Good news is, the oil pan is FINALLY SEALED! and we know the location of the oil leak.

Bad news: It's the oil pump.... SO, luckily I have a spare front seal, and the skill necessary to break it apart and clean it up and reseal it.

My question: What sealant do I use for the oil pump? Loctite 574 is what I used last time...I'm geussing I didn't apply evenly, or it's the wrong sealant....

Suggestions would be cool. thanks guys!

 

K. so it's leaking from the top of the oil pump, collecting on the lower balance shaft cover, and running down the front and side of the engine to make it look like it's leaking from the front of the oil pan. I talked to my tech, told him I have all of the seals at home, and he said, "Yeah, use the Loctite #574, make sure that oil pump is torqued down within 10 min. of the sealant being applied, otherwise it won't set correctly. Also, while you're in there, check the water pump. It seems to be leaking too..." So yay. I have coolant and oil leaks. Water pump is NEW. Maybe I'm not a good tech? I dunno...

Now... on the drive back, it occurred to me, "Hey, to get the oil pump off, the oil pan needs to be removed...GODD*MN MOTHERF*CKING....ARGH!" So my question for anyone who would answer is, do I have to remove the cross member to drop the oil pan enough to remove the oil pump? I don't want to pull the pan completely...I know it's a PITA...I've done it more than I'd like to. Any help would be nice. Also, where can I rent a pressure tester to find this coolant leak? Thanks guys.

 

How do you know it is the oil pump itself that is leaking? A common problem on our cars is the oil pump sleeve. It wears out and forces oil past the crank shaft seal, which then dumps oil in the lower timing cover and belts. The oil pan does not have to come off to replace the oil pump sleeve. I went through two crank shaft seals before discovering the sleeve was the real culprit. A couple of years later my friend and I (mostly him!) rebuilt my engine. With 128k miles on it there was no evidence of any leakage around the oil pump.

As always, YMMV.

 

Well, I took it to my Porsche tech complaining of a leaking oil pan. he has done it twice already. He is as sick of doing my oil pan as I am of bringing it to him under parts warrantee, so he decided to use a stop-leak powder on the bottom of the engine after cleaning the hell out of it. He covered the sides of the balance shafts, oil pan gasket, and oil pump etc. He then turned on the car and let it run, and saw the leak progressing from the top of the oil pump down onto the oil pan stopping by the lower balance shaft cover on the way.

this is NOT the original engine in the car. it was rebuilt by me, and taken apart by me due to the suspicion of a dead rod bearing within 5k miles of the initial rebuild.

Joel, I'll inspect the sleeve when I have it apart. If that's all the problem is, i'll be happy. In the timing cover itself is very little oil, just a small film that is enough to collect dirt and grime and hold it in there. What does a bad sleeve look like?

 

A bad oil sleeve looks remarkably like a new oil sleeve, except that it will have old oil stains on it. It probably only has to wear a few thousandths to start leaking. Before the rebuild mine would leak right into the timing cover with visible evidence that it was coming out of the crankshaft seal. You may have another problem, but if you have to take stuff apart again and replace the crank seal you might as well get a new sleeve while you are in there. If you want to see a picture of one try this link: http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/A628030320.JPG

If that link doesn't work go to www.bimmerparts.com and look up your year and model, then look under "engine mechanicals."