Summary: oil change turning into more than expected.
Update 4/8: went to change oil and noticed oil leak. Did the UV detection (see photos below) and looks like its coming from the head gasket.
3/16 - original post:
I need some tips on inspecting for oil leaks, let me know what you suggest... like should i replace the oil filter housing gasket anyways as the car is 20 years old?
A few months back I went under the car to do belts and suspension upgrade and noticed black crude (my best description) build up under the passenger side of the engine near the belt drive water pump/alternator assembly. there was some oily areas under the engine oil pan.. nothing is dripping since i went under there 4+ months ago.
should i worry? My M3 is 169k and has all the undercarriage plastic panels that could be stopping any dripping but i have yet to really inspect things.
- previous owner changes the cylinder head and gasket about 15k miles ago along with the oil pan gasket fyi
My approach on this project:
1. lift car, remove undercarriage panels, inspect and note locations of problematic areas (ie, oil filter housing, oil pan, valve cover etc)
2. clean areas of concern then drive the car for 30mins and come back to inspect further
If there is leaking and i can see where its coming from Ill research on here what gaskets/o-rings are needed
If no leaks = ill just change the oil (with 5w-40 as i feel thats the best for the all around conditions of East bay area in California), oil filter with o-ring.
If there is slight leaking suspected and i have no clue where its coming from: should i go with MolyGen (fluorescent additive) to inspect the leak via uv light?
should i use an engine cleaning additive prior to changing the oil?
Thanks for your time in reading this...cheers and green beers (St. Patty's day weekend)
Last edited by zactastic; 04-10-2018 at 01:34 AM.
Estoril
Your M3 takes heavier oil than 5w30. Don't hold me to it, but that engine wants something more like 20w50. You have the S52 engine. You don't want the same oil as us mere mortals want.
There are two places where the oil leaks from, the Oil Filter Housing, between the housing and the engine block, and the right rear of the Valve Cover Gasket, just above the exhaust manifold.
Go online and buy the Mann oil filter that goes to your engine. I have the M50 that takes the Mann HU-926/3x.
thanks for your reply. From what i see in my manual and what im reading online, seems that 5w-30 would be fine, 0w-40 or 5w-40.
this seems more acceptable. maybe 10w- or 15w- if i lived in arizona or the south.
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im doing 5w-40 for cold start days and 40 for the hot summers.
Estoril
No need for 50w oil unless you track the car. I would recommend 10w-40. No need for oil flush if you're using full syn. Mann and Mahle OEM filters go down to 30 microns, Mobil1 can do 10 microns, and Ecogard (synthetic) can go as low as 5 microns. I got a good deal on the Ecogard filters.
OFH gasket is an easy and fun job, just clean all mating surfaces and use proper torque.
Last edited by Eric93se; 03-16-2018 at 11:13 PM.
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I would also recommend getting some UV dye and poor it in the oil, after driving for a bit check with a black light. That will give you a better understanding of where you’re leaking from
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update: finally got all my gear to do this job. from under the car, the oil pan and transmission are the areas that are most "wet" or damp with oil. Valve cover looks fine, so does the oil filter housing, maybe a few little areas up top but it seems to be low on the engine.
Ill clean up under there and drive around, take some pictures of where the source is from. I might not need to UV additive after all. But if i cant locate the source ill ad the UV dye and go from there.
Its not a major leak, very slow if anything
Estoril
IMO I'd do the OFH gasket (not sure if the S52 has the o-rings on the back of the OFH as well, but do those too) since you will be changing the oil anyway. In my humble opinion it will need it eventually and might as well knock it out since I doubt it's been done before.
go to a car wash or if you have a pressure washer at home spray the under carriage (it'll be nasty so car wash is better). Then drive your car for a week or two. Inspect the undercarriage to see where leaks are coming from. Put a little rtv around the outside edge of ofh mating surface. The gasket tends to leak at the center bottom. No need for dye.
20 weight is too heavy. 10 is thickest you should go. Many of us use 5w-40. Depends on where you live...
I don't want to derail this into a what oil should I use thread, but why would anyone recommend a higher "winter" weight? Is it cheaper because it covers less of a temp range? I can certainly understand a debate about the operating temp weight.
I've been using 0W-40 in both the E36 and E70. E36 has been running it for multiple years with no issues. I'm in MI so at least over winter I can't go above a 5W, 10W technically could work in summer, but I just like stocking one type of oil year-round and not having to worry about changing my oil because the weather is changing.
