I recently bought a used 05 BMW 325i this past Christmas (80,000 miles) after my wife totaled my Ford Focus. I love it and it has been running perfectly fine until I noticed white smoke coming out from underneath the car. I decided I would fix it myself with no prior experience but have been following DIY guides. The Oil was dripping down where the radiator and the engine meet. It was dripping through the small openings on on the bottom of the radiator directly under that geared crank wheel. I lost a good amount of oil but was still 10 miles from home. I filled it back up with oil and drove it home and parked it in the driveway. I cleared the garage and drove it into the garage where it started pouring out all the oil I had just put in it. I pulled the intake manifold and could see no visual leakage from the top so I thought it had to be the rear main valve. I just dropped the transmission and took out the rear main valve. I still believe it is the rear main valve but I want to make sure nothing is wrong with the transmission before putting it back together.

Here is the Rear Main Seal and Housing

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I did not drain the oil all of the way and some started coming out when I took out that bottom bolt.



Here is the picture of the Torque Converter and Front of the Transmission





The build up oil on the transmission worries me. However it could have just pooled there coming down from the rear main seal area.

I am replacing the rear main seal and the gasket behind it but I didn't know if there was any way to tell if the transmission is leaking also.

Any input would be appreciated, Thanks! - Shawn