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Thread: Black fluid thats not oil? under car

  1. #1
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    Black fluid thats not oil? under car

    Ill try to make this short. Ok what I found out is that the combination of humidity, ac pipes or whatever being clogged, and me turning the ac knob to the coldest (60 degrees), cause the ac the spray liquid out of every open vent inside and out. After rushing home and doing a 3 hour emergency cleaning procedure, I move the car and notice 3 drops of a black fluid. I thought it was oil (maybe it is). I wiped it up with a paper towel. It have an oily residue and doesn't smell like oil. Kind of has an old smell to it. There is also no oil smell coming from the car. I moved and drove and parked the car about 5 times to see if it would come back but it hasn't.

    Is this something that was just pushed out with this whole ac thing? This might be a stupid question but if it was oil would it smell purely like oil or would it change from being inside the system?

  2. #2
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    Do you have really old black fluid in your brake system?

    What model car is this?
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by pizzaman09 View Post
    Do you have really old black fluid in your brake system?

    What model car is this?
    Maybe. I bought the car with 98,000 miles. It has 106k on it now. I won't assume anything was changed on it but since I've got it I've changed the transmission pan, gasket and sleeve; the oil filter housing and cooling gaskets, the water pump and bolts; the spark plugs; last week I did the valve cover gasket, valvetronic motor gasket, some other gasket that goes with that.

    I haven't done anything brake related. If it helps, the spots of black liquid were just off center to the left in the front (left if you're standing in front of the car).

    The car is a 2006 530i.

  4. #4
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    You are probably leaking oil at the valve cover.. Likely the gasket got damaged upon install. No one on the net will be able to see where your leak is.. Clean it and see with your eyes where it's leaking from or take it to a shop an let them charge you.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by modular93fox View Post
    You are probably leaking oil at the valve cover.. Likely the gasket got damaged upon install. No one on the net will be able to see where your leak is.. Clean it and see with your eyes where it's leaking from or take it to a shop an let them charge you.
    I don't visually see a leak. The valve cover area is still clean from the install. There still hasn't been anything more to drip from under. I'll have it looked at on Friday when I get the bushings done.

  6. #6
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    If there hasnt been anything else dripping out why are you assuming it came from the engine? It could have been something kicked up from the road or an old leak or a minor drip from a recent repair or anything. If its not currently leaking then its not really currently a problem, and its impossible to diagnose a leak that isnt leaking. Sort of chasing after thin air here.

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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by BimmerBreaker View Post
    If there hasnt been anything else dripping out why are you assuming it came from the engine? It could have been something kicked up from the road or an old leak or a minor drip from a recent repair or anything. If its not currently leaking then its not really currently a problem, and its impossible to diagnose a leak that isnt leaking. Sort of chasing after thin air here.

    Yeah likely nothing. With as much stuff as I have got done recently it had me worried that something was up. I didn't assume the engine though.

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