M54 Oil Leak-- Front of Motor

[kayger12]

I've been chasing down an oil leak at the front of motor for a few weeks now.

First sign was real subtle-- you know, the whole front of the vanos was completely covered in semi-cooked on oil (sorry, no pic).

I also found some oil on the top of the lower coolant hose.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-13_13-40-50_163.jpg

I cleaned the vanos and surrounding area up really well and drove for a couple of weeks. After some research, my leading candidates were a leaking vanos exhaust solenoid or a leaking exhaust camshaft position sensor.

Pulled the radiator fan today to snoop around. VCG looked good, but I could already see some oil building up underneath it.
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-13_13-39-10_398.jpg

Looked down a little lower and found this (picture taken looking up from underneath the exhaust cps):
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-13_13-39-57_833.jpg

So I'm thinking the o-ring on the exhaust cps is bad. I'm heading to the stealer in about 5 minutes to pick one up.

Will install tomorrow and report back.

[danewilson77]

Could be KG. Inspect the old one when you pull it out.

[kayger12]

Could be KG. Inspect the old one when you pull it out.

Anything else you can think of?

I picked up the o-ring for 2 bucks.

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[danewilson77]

Naaa...I think you're on the right track. It just tough....because if there a drip coming from the VCG....it can go down, collect, and coagulate somewhere, making you think the leak is somewhere.....it isn't.

I am in favor of the CPS o-ring....clean it up good, run it a while....and see what you got. Are you having noticeable "Oil Level" issues?

[Newjack]

There is a fastner that bently says is a one time use item and needs to be replaced after it is removed. It is the fastner (looks like a bolt) that holds the CPS in place. You can probably use it again but you might as well grab a new one if you can. Also torque to 7 ft-lbs.

[kayger12]

Naaa...I think you're on the right track. It just tough....because if there a drip coming from the VCG....it can go down, collect, and coagulate somewhere, making you think the leak is somewhere.....it isn't.

I am in favor of the CPS o-ring....clean it up good, run it a while....and see what you got. Are you having noticeable "Oil Level" issues?

No other oil level issues. VCG is only 13 months/12k miles old so figuring that it's good. The area immediately below the vcg looks dry, fwiw.


There is a fastner that bently says is a one time use item and needs to be replaced after it is removed. It is the fastner (looks like a bolt) that holds the CPS in place. You can probably use it again but you might as well grab a new one if you can. Also torque to 7 ft-lbs.

Appreciate the info. I read some posts where people said to go with blue Loctite on the fastner. Sounds reasonable.

[kayger12]

Nice easy switch out. Not real confident that was it, though. The o-ring that I took off seemed to be in ok shape.
Shot of the CPS sensor removed:
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-14_14-20-03_79.jpg

All cleaned up and re-installed:
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-14_14-37-45_748.jpg

We'll see how she looks in a week.

Also-- part# for the o-ring if anyone needs it in the future:
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff401/Kayger12/2012-04-14_17-05-04_739.jpg

[MrMaico]

Sure looks like that's where it's coming from. Is it possible it's the sender itself leaking? Although, it's not unusual for an o ring to be causing problems even though they look fine. Happens quite often at work. There is a hydraulic repair business that I go to when we need an o ring that we don't carry and he's never failed to have the right one on hand.

[kayger12]

Sure looks like that's where it's coming from. Is it possible it's the sender itself leaking? Although, it's not unusual for an o ring to be causing problems even though they look fine. Happens quite often at work. There is a hydraulic repair business that I go to when we need an o ring that we don't carry and he's never failed to have the right one on hand.

There was no oil inside of the connector, so I think the sensor was ok. Certainly possible, though.

I'll report back later this week.

Good to know about the o-ring. This is the vanos that got replaced under cpo, so I'm wondering if they just reused the o-ring or if it didn't seat properly.

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[nike001]

Was this the same thing that you recommended might be my problem?

[kayger12]

Yes. Seems to be the most likely from the threads I've read.

I'll let you know for sure after I drive her a bit.

[kayger12]

Two weeks and no more oil leak.

Looks like the o-ring was the winner.

[danewilson77]

Two weeks and no more oil leak.

Looks like the o-ring was the winner.

Good deal KG.

Sent from SIGFest 2012

[echo46]

Nice job.

[CERF04ZHP]

Feels good to get it right.

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[thesixsins]

Two weeks and no more oil leak.

Looks like the o-ring was the winner.

I have the exact same issue. My mechanic found it... Said its pretty common.
I want to tackle this myself.

What tool did you use? (If you remember)
I only ask cause I found this Video and im not sure what bit he's using on that wrench.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf4OnYuBS44

He also mentions you need to replace Camshaft position fastener& Looks like you need blue Locktight on top of that. Did you do any of that?

Thank yo!

[kayger12]

I have the exact same issue. My mechanic found it... Said its pretty common.
I want to tackle this myself.

What tool did you use? (If you remember)
I only ask cause I found this Video and im not sure what bit he's using on that wrench.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf4OnYuBS44

He also mentions you need to replace Camshaft position fastener& Looks like you need blue Locktight on top of that. Did you do any of that?

Thank yo!

Iirc, it was a torx bit. Maybe a T30.

I reused the original fastener and secured it with blue Loc Tite.

It's still holding up perfectly.

Very easy diy.

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[alexandre]

This is actually a 5mm hex bolt.

[kayger12]

This is actually a 5mm hex bolt.

Good looking out. It's been awhile since I did this job. I'm always getting my torx and hex confused.

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