Leak!

[Roderick]

I have a 95 540i, don't drive the car but once or twice a week. The problem is I looked under the car and noticed a leak, brownish color looks like motor oil. The leak is coming from in front of the square part in front of the tranny plate the (5hp30 ) tranny, their is a whining sound coming from the tranny. I'm in the process of replacing the filter and fluid on the tranny, I had the valve cover replaced about 3 months ago, I've had about 4 months with no leaks at all. Need Help ASAP! Forgot the car has 106,xxx miles, I just read where it could be the oil pump bolt?

[Mr._Graybeard]

Could be transmission fluid leaking -- the trans certainly will whine if the fluid is getting low (search the forum archives for more info). Possible leak points in addition to the pan gasket are the selector shaft seals and the seals for the plug on the wiring harness.