lift and make sure that there is no traces of oil further up the side of the engine and also check around the valve clover.

I would do this before pulling the gearbox out to investigate further.

 

[Twinz]

I am with Philip as a first step :thumbs:

 

[TOOFAST MP]

I had the same problem on the e 90 320i I use to have I also thaught it was oil as it was clear but oily , it was coolant from the back of the cylinder head near the fire wall there is a plastic blank plug with a profile gasket that fits inside it , simular to a welsh plug it was R16 from the agents for the gasket .....have u tasted the fluid if its sweet its the coolant ,I know the coolant is green but its was like a clear oil when it was on the floor and it did not leak when the car was running it seemed to start about 10min after being parked when the engine was shut off after a drive

 

[DJGyron]

Thanks guys for all you responses.

I did put the car up this weekend to see where the leak originates from and so far I can see that it doesn't seem to be gearbox oil. I'm assuming it is engine oil because most of the leak seems to be around the sump. However, the oil that was leaking is clear, yet the engine oild that I chacked on the dip stick is black. Still not sure what it could be.

 

[Sankekur]

The only thing I can think that is clear (sort of) and oily around the gearbox is the clutch hydraulic fluid (brake fluid), but this is certainly not odourless.

Maybe remove the clutch slave cylinder from the gearbox and see whether its shaft seal is leaking.


It might also be a good idea to wash the underside of the engine and gearbox, then it should be easier to see where the leak comes from.

 

[Philip Foglar]

Yep, being clear is a bit puzzling. I would inspect for hydraulic fluid leaks as suggested above.

 

[Ricky318i]

DJGyron, do not taste the liquid to "test" if it is coolant.

It could contain Ethylene Glycol which is poisonous and could lead to vomiting, diarrhea and in severe cases even acute kidney failure.

 

[Philip Foglar]

DJGyron, do not taste the liquid to "test" if it is coolant.

It could contain Ethylene Glycol which is poisonous and could lead to vomiting, diarrhea and in severe cases even acute kidney failure.

LOL, was talking to a fellow fanatic about this just the other day! I was changing my car's coolant a year or so ago and had to carefully suck some out using a pipe (knowing that this stuff is actually pretty poisonous), and wouldn't you know it, got some of this stuff in my mouth! Well, it was already diluted, but still! If I remember, it almost had a sweet taste. My biggest concern was to not end up becoming ill or affected by this, so rinsed my mouth out thoroughly with some water, and then drank a tall glass of milk which is good at neutralising toxins and so on. Still here... I watched a cold case or medical detectives years ago and it was about a woman that had killed her husband by slowly dosing him with this stuff over a period of months - it would make him ill and then she would take him off the stuff for a while to "seem" to make a recovery, then continue, well he eventually died and there was little trace of what had killed him initially, but investigators caught on to something and when they retested, found traces of this stuff, or the bi-product, can't remember exactly.

So yes, be very careful of this stuff! :thumbs:

 

[Sankekur]

DJGyron, do not taste the liquid to "test" if it is coolant.

It could contain Ethylene Glycol which is poisonous and could lead to vomiting, diarrhea and in severe cases even acute kidney failure.

You are going to have to do a lot more than taste a glycol based coolant to poison yourself. You will also be hard pressed to find a glycol based coolant as it is hardly ever used nowadays, reason being not because it is poisonous, but rather because it is sweet, this increases the likelihood that it will be accidentally ingested.

 

[TOOFAST MP]

DJGyron, do not taste the liquid to "test" if it is coolant.

It could contain Ethylene Glycol which is poisonous and could lead to vomiting, diarrhea and in severe cases even acute kidney failure.

:rollsmile: not drink coolant dip a finger in toutch on tong spit out and then rinse out your mouth properly.

 

[Ricky318i]

DJGyron, do not taste the liquid to "test" if it is coolant.

It could contain Ethylene Glycol which is poisonous and could lead to vomiting, diarrhea and in severe cases even acute kidney failure.

You are going to have to do a lot more than taste a glycol based coolant to poison yourself. You will also be hard pressed to find a glycol based coolant as it is hardly ever used nowadays, reason being not because it is poisonous, but rather because it is sweet, this increases the likelihood that it will be accidentally ingested.

I regret saying this.

I think everyone should make their own mind up about which liquids oozing from their broken cars they'd like to taste.

"Mmmm.. this looks red and has a gearboxy taste, so it must be transmission oil. Better check my mechatronics for any signs of seepage." :mmm: