[Gel214th]

I take it this is not good :-\ Haven't taken the car in yet, but any idea what problem I am looking at here?

[zeikei]

My guess would be valve cover gasket. It drips from there on top of hot exhaust parts and creates the smoke.

[Fredo]

+1. Same symptoms on my 2012 F30 at 85k miles.

[MmmmmM2]

And clean your engine bay!!!

[floridaorange]

^^Any specific steps for say, a deep clean of the engine bay? I keep mine wiped down, but often wonder if I could do more.

[IraHayes]

Originally Posted by floridaorange

^^Any specific steps for say, a deep clean of the engine bay? I keep mine wiped down, but often wonder if I could do more.

If you have access to a hot pressure washer, that would be the way to go. I fortunately have one at work, but it's more convenient to just go to the local self-serve car wash. Many of these have an "engine clean" option on the selector.

[IraHayes]

That smoke almost looks like it's blowing out of there. Hopefully not coming from the turbo.

[Gel214th]

Originally Posted by Fredo

+1. Same symptoms on my 2012 F30 at 85k miles.

What was the problem with yours? This car just has 56000 Kilometres on it.

[Fredo]

Originally Posted by Gel214th

What was the problem with yours? This car just has 56000 Kilometres on it.

My mechanic replaced the valve cover, that was the fix. FYI, this is the list of parts he replaced:

11127570292 N55 valve cover
11367609963 Valvetronic screw (2)
11127599753 Vent hose
11377502022 Valvetronic seal

Please notice parts will be different on your car. It was $1,033 USD OTD.

[Gel214th]

Update on this, it was the tappet pan gasket cover, not sure if this is the same thing as the Valve cover gasket.

Apparently it was an easy fix, no more oil. Did an engine wash one time

Changed rear brakes.

He told me about a pending issue with the steering rack and that there was a kit for it. So may have to look into that in the new year.

Not as bad as I feared it would be.

[Rebound]

There's a cleaner sold here in the US called Purple Power, and it's fantastic for engine cleaning. You can find it at most auto parts stores. Remove the large plastic engine cover on a slightly warm engine (not a hot engine!!!) and generously spray the Purple Power all over. Loads and loads. Let it soak about 15 minutes and hose it off. Don't spray it on painted surfaces, but it won't harm hoses or plastics.

The front of the N55 and other BMW engines has an aluminum part; I think it's the oil filter housing. There's no good way to keep aluminum parts shiny clean. They are easily rusted and stained.

You can finish off by wiping Armor All on all the plastic pieces. It will look really good, but it attracts dust, so it's kind of a 50-50 choice. Otherwise, I'm a huge consumer of Clorox wipes and any time I remove any part from my engine for maintenance work it gets thoroughly cleaned with Clorox wipes.

[dougt.ah3]

Originally Posted by Gel214th

Update on this, it was the tappet pan gasket cover, not sure if this is the same thing as the Valve cover gasket.

Apparently it was an easy fix, no more oil. Did an engine wash one time

good news ... glad you got it taken care of. Yes the tappet pan gasket is the same as the valve cover gasket.