[KTE]

Had a quick look underneath whilst getting the diffuser swapped for m perf one.

A number of threads show varying degrees of “leaks”: https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1560409

Noticed major section was wet with the rest of the diff dry, got a video with a few screenshots in case the stream is lower quality.

The car was not driven the day the video was recorded. Will try and jack the car up and have another look soon.

https://streamable.com/tgxia6

[KTE]

[KTE]

Hoping to either get booked in soon, or go down bmw assist recovery if it’s serious enough. It’s not spewing out but is still very noticeable. Waiting on a response from my local dealership and will update.

May give BMW a call tomorrow. Car isn’t moving atm.

[TaranF32]

Common problem on the F3X's. Had the same issue on my '65' plate F32. Car had just gone out of warranty, however I was able to get some goodwill from BMW to assist with the cost, and it ended up costing about £150-200 to fix. Otherwise it's a hefty bill.

If out of warranty then get an indy to do it

[M140_BCS]

Perfect excuse for LSD...

If not, easy to find good condition open diffs on eBay/salvage around £100-200.

£150 labour or if you fancy a DIY you'll need a 50mm open ended spanner.

[psp888]

Would this be a MOT fail?

[Sasquartch]

Might be an advisory but likely not

Definitely not a MOT failure for a small leak like that

[psp888]

Mine had an advisory on my last service of a slight misting on the diff. Said they would check again on the next service. Out of warranty now, but still have MOT protect, would that cover it?

[KTE]

MOT protect wording (on my policy at least) states any component need to be a MOT fail to be eligible for cover, aside from wear and tear items like brake pads, discs etc.

Not sure it covers much either, something like £500 so not useful for large repairs. Warranty is your best bet here.

If it was mentioned during warranty and you have records of this, shouldn’t be too much of a problem getting them to sort it as it’s now worse? Never a guarantee with dealers though :/

Originally Posted by M140_BCS

Perfect excuse for LSD...

If not, easy to find good condition open diffs on eBay/salvage around £100-200.

£150 labour or if you fancy a DIY you'll need a 50mm open ended spanner.

It definitely is a good excuse, but can not stomach that cost for 4000 miles a year or less, rarely gets pushed to warrant it. Besides I took out extended warranty so now feel better about having it. Aside from this I am also saving for the unaffordable ‘affordable’ London home, the pot could do with the money instead.

[KTE]

Unfortunately the Inchcape warranty I took out on purchase is useless on this occasion.

Called the complaints line about the outcome quoted the below exclusion - which I was aware of if a result of damage or negligence, though did not expect they would be crafty in this manner.



Had a long talk about the diagnosis being a failed pinion seal that has resulted in oil leaking, therefore the oil leak is of a direct result from a failed component. Argued and argued, got given an analogy to a rocker cover and engine gasket. Really went off track and felt like a mechanics lesson and 2 sides failing to agree. I wanted to point out that under the exclusions it does not state if a covered component seal fails and there is a oil leak the repair is not warranted. Simply just written as "Oil leak" - ambiguous...

Had the "gaskets are not covered", when I snapped back and said where is this exclusion in the policy got a "we don't cover oil leaks".

Queried the final few lines "Oil, oil filter, gaskets, anti-freeze and brake fluid required due to the failure of a covered component are covered."

Response to that was differential is a covered component, though the oil and gasket in that case are only covered if the diff had failed/sheared inside and we decided to approve a repair on it.. (a repair?!)

Surely there a a few scenarios of diff failure that will result in some sort of oil leaking?

Moral of the story is stick to BMW insurance if you are going to bother, price was fairly similar minus the applicable excess in the event of a claim. Glad I did not get 2 years worth after the first years worth of cover (AUC).

[KTE]

Ahhhhhhh... just as I was about to post and praise my local dealer who’ve made some mistakes in the past (bumper damage and leaking brake fluid) but corrected it. They have somehow managed to fuck up front bumper by the air feeder gap next to the fog lights, and somehow scratch the rear bumper unless something was leaned on it?? Also slight scrap rear right side..

Can’t believe it. I honestly have the worse luck and consistently being disappointed on dealer visits. Was so happy to be back in my car again as it’s gotten so cold and turned on the heated seats.. then came the paranoia and thought I’d check around the car as i did before drop off, I’m not the keenest eye for this but immediately spotted...

[Chris335dF31]

Feel for you. If it was their own car they'd take more care of it.

