[Cabobimmer]

Hello everyone. BMW 320i 2013 N20 engine

Had a leak on the valve cover gasket and oil filter base nothing mayor but noticeable. Getting lazy to send it to fix it. Had the new valve cover gasket and oils base gaskets sitting around.

Anyway , We had some heavy rain and my car got flooded. The air filter got wet. Didnt drive it and Towed the car to Napa repair shop. Here in Los Cabos we dont have indy shops or dealership close. Asked them to check the car for water inside the engine and change the valve cover gasket and oil base too meanwhile they check the car.

They told me.that had to change coils and plugs because had rough idle. And that there was an oil leak showed on the engine tray. (I knew that, that's why I had the gaskets already)

Make story short, they called me yesterday and said that the car was ready but they think there is a big main seal leak (between engine and transmission) because when letting it idle could see oil comming from there but could not check it because they dont remove transmissions. So I said... ok I will check it later since my car was not leaking besides the small dripping from the valve cover and oil base before.

Drove the car on the highway (15 miles) from.napa.to my home. And during the ride, a police stopped to tell.me that my car was dripping a LOT OF OIL!!! and could be seen from behind and smoke not from exhaust but from under the car.

I could feel very little lost of performance and 4-5 little hiccups.

I reduced speed checking temperature to.do not overheat the engine. Arrived home "fine" and I was leaving a trace of.oil . Stopped the car, leave it.for.a.few hours and then I saw under the car and there is oil.all over the chassis front, middle and rear of the car!!! 😳

Today I opened the hood and saw a little bit of a.pinched valve cover gasket, a little bit of.oil and tons of oil under the engine sitting on the shield under cover.

Called a friend on the mainland that works on the dealership and told.me that is very very unlikely that is the main seal because it.would be oil from the rear of the engine and front of transmission not in front and under the engine, and what a coincidence that after the valve cover and oils base repair this massive oil leak.shows up.

What are your thoughts I am very desperate and dont know what to do next. NAPA will claim they did the job done correctly and point out a POSSIBLE leak on the main seal as they thought before. The visible front part of the valve cover gasket looks pinched and with some residue of black weird sealant that they might used, little oil around there. Cant see the back.

May be they didnt tight the bolts properly. May be the gasket is not aligned on the rear. May be the vaccum seal is damaged.

Please.any help.

Thank you

[jv004]

Pinpoint where the oils coming from. If the gasket is pinched and they didn't inspect for that it'll leak quite a bit. If it's VCG gasket after finding the leak yourself, then you should demand them to fix it. Places like Napa are risky to have work done as you take a risk dealing with employees with very little experience, I would of looked for a bmw indy shop.

[Cabobimmer]

I would like to get and Indy but the closest is 1,000 miles away. I have tools and check if its leaking fron the VCG. Do you think it could really be the rear main seal? The oil leak got really bad driving. I have no clue. Should start removing tomorrow the covers and try to put the hand behind the engine and check the bolts.

[jv004]

Can't really tell you if it is the rear main seal or not. You'll have to do some visual inspection on valve cover and also around the bellhousing to pinpoint the leak

[Logicoeur]

Like everyone is saying, no one here is going to be able to give you answer. Visually inspect it yourself as you have eyes. Youtube will give you all the info you need to do that.

[JoeyF30]

If you don't have a BMW indy, at least find a good independent and trust worthy mechanic

[Billfitz]

Shop changes valve cover gasket, after doing so the car is losing oil badly. One need not be Sherlock Holmes to deduce that the shop botched the job.

[Cabobimmer]

Is it possible that the main seal got damaged when the moist got inside the engine? That is the only reason I havent claim Napa yet. Thanks

[Billfitz]

Not likely. If enough water had managed to get into the engine to damage the seal it would be the least of your problems.

[Cabobimmer]

So has to be the logical reason... they screw it up when replace the VCG.

[Cabobimmer]

The car has been sitting for a few days now and every morning theres liquid that looks like oil between the rear left tire and the shock. Dries during the day and shows up again in the morning. Everything is very weird. I was thinking that the VCG after the oils sit at the bottom of the engine would not leak from there again. Or the oil that was blown that day that I drove it was so big that still comming out. Today I will try to clean as much as I can, put oil, start the engine and hopefully see where is comming from. I was thinking to order a brand new Valve Cover with new bolts and gaskets. If it's not that I would not know what to do next. Any input or thoughts would be helpful. Thanks

[Billfitz]

Use UV dye to find the leak.

[Cabobimmer]

Problem update: so after clanning the whole engine, put it on ramps, refill with oil and start it... the leak is comming from the main seal

Now. Does anyone knows which is the best way to get it done... drop the tranny or the engine? I assume the tranny but how is it.done? Is it possible to do it that way? Will tranny fluid will leak meanwhile?

Thanks as always

[Billfitz]

Drop the transmission. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...overs/Hifj25ij

[Cabobimmer]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Drop the transmission. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...overs/Hifj25ij

Thank you! I will need to buy those special tools. I dont think the tranny shop here in cabo have them

[Cabobimmer]

So it says that the engine was removed instead of the tranny? Is that the way to go? I am a little bit confused. Sorry my ignorance and thanks

[Cabobimmer]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Drop the transmission. https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...overs/Hifj25ij

At the end of the article says... assemble the engine

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Cabobimmer

So it says that the engine was removed instead of the tranny?

It does not. Follow all the steps that it says to follow before the actual procedure. For instance, you can't remove the seal before removing the flywheel. You can't remove the flywheel before removing the transmission. You can't remove the transmission before...etc.

At the end of the article says... assemble the engine

That means put everything back together again, in the reverse order of how it was taken apart.

[Cabobimmer]

Hey, havent been able to sort out my problem. Recheck the valve cover job and there is no oil on it, well a little bit close to the 2 rear coils. Check around the VCG and its dry. Looked around and down half engine and top of tranny and everything looks dry. No new oil residue anywhere visible.

I was reading that maybe the PCV diaphragm on the valve cover got damaged and that increased the crankshaft pressure that lead the rear main seal failure.

Could that be possible? If I change the diaphragm on the Valve cover might fix it? Or I will still have to change the main seal?

Thanks

[Cabobimmer]

Took some videos. A mechanic said its the turbo seals that are leaking 🤔 I am completely lost.

https://youtu.be/OT7WTI-Vw6I
https://youtu.be/FfjJp5H4QOM
https://youtu.be/sOIJEdlPbKg

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by Cabobimmer

Took some videos. A mechanic said its the turbo seals that are leaking 🤔 I am completely lost.

https://youtu.be/OT7WTI-Vw6I
https://youtu.be/FfjJp5H4QOM
https://youtu.be/sOIJEdlPbKg

How many miles are on the car?

[Cabobimmer]

55k miles