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Thread: nasty oil leak

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    gilbert az
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1995 740i

    nasty oil leak

    well, my wife and i bought a 95 740i for the kids to drive thinking we were doing the right thing putting them in a safe car. turns out i should have done my homework first, and or spent more $$$ as this thing came with its fair share of gremlins. the worst of which right now being a horrific oil leak. im pretty sure i have found it. i have about 2 hours into looking for it. laying under the car with a light (getting dripped on) then after i had finally followed the trail as high as i could. looking from the top holding the light at just the right angle, and also a mirror at just the right angle i think i found the beggining of the trail at one of the timing cover bolts on the drivers side. first or second one down from the valve cover. i could be wrong but i dont think i am. seems like a strange place for this much oil to be coming from as there really is no place for it to puddle or anything, but it really looks to be where its coming from. so what am i getting myself into? looks like at minimum i will be pulling the fan, shroud, radiator, intake, valve covers. is the cover one peice? will i have to pull the crank damper? are the threads in the fan nut left hand? anything else i should take care of while im that far into it? and what am i gonna need. i found a "head gasket set" online, but it doesnt come with heads gaskets?! or timing cover gaskets?! looks to me like you have to pull the timing cover to pull the heads? why not include the gasket in the kit if its needed? am i missing something there? also i found a cool link to a manual for the V12 engine, but cant find a whole lot of info for the V8 other than replacing valve cover gaskets. anybody know where i might find some better more complete info online? well sorry for being so long winded. but any and all help will be greatly appreciated. thanks, bill

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Issaquah, WA
    Posts
    255
    My Cars
    '95 M3 Coupe

    Have Fun!

    Hi, Bill.

    These cars are great fun, and a good ride, but come with some caveats. Since the car is still running, it may be moot, but before you spend any more money, check out: http://www.koalamotorsport.com/tech/article-m60v8.asp to find out what your V8 story is. You may want to run away.

    You already discovered another: valve cover and intake manifold gaskets are not unusual. You NEED to do the first, you will probably need to do the second. I like Pelican Parts; http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...ver+Gasket+Set and there are lots of places to look.

    There are lots of electronic gremlins possible; one hopes all the accy's work just fine - many fixes are dealer swaps of spendy black boxes.

    Have fun! Larry F.
    Larry F.
    Issaquah, Washington

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    gilbert az
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1995 740i
    WOW! had no idea these engines had plated cylinders. (and all those issues). i knew the block was aluminum, but figured it was sleeved. hmm. im no stranger to plated cylinders though. ive been an off road motorcycle mechanic for years and plated cylinders have been the norm in that industry since about 1984. i guess im just gonna have to tear into it. what i need to do is try and move some components out of the way so i can get a better view and confirm exactly where the leak is. then source the parts and have at it. ive got my fingers crossed about the nikasil issue. the car actually runs pretty well. its got some air condition issues, but it idles and runs smoothly. maybe a little down on power from what i expected, but i had no idea what to expect really. and that may be a good thing, as my thick headed stepson will be driving it. i already plan on some type of throttle limiter, and he knows ill be watching the tires like a hawk. any signs of "hot-rodding" and no more bimmer for him. he knows this car is also meant for his sister to learn to drive in (lucky kids huh!) he totally destroyed his first car thinking he was a drift champ, and knows he will be responsible for getting his next car all by himself.
    thanks for the info Larry!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Issaquah, WA
    Posts
    255
    My Cars
    '95 M3 Coupe

    Have Fun!

    Wheelieking:

    The Koalasport article tells you how to determine if you have an alusil or nikasil block - since everything is going well, chances are you have a replaced alusil block already.

    The other things to check on the engine right away are the oil pump bolts. Weirdly, they back out, and drop into the pan - no kidding. The oil pan comes in two parts, and pulling the lower pan is a snap - you don't have to remove anything else - when you order the valve cover gaskets, get the lower oil pan gasket at the same time. Dry and Locktite the bolts going back in, and you will not have the problem again.

    Lastly, since you are taking the valve covers off, do the intake manifold gaskets at the same time - they will be right in front of you, and inspect the "breather" on the back of the intake manifold. Another frequent failure item, giving all sorts of driveability problems. Since you are already there . . .

    Keep having fun! Larry F.
    Larry F.
    Issaquah, Washington

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    gilbert az
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1995 740i
    thanks a million Larry! looks like ive got my work cut out for me. only other question i have is, can i get the timing chain cover off without removing the harmonic damper? i have found gaskets called upper and lower timing cover gaskets. so i am assuming that the lower cover houses the crank seal and i can leave it alone (i hope!) and thanks for the tip on the oil pump. sounds easy enough. thanks again!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Issaquah, WA
    Posts
    255
    My Cars
    '95 M3 Coupe

    More Gaskets

    Check the drawings at: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/partgrp.d...26&hg=11&fg=10

    From them it is indeed the lower timing chain cover that has the front crank seal - behind the harmonic damper.

    Good luck! Larry F.
    Larry F.
    Issaquah, Washington

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Greenville, NC
    Posts
    1,718
    My Cars
    1997 328i convertible
    I think a Honda Civic is the best for the kids.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    gilbert az
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1995 740i
    ya, but we got into this thing pretty cheap. i dont see a civic fairing nearly as well as this 740i in an accident. that was the main criterea this purchase was based on. if either kid gets in a wreck we want them to be fine. for what we paid for the car we can throw it away, but the kids need to be safe!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Issaquah, WA
    Posts
    255
    My Cars
    '95 M3 Coupe

    Suuuuuuuure!

    My kids learned to drive on the hand-me-down project cars over the years: E12',s E28's, E36's and E32's. They learned to drive in cars that drive well. I side with wheelieking on the protection side, as well. They also got well versed in the total cost of ownership - doing all of our own maintenance brings that home, so to speak (they helped).

    Mr. Neil: Did you actually provide a Civic for *your* kids, or is this an academic exercise for you?

    Larry F.
    Larry F.
    Issaquah, Washington

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Greenville, NC
    Posts
    1,718
    My Cars
    1997 328i convertible
    Did you actually provide a Civic for *your* kids
    Yes
    I think that an economy car is better for kids than what could be considered a presige or high performance car. I also don't like the idea that large cars are safer because they can cause more damage to others.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    gilbert az
    Posts
    5
    My Cars
    1995 740i
    well, everyone is entitled to thier opinion. doesnt mean anybody will agree with it though. funny how my querry for info on fixing an oil leak on a car im not familiar with turned to this. guess maybe i should have left my story out? but since i didnt, i dont think there is anybody (not just on this board) who if given the choice between the BMW we bought and a civic of roughly the same year (or maybe a year or 2 newer) would have chosen the civic. dollar for dollar. like i said we got this thing cheap.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Anacortes, WA USA
    Posts
    1
    My Cars
    Toyota Avalon Touring Car

    Terrible Engine Oil Leak 850i 1991

    I am on the forum to help a friend who has a 1991 859i with a terrible oil leak as described:


    "driving the car for about 4 hours a day,stop and go,i am losing 2 to 3 qts of oil. it looks like oil is leaking from above the upper oil pan on both sides.on the side obove the oil level sender,i see oil running down over the power steering bracket bolt. 1991 bmw 850i"

    Any suggestions here would be appreciated. all of the obvious answers have been looked into.

    I also couldn't help but read the discussion on cars for kids. I have a Toyota Avalon Touring Car. It is a gorgeous car and gets many looks from the teens. It has six airbags, great gas mileage and is a bigger, heavier car. I purchased mine from a dealer who used it as the dealership vehicle with 20M miles on it for about 1/23 what a new one costs.

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