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BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > N55 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications > turbo oil leak repair
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      12-01-2021, 10:44 AM   #1
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Update for anyone who cares: this turned out to be an oil pan gasket leak. Fixed over a year ago and no issues since. I'm still amazed by how far and wide oil was slung around the engine bay which made it hard to pinpoint. For anyone chasing leaks that aren't super fast, keep cleaning up the mess and looking closely for new leakage. You will eventually pinpoint the source.

Hi gang,
I believe I have a leak at one of the oil lines on the front of the turbocharger on my 335. It started small but has increased lately so I'm looking at options to repair. Given the amount (and cost) of labor involved just to get hands on the turbo and put the car all back together afterwards , I came here to ask around. Those of you who have done turbo swaps or repairs yourselves, did you have to hoist the engine? My Bentley manual says "support engine at top" as step #1 in the turbo removal procedure but does not give details, instead referring to another section that doesn't exist. I'm guessing they want me to lower the front subframe which does require supporting the engine from above.
I'd consider doing a diy if I can be sure this is the cause. I'm going to take the car to a local indy shop tomorrow to have a dye test done which will hopefully confirm. Any comments or advice is appreciated. I took some pics when I was under the car but I don't think they're very good given the lighting. I will upload soon.
Thanks
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      12-01-2021, 12:08 PM   #2
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Pics of the area, best as I can get. For context, that is the water pump in the foreground and the leak is from above. The black box which is hard to make out, but is soaked in oil, should be the waste gate solenoid. The oil appears to be dripping from one or more oil lines right above it, which I just can't get into the photo because of the angle. Those should be the oil supply and return lines for the turbo based on my research. I see no fresh oil around the valve cover or oil filter housing, just this area and parts lower down like coolant hoses, oil pan, splash guards etc
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      12-01-2021, 12:10 PM   #3
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Pics
Edit: I'm also seeing a bit of smoke from the exhaust on cold starts. That's new. I've read that this could be indicative of oil system problems with the turbo.
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      12-10-2021, 07:21 AM   #4
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I added some uv dye via the oil filler port. After running the engine a few times and taking a couple short drives I've got a pretty good deal of fresh oil in the same areas, but they aren't lighting up under the uv light. It's a bit annoying but obviously something in this area is at fault since I had cleaned everything up beforehand and have new oil. I still can't see exactly where the leak originates, but here's what I know so far:
Oil looks to be dripping from the diverter valve area or something above it that I can't see. Turbo oil lines don't have much oil on them. The steering rack and coolant hoses are blocking a clear view from below, and there's no way to see from above without tearing down the engine. Oil appears to drip down on these parts, and then runs back along the oil pan edge and drips off where it mates to the transmission. I ordered some small telescoping inspection mirrors to try and get a look past the obstructions before I start disassembling the engine. The amount of oil that leaked out on that last drive is too substantial for me to consider it safe to drive anymore. Luckily I have use of another car and a garage so I'm in no rush to fix. I'd like to try to tackle this job myself given the high cost of labor and parts involved. Can anyone offer any ideas? I don't see that the diverter valve is known to leak oil or that it even uses any. That just appears to me to be about the highest point in the engine bay where am oil leak is visible. Vcg, ofhg, front crank seal all appear dry. Seems to leak more when the engine is hot or has been revved higher.
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      12-10-2021, 07:45 AM   #5
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How many miles do you have on that engine/turbo?
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      12-10-2021, 11:03 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Polo08816 View Post
How many miles do you have on that engine/turbo?
Only 38k. I've had the car since about 13k. It was a lease turnback. Went out of warranty 7 months ago of course. The car has been rock solid and hasn't given me a single problem in 3 1/2 years. No track use, just some aggressive driving. I've never even taken it above 95mph. I am running a dinan stage 2 piggyback with upgraded charge pipe and intercooler for about the last 6 months. Just doesn't seem like that would be enough to blow turbo components already. It's pretty lame. At first I thought it was the oil pan gasket but unless it sprays oil upwards from the gasket, I don't see how oil could get that far up above the pan.
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      02-02-2022, 01:31 PM   #7
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It looks like I was wrong about this one. There might be a little oil leaking around the turbocharger bits (a bmw with oil leaks? Crazy right) but my main leak appears to be from the oil pan gasket. I've been driving the car sparingly since noticing but there isn't really any new oil up there, just down low. It's a little disappointing at 38000 miles, but that's life. This car has otherwise been totally reliable and hasn't had any other unscheduled maintenance in the almost 4 years I've owned it now.
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      02-02-2022, 03:44 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jvac View Post
It looks like I was wrong about this one. There might be a little oil leaking around the turbocharger bits (a bmw with oil leaks? Crazy right) but my main leak appears to be from the oil pan gasket. I've been driving the car sparingly since noticing but there isn't really any new oil up there, just down low. It's a little disappointing at 38000 miles, but that's life. This car has otherwise been totally reliable and hasn't had any other unscheduled maintenance in the almost 4 years I've owned it now.
My car had the turbo oil drain hose replaced under warranty at about 10k miles and the oil pan gasket at 45k miles
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      02-02-2022, 05:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thejeremyman9 View Post
My car had the turbo oil drain hose replaced under warranty at about 10k miles and the oil pan gasket at 45k miles
That sucks. An important, hard to reach component like the oil pan gasket should last a lot longer than 45k in my mind. Especially when it's so hard to get to that the cost of labor for repair is 30x the cost of parts. I call this engineered revenue. Stick a few flimsy gaskets in hard to reach places and the service department will be flush with cash all year long...
I'm looking at doing the job myself but I don't have all the information just yet. Dealer quoted 1425 which is more than I feel like spending right now.
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      02-02-2022, 06:18 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jvac View Post
Only 38k. I've had the car since about 13k. It was a lease turnback. Went out of warranty 7 months ago of course. The car has been rock solid and hasn't given me a single problem in 3 1/2 years. No track use, just some aggressive driving. I've never even taken it above 95mph. I am running a dinan stage 2 piggyback with upgraded charge pipe and intercooler for about the last 6 months. Just doesn't seem like that would be enough to blow turbo components already. It's pretty lame. At first I thought it was the oil pan gasket but unless it sprays oil upwards from the gasket, I don't see how oil could get that far up above the pan.
Ask for a goodwill repair
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