Major Oil leak?

[William Blake]

I don't get this .... BMW M should test those caps properly!

[jaserion]

damn, this shit happened to me last night. oil is dripping all over the place. should i get my engine bay detailed?

thanks in advance guys.

[kyoshozx]

Originally Posted by jaserion

damn, this shit happened to me last night. oil is dripping all over the place. should i get my engine bay detailed?

thanks in advance guys.

The dealer cleaned everything up for me.

[CraZee M3]

Originally Posted by FOXYone

Dang! Typical, just throw a fit and let them know the damage this could have caused if it wasn't caught soon enough. If it had come off (because it wasn't placed on right) you could have bathed the entire engine compartment in a couple quarts of oil!!! (even though it wouldn't cause rusting it can still be potential damange). Make sure they don't strip the thread on the oil cap by over turning it - had that happen a few years ago with my then-3-series. Some tech's are awful...

typical bimmer owner..


if you own a car check your CAP!! YOU SHOULD DO CHECKS after they add oil etc.. its part of owning a car!



sounds like bmw has a cap seal issue on these cars....

[jaserion]

so i tried a little experiment today. I'm now convinced that it's a cap issue. i cleaned the spill to the best that i could so that there were no obvious stains. i then drove around for 30mins for stop and go errand. I came back home and checked and there was oil spill coming from the cap. and yes, i made certain that cap was completely tightened at least 3 or 4 times. I'll be the 1st person at the dealer tomorrow!

[Neil McRae]

so BMW have identified the oil cap as a problem. There is a replacement which Tony posted up on bm3w.co.uk (unfortunately the site is down at the moment).
I've just had this on my car I think the cap fails after its taken off the first time for the 1200 mile oil service. Once BM3W is back up I'll post the part numbers. You can tell if you have a replacement cap as it has ///M logo on it.

Neil.

[gr8000]

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

You can tell if you have a replacement cap as it has ///M logo on it.

see? even the cap needs to be M!

[OneHump]

Mine left a puddle on my garage floor on the first day I brought it home. I found that the gasket on the cap wasn't seated properly and fixed it myself. I brought it in anyway so they could clean the mess and install the alarm, Sirius and iPhone tray. 9 days later I had my car. I then brought it in for a couple of other simple fixes and it was another 9 days.

My car was in the shop for 23 of the first 30 days I owned it. It's going in again next week - probably for another 9 days.

[JCtx]

Oil never leaks from the top when overfilled folks. And oil never starts leaking massively from a head gasket after adding a quart. IT'S THE FREAKING CAP!
Problem with the M3 is the gear that drives the exhaust cam is right below the cap, throwing oil right at it ALL THE TIME, so if the gasket is not seated properly, you get the results many of you reported.

I have a simple question for M3 owners: Why don't you learn how to check oil level and add your own oil???

[kmarei]

Originally Posted by elp_jc

I have a simple question for M3 owners: Why don't you learn how to check oil level and add your own oil???

if they'd frikkin' gave us a dip stick we would!!

[slipstream]

Originally Posted by OneHump

Mine left a puddle on my garage floor on the first day I brought it home. I found that the gasket on the cap wasn't seated properly and fixed it myself. I brought it in anyway so they could clean the mess and install the alarm, Sirius and iPhone tray. 9 days later I had my car. I then brought it in for a couple of other simple fixes and it was another 9 days.

My car was in the shop for 23 of the first 30 days I owned it. It's going in again next week - probably for another 9 days.

Sorry for your troubles. I had the same thing with the oil happen to me a few weeks ago. There is definitely some kind of defect on some of the cars. What dealership have you been using?

[Neil McRae]

part # is 11121405452

pics attached

///m logo is the new one.

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

part # is 11121405452

Thanks for that info buddy. Just fired an email to my dealer. If not covered under a TSB, I'll probably order one from Tischer myself.

I was fortunate enough to notice something wasn't right when installing my cap after having to add 1/3L to bring oil level to full, and after the 3rd try, it felt 'right'. The gasket gets twisted out of shape very easily (leading to the reports above), but you can feel the cap get tighter (START OVER folks!!). It also helps to smear some oil so it doesn't 'grab'. Rather pay $10 (or whatever it costs) for the new one and avoid ever finding this mess under your hood. Good day.

[foosh]

Ditto, thanks . . .

I check the cap seal routinely, and have seen, on occasion, small amounts of oil around the old cap. I'd rather just replace it now, if there is an upgraded version.

[07-335XI]

Part number shows a oil cap for 98-01 3.2 liter engine from tischer.

[Neil McRae]

yup but thats what BMW UK are advising to replace the current one. Couple of the guys have been using them for a while with no problems. I've got an order in for one.

Neil.

[foosh]

Are E9X Ms still shipping today with the same oil cap part number?

[Neil McRae]

no new ones come with the faulty cap which I think is nuts. My car was built July and after the 1200 mile service I had to add another litre of oil as it had leaked all over the engine.

[Georgeair]

If ever there was an argument for topping off your own oil, and checking behind them on regular service, this is it. As noted in many other threads, it's not expensive, saves time and is way more reliable unless you are a complete dunce, having just graduated from BMW Oil-Cap school.

I don't buy caps coincidentally failing right after a top off.

I would, however, be willing to bet that after removing the cap, adding oil and now having oil all over the filler neck and cap seal many techs, especially on the drive-by top offs, don't take the 54 seconds to wipe the neck and then carefully wipe the cap seal to get a proper seat when screwed back on.

I mean, look at the M cap in the shot above! I wouldn't put that back on a lawnmower in that condition, let alone this car.

I vote everyone just mans up, buy a quart of oil or two for your trunk/garage and find a rag. It doesn't have to be a Baby Bottom Microfiber M3 Oil Wipe Rag, an old t-shirt will work fine.

[SM_M3]

I had an oil leak following my putting in a liter of oil after hard driving and some elapsed miles following that...Took my M in and they're replacing the cap today...Seems the 2008 M3's had a rather problematic oil cap...

[JCtx]

Originally Posted by foosh

Are E9X Ms still shipping today with the same oil cap part number?

I bet they are. The '///M' cap mentioned above belongs to the E36 M3, I believe.

I mentioned this issue to my dealer and they said the only 'TSB' (whatever BMW calls them ) out was to make sure it was 'tight'. My advice to owners is to ALWAYS check the cap yourself after a dealer oil change. Smear the gasket (along with the surface on the valve cover) with a bit of oil so it doesn't 'bunch up' while tightening, which is what causes the oil to leak.

[duk]

my friends engine is being replaced because of an oil leak, not sure if it's due to the oil cap sighs