Member
Hello all,
Today when I got home I noticed a trail of oil drops in the driveway.
The car is a 1991 535i (M30 engine) with a manual 5 speed. I replaced the engine oil last weekend, and the transmission fluid a couple weeks earlier. When I went to investigate the source of the leak I turned the car on and watched for a drip (the amount of oil in the drive was enough that I should have seen something). Couldn't see anything, so I revved the engine a bit, still nothing. I put the car in gear, and left a trail of oil.
Engine oil levels look fine, so my best idea right now is that it's transmission fluid from an old seal. Unfortionately it's raining today, so I can't easily tell the difference between engine oil and tranny fluid. Any other ideas? The car has 139,000 miles on it.
Thanks!
Member
Does it have the tray beneath the engine? Could be an accumulation that sloshes back when you drive.
Drop the cover and have a lookey.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
Member
It does have the tray, but looking down from the top it looks pretty clean.
It doesn't look like a slosh sort of thing either, there was a trail left behind from where I had driven...
Member
Wait for it to dry up. You can't narrow it down when it's raining. Likely a loose nut on the pan. Consider getting a vacuum tube to suck the oil out so you don't have to mess with the nut anymore. You'll know more when it's dry out. Just wait a bit.
Last edited by ThoreauHD; 10-28-2014 at 08:18 PM.
Member
Would a nut suddenly fail like that?
Member
If you don't tighten the hell out of it, yes. If you did it when it was cold, you have to put more torque on it. It's just a fluid seal, and one you don't have to mess with if you stick a vacuum pump into the dipstick hole. It'll be fine. It can only be two things. The nut or the pan gasket. Considering the timing of the issue, it's likely the nut.
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