Aaah! What the heck is THIS!?

[Kalevera]

Okay....so...535ia w/ 220k on it and I guess it hasn't been driven for about two years. I'm replacing the front suspension, belts, etc. so I took off the engine bay cover to find THIS:

http://www.statch.com/users/wlowel/bmw1.jpg

Gah! I'm so freaked out by it; I'm pretty sure that is a bad thing, but I have no idea where to even START looking for the source. I just bought the car; there were supposed to be no leaks, so I'm quite pissed off about it. Should I be concerned that