Reply With QuoteYeah. Get under it and look. Pan gasket is most likely candidate.
Major Contributor
535i is leaving oil spots. Is it pan gasket or rear main??
Anyone have a definite way to determine on an M30 if it has a rear main leak or an oil pan gasket leak. Motor has 225,000 miles on it.
Derek A.
90 535i 5 Speed - Style 5 17"
Grand Master
Yeah. Get under it and look. Pan gasket is most likely candidate.
Bellevue WA
90 535iM - not much stock remains. 3.7 liters, ported head, cammed, 3.73 diffy, M5 brakes, MAFed, yadda yadda yadda
86 Porsche 951 - Track Toy
3 Grand Master
stick your finger in through the torque converter/flywheel access hole, and see if your finger comes out with atf or motor oil on it.
sorry, didn't realise you had a 5 speed. i guess gear oil will be nastier on your fingertips than motor oil.
5-10 Grand Master
unless it blew out chunks of the oil pan gasket you can usually snug up the pan bolts on m30s, if you need to change the gasket get the gasket for a e28 535 if they don't list a fiber gasket for the e34 535, the e34 cork gasket sucks
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
Major Contributor
Car has had three rear mains put in it, yet its still dripping oil. If Iook at the bell housing where it meets the block - there is a collection of oil there. The question is - if a pan gasket is leaking will it leak into that area ?
Derek A.
90 535i 5 Speed - Style 5 17"
5-10 Grand Master
it's possible for the pan gasket to leak back there but unusual, is it oil or tranny fluid? the front seal on the tranny can go out and a new seal won't fix it due to the converter bushing walking forward in the pump covering up the drain back hole, unless someone is ****ing up the seal on installation bmw rear main's just aren't problematic, double check that the oil is not coming down from the seal on the back of the head and dripping down through the bellhousing
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
Major Contributor
its definitely engine oil, the car is a stick and I already went through the issues with the front seal on the trans. It took a rebuilt Blanton box to fix that. I have already soaked a few clutch discs in the process of repairing rear main seals, so I don't think its coming from the head, as one time when the trans was out that seal was replaced. Is there any updated m30 rear main seal?
Derek A.
90 535i 5 Speed - Style 5 17"
5-10 Grand Master
not that i know of, it's the same damn seal that fits pretty much every 4 and 6 cylinder bmw made
Originally Posted by Derek A.
all america wants is cold beer warm cat and a place to take a poop with a door on it
Major Contributor
I see two numbers listed:
11142249533
11141706785
Any ideas what the differences are ?
Derek A.
90 535i 5 Speed - Style 5 17"
Green Beret Special Ops
dude, thrust bearing is wasted on the crank... case closed.
95 E34 530I V2.37
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