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Thread: oil leak from head/exhaust manifold studs

  1. #1
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    oil leak from head/exhaust manifold studs

    any ideas what oil leaking from head/rear exhaust manifold studs means?
    when idling i can even see tiny periodic bubbles as the oil slowly leaks along the stud threads. just changed valve cover gasket so it's not leaking. thanks for any info!
    -An

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    RRSperry is offline Senior Moment Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
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    Probably mean that there is a crack in the head. Or, you have oil leaking from the valve cover and an exhaust leak that makes it look like the oil is coming from the studs...
    No matter where you go, there you are...

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    The hydraulic chain tensioner is leaking.
    The oil then is forced backwards and upwards by the air currents under the hood of the vehicle in motion..
    When the vehicle is stationary, the oil drips off the top edge of the engine, from high point to low point.

    m

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    I would clean the area as best I could and confirm the leak is coming from the area you mentioned.
    It usually means you have a head gasket crack at cylinder 6, lets hope it is coming from someplace else...

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    hmm maybe this is 'old' oil; i've only idled but not driven car since replacing the valve cover gasket.
    http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/4458/leftrearaft.jpg
    2 studs don't have oil so that's why i thought it's leaking from other 2 studs.
    i just sprayed degreaser on the area and will idle car again.

    dang it's leaking from the stud
    Last edited by everbruin; 06-25-2010 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
    -An

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    Oil will creep quite a ways.

    Looks like it is coming from above. Either the HG, or the VC gasket. I just replaced my VC gasket and I still have oil weeping out. It's a blocked crank case vent, in my case, probably going into the ICV.


    As mentioned, get some engine de-greaser or carb cleaner to clean up the areas suspected and see where its' coming from.
    -Steve

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  7. #7
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    after degreasing area i confirmed it's leaking from certain studs, not from above. a mech friend suggested removing those studs and putting high temp rtv and reinsert
    -An

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    Header studs?

    Do any of those actually protrude into any oil passages? I'd be damned surprised if they did, which leads back to a possibly cracked head.

    Not sure RTV will solve this, but keep us posted.
    -Steve

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    i think im having the same problem. do the header studs actually go through oil passages? did the high temp rtv solve your problem?
    m50 mani/s52 cams/TRM tune with 3.5 intake and MAF/asc delete/3.15lsd/ECIS intake/tse exhaust/bilsteins with H&R springs

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    oh mine turned out to be valve cover gasket; oil dripped down somewhere to give illusion it leaked from the studs
    -An

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic328is View Post
    i think im having the same problem. do the header studs actually go through oil passages? did the high temp rtv solve your problem?
    No. The studs go into the housing. Simplest solution. Change the valve cover gasket first. It is not the HG. Oil doesn't run against gravity.

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    i already changed the headgasket and the valve cover gasket. it is deffenitely not coming from the VCG, i checked it already. any other ideas?

    you guys think i should pull the valve cover and re install the gasket?
    Last edited by Arctic328is; 09-20-2012 at 03:46 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
    m50 mani/s52 cams/TRM tune with 3.5 intake and MAF/asc delete/3.15lsd/ECIS intake/tse exhaust/bilsteins with H&R springs

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    Quote Originally Posted by everbruin View Post
    .... just changed valve cover gasket so it's not leaking. thanks for any info!
    Quote Originally Posted by everbruin View Post
    oh mine turned out to be valve cover gasket; oil dripped down somewhere to give illusion it leaked from the studs
    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic328is View Post
    i already changed the headgasket and the valve cover gasket. it is deffenitely not coming from the VCG, i checked it already. any other ideas?
    See quoted posts. Just re-seat it.

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    okay thanks rated m3, ill re-seat. ill let you guys know tommorow if it stops leaking
    m50 mani/s52 cams/TRM tune with 3.5 intake and MAF/asc delete/3.15lsd/ECIS intake/tse exhaust/bilsteins with H&R springs

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    I have a similar problem. Probably needs to be reseated around the back of the VCG (which I did a few months ago).
    After the car sits for a while, I turn it on and oil clearly smokes at the headers.

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    Reseated? Pretty tough to screw that up.

    It probably needs someone to follow the directions and use RTV in the specified places.

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    i did use rvt in the specified places.
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    I've done it before with beat valve cover and no rtv with no problems but best to use toyota fipg at points if u wanna be sure


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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic328is View Post
    i did use rvt in the specified places.
    no offense intended, just something a lot of people forget/neglect

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    ohh ok haha, ok so i re-seated the gasket and put rvt all around and in the specified places. bad news is that now the car idles wierd. the whole car shakes only at idle. ive took out and put back the VCG many times and never had problems. i dont know why the car is doing this. it idles 100 rpm's lower then normal, you guys have any ideas what it could be?
    m50 mani/s52 cams/TRM tune with 3.5 intake and MAF/asc delete/3.15lsd/ECIS intake/tse exhaust/bilsteins with H&R springs

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic328is View Post
    ohh ok haha, ok so i re-seated the gasket and put rvt all around and in the specified places. bad news is that now the car idles wierd. the whole car shakes only at idle. ive took out and put back the VCG many times and never had problems. i dont know why the car is doing this. it idles 100 rpm's lower then normal, you guys have any ideas what it could be?
    Vacuum leak? Cracked VC?
    -Chris

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    Vaccum leak.
    Take your oil cap up and note what happens, if nothing you have a leak. It is possible you are building positive pressure from your engine too if your CCV is partially plugged to the dip stick.
    Sure sounds like some vacuum leak to me...

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    what is supposed to happen if i take off my oil cap? with the car off im assuming.
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    Check Crank case vent connection?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arctic328is View Post
    what is supposed to happen if i take off my oil cap? with the car off im assuming.
    Do with the car on. When you take the cap off it should surge and possibly cut off. If it doesn't do that, that means you have a vacuum leak somewhere as creating one with the oil cap did nothing.

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