E39 528i main seal gasket leaking

[PrOjEcT iCe MaN]

Hi, I am a proud new owner of a 1998 528i which I purchased on the week of my 23 birthday. Before purchasing this car which only had one previous owner i took the car to my mechanic to inspect , he said all was well except the leaking of the main seal gasket. My question now is has anyone had this problem , what causes it and also what did you pay for the repair work. Oh and one more question i dont mean to be a stickler here but how much would that one part cost ? Thank you for you time and i'd appreciate any info.

[s car]

I'd like to know aswell, because I think I may have the same oil leak.

[ahetherington]

congrats on the new car. I have a 540i with a rear main seal leak so it might be a little different but im sure you can expect the same. the seal itself is only like an 8 dollar part but you need a "bmw" tool to replace it. it is part of a plate that it seems most people just replace the whole plate for like 80 bucks.

in terms of having it done, ive gotten prices anywhere from 1-2 grand because they have to remove the tranny to get to it. mine isnt that bad, only like a dime sized drop on the driveway every night so we'll see but a lot of people just leave it.. how bad is yours?

good luck!

[cnn]

The Engine has 2 main seals: FRONT and REAR Main Seal.
You probably have over 100K miles.

Any cars with more than 100K miles is prone to seal leak. Normal.
Just fix it when the leak gets worse.

[easymoney]

congrats on the new car. I have a 540i with a rear main seal leak so it might be a little different but im sure you can expect the same. the seal itself is only like an 8 dollar part but you need a "bmw" tool to replace it. it is part of a plate that it seems most people just replace the whole plate for like 80 bucks.

in terms of having it done, ive gotten prices anywhere from 1-2 grand because they have to remove the tranny to get to it. mine isnt that bad, only like a dime sized drop on the driveway every night so we'll see but a lot of people just leave it.. how bad is yours?

good luck!

When you are ready to have yours repaired let me know and I can save you A LOT of money! I have a mechanic in LA (ghetto) who can do it as a matter of fact he did the motor change on my Touring in his backyard very recently and cost me a fraction of the amount you just mentioned. I've known him for almost 20 years.

[bagman]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/d/f/1.png

04Shaft seal48X65X101 09/199811142249532$30.02

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/d/h/3.png
08Set of covers 1 09/199811142247867$118.25

[s car]

Note to self - drive to socal whenever needing bmw work.