Oil leak from head gasket?

[Jehu]

So this general Mechanic shop tells me my oil leak is at the head gasket. Two BMW Indies have expressed skepticism . Is it possible for an M60 head gasket to allow an oil leak which ;A) only leaks after I stop the car and then only ,assume till the oil has drained past the leak point and or thicken from cooling B) No mixing of Oil and Coolant and C) No white smoke from tail pipe well, no more than that occasional wispy puff you always see. I smell no burning oil. I'm bringing it in Monday to a BMW specialist but just wondered what your ideas are.

[gmannino]

I was say it is very possible. Why don't you get your car on a lift or jackstands and physically look under the engine for the leaks origin. Have you replaced your oil pan gasket?

Put your car up, let it cool down, then look with a flashlight, where oil drips. Take pics, and you can even post so the rest of us can have a better look.

[Jehu]

That's what i had this shop do. I don't have anything more than the Tire jack and i ain't climbing uner a car with just that. It doesn't leak after the car cools though that may just be coincident with it draining down with gravity past the leak point. They had it up and took the under-shield off and told me head gasket. These other two BMW Indies both say that sounds odd to them. They each said independently of one another they practically never see a head gasket problem with this engine resulting in just a small oil leak. you'll either be overheating and have a coolant/oil swap meet going on or not. I wondered if this other shop may have misinterpreted what they saw but i honestly don't think its too hard to identify the point where the head meets the block. anyway we'll see Monday. They did say i could drive the car no problems as long as i keep refilling it with oil when the warning alerts me. But they quoted me $1,700 for the head gasket job, not sure if that is with the gasket set and about a hundred for the machine shop. BTW, if i do need to do the head gasket, is there anything i might like having done to the head while its off at the shop beyond just resurfacing ?

[Ross]

Most of the head gasket issues addressed here are failures of the fire ring which is what seals the combustion chamber. This is the failure mode that will pressurize the cooling system and the white smoke.
The head gaskets also perform a sealing function for the coolant passages and oil return to the crankcase.When this portion fails that's when the coolant and oil mixing happen.
It is entirely possible that oil can leak without all the symptoms usually discussed here. The oil and coolant sealing areas are far less stressed so usually a failure manifests itself at the fire ring.
If you are unsure get a second opinion. Better yet a proper jack and stands, clean the effected area and see for yourself.

[Alpinewhite]

Hi Jehu,

I have the exact same problem. There is no leak when its off/cold. When it is running mostly the oil falls on the motor mount. I heard these motors have problem in the upper timing cover gasket. When the oil leaks from upper timing cover gasket it is blown by the fan arround and some of them appear to be leaking from the head gasket. I am going to try fixing the upper timing cover gasket first.

Thanks
Arun

[Jehu]

Well they did say oil was everywhere underneath but from looking down into the engine bay under the hood you can't see any signs of that. I'll post the results of my visit to the BMW shop Monday. I would be rather disapointed if it turns out the head gasket has failed.