[Craig-SM]

Not sure if you got this sorted but had the same oil covered diff. It was in for MOT and got an advisory for it. The place I take my cars to for MOT only test and don’t do repairs, so I always trust them. The lad who tested is a BMW nut and told me to drop the oil on the diff and refill, clean up and see if it does it again. He said that sometimes they bleed oil past the seal if driven at high speed for a prolonged period, which we had just done with a trip to Germany in the weeks before.
Did has he said and it’s dry as a bone now two years later.

[KTE]

Originally Posted by Craig-SM

Not sure if you got this sorted but had the same oil covered diff. It was in for MOT and got an advisory for it. The place I take my cars to for MOT only test and don’t do repairs, so I always trust them. The lad who tested is a BMW nut and told me to drop the oil on the diff and refill, clean up and see if it does it again. He said that sometimes they bleed oil past the seal if driven at high speed for a prolonged period, which we had just done with a trip to Germany in the weeks before.
Did has he said and it’s dry as a bone now two years later.

Should’ve updated the thread, but was more annoyed by the state they handed back the car in.

Don’t want to speak too soon, but the seals got replaced - BMW partly contributed towards parts only.. with the cost of the parts shown, a cup or two of coffee, unless this isn’t shown on the invoice.

When you say drop, do you mean by removing the casing? There’s a small plug that you can squeeze in one of those oil pumps pipes into to pull out the oil. It’s right at the top of the diff, so isn’t a drain plug. I wasn’t 100% sure despite the diagnosis thanks to the guys in the thread, and thought my warranty policy would cover it but didn’t in the end, otherwise could’ve done it myself. At the cost it’s hassle free (in theory..) in case the same fault arises again.

I believe they topped it up after changing the seal. Cost was somewhere in the region of £240-£260, majority being labour, seal(s) and 1L top up.

Car up until this year had mostly been odd 70 mile journeys every 3-4 months, but otherwise relatively short journeys daily on 30mph roads. COVID changed some of this, whilst it was no longer a daily, it had many more long distance trips, one across countries so that may have some relevance. Perhaps this is why it had been bleeding over summer.

How prolonged are we talking and @ what speeds? 120mph-140mph for 1-2 hours? I feel like many pulls also contribute to this without having to go over 80mph

[Craig-SM]

Originally Posted by KTE

Should’ve updated the thread, but was more annoyed by the state they handed back the car in.

Don’t want to speak too soon, but the seals got replaced - BMW partly contributed towards parts only.. with the cost of the parts shown, a cup or two of coffee, unless this isn’t shown on the invoice.

When you say drop, do you mean by removing the casing? There’s a small plug that you can squeeze in one of those oil pumps pipes into to pull out the oil. It’s right at the top of the diff, so isn’t a drain plug. I wasn’t 100% sure despite the diagnosis thanks to the guys in the thread, and thought my warranty policy would cover it but didn’t in the end, otherwise could’ve done it myself. At the cost it’s hassle free (in theory..) in case the same fault arises again.

I believe they topped it up after changing the seal. Cost was somewhere in the region of £240-£260, majority being labour, seal(s) and 1L top up.

Car up until this year had mostly been odd 70 mile journeys every 3-4 months, but otherwise relatively short journeys daily on 30mph roads. COVID changed some of this, whilst it was no longer a daily, it had many more long distance trips, one across countries so that may have some relevance. Perhaps this is why it had been bleeding over summer.

How prolonged are we talking and @ what speeds? 120mph-140mph for 1-2 hours? I feel like many pulls also contribute to this without having to go over 80mph

Glad you’re sorted.

By drop the oil, I meant drain the oil from the bolt at the bottom and refill after with the bolt half way up the diff

Prolonged was speeds of 90mph to flat out on the autobahns for nearly 5 hours to reach Minden, Germany

[KTE]

Thanks for the heads up, can’t say I noticed the bottom one, then again it’s pretty tight under axle stands. Will keep an eye on it during next few months.

Similar boat then, also first time noticing engine oil was being consumed (longest trip approx 380 miles) as dash warning came up, again probably due to prolonged “high speed”. Wonder if my car has become lethargic, like Fat Thor 🥴😅

Curious to see if others who track their car also come across this. Unless it’s not a common problem in upgraded LSDs.

[Craig-SM]

Ignore the bottom one, I’m remembering the Shogun not the BMW. The BMW is siphoned from the hex bolt half way up on the rear. Then refill until it comes out of the hole. If you’ve jacked up the rear then you’ll need to level the car so the diff is level too to avoid overfilling.

[psp888]

Mines just been in and had the seal replaced. £240. And no, it's not covered under MOT protect as it wouldn't have failed an MOT, only an advisory.