Last edited by Nanniepoo; 04-04-2018 at 12:12 PM.
Valve cover gasket leaks often accumulate in that location. It drips down the passenger side of the block and accumulates in along the passenger side on the bottom. It can be mistaken for a leaking oil pan, but it's easy to see if it's coming from the valve cover if you shine a light on the passenger side of the block and you see oil residue on it.
1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy
I dont see much dripping down on the passanger side. there's very minmal compared the the entire pan being wet back to the transmitting. Actually looking in the clutch housing, it seems wet with oil or maybe transmission fluid in there? hmmm.
Im gonna post some pictures before i clean and then after when i inspect later this week.
Thanks for the pressure washer vs Car wash type. Ill have to bring the ramps to gain better access at the car wash lol.
It could be the valve cover but i dont think so. I dont think its the Oil Filter Housing gasket but I have a new one to replace that when im in there.
as for the 0w-40 comment about, just go with that. lets not get into that OIL debate here please thanks. Im going with 5w-40
Im trying to do this inspection without the UV dye first. If that doesnt work and Im not confident in where this small leak is coming from, ill ask a local mechanic (or two) and then i might need to use the UV dye trick.
Thanks for the comment guys, let me know if im forgetting something.
Estoril
Crap, am i in for the worst? I went with the UV dye detection in the oil as I was mystified where the oil leak was coming from... after 20 minutes of driving i spotted this leak!!! yikes, mid may on the head gasket it seems to be where the leak is but correct me if im wrong.
here is the passanger side of the engine, in two photos, leak flowing down the block. arrggg.
what do you guys think i should do? no issues with the car as in no heat spikes, runs smooth... but i hate this leak position. I was hoping it was the front crank seal.
Estoril
before the UV detection in the Oil, i took some photos of trouble spots that im still concerned with. after the UV detection, oddly enough none of these areas light up under the UV light. This is strange to me.
front oil pan location. I suspected a leak here from the front crank shaft seal.
at transmission, there is suspected oil in the clutch housing. I believe this to be a small leak in the rear main seal, correct me if im wrong.
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photo error
Last edited by zactastic; 04-10-2018 at 01:57 AM.
Estoril
I agree with the suggestion that 5w40 is too light, 10w40 or even 20w50 would be a better choice. You should research this a bit more. The S52 engines have a looser tolerance in the bearings, which makes the oil viscosity specification go up.
Having said that, you are driving a 20-year old car and a little bit of oil seepage is not alarming. If you wiped the area clean and took the pictures 100 miles later, then maybe you have something to worry about. I'm of the opinion that you will cause more issues than you will cure. If you wanted to do the valve cover gasket replacement, and put a twist on the head bolts -- being careful to not exceed the proper torque values of the bolts -- then that would be a good idea. I would suggest that light oil comes out easily, heavier oil will stay in better.
Are you certain there's nothing on the side of the head on the passenger side, below the valve cover? It's much more likely to be coming out of the valve cover than from the head/block joint, and when it does it accumulates in the same areas down below.
As for oil, there's nothing wrong with 5W40 and that's not the cause of your leaks. If the leak is coming from somewhere higher up by the head or valve cover as it appears, it's coming out while the engine is warm and running. Moving to an oil with a higher cold weight but the same operating weight won't change anything there.
1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy
looks like vcg to me. Doesn't matter which weight of oil. If there's a small enough crevice there will be leaks. I run 5w-40 no leaks.
If vcg doesn't do it, look at the oil filter housing.
I agree it's probably the VC gasket (be sure to do it right, read some DIY's), but you should shine your UV light to better see where it's originating from cause it could also be the oil filter housing gasket.
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Click the search button, select "search single content type", select the "e36 sub forum" specifically, try the "search titles" then try the "search entire posts".
Mechanic said not to worry as its not dripping oil and its not a lot (compared to what it can be) He has a 95 Alpine with a swapped Euro spec engine which was fun to chat to him about.
Oil change was great! now time for Brakes, radiator and hoses (water pump) and winter time ill be replacing the Clutch.
I beleive there's a small leak from the rear main seal although the mechanic said its not that bad, and suggested i do a near seal when i drop the transmission as well as new Detents. Thanks for all the insights guys
Estoril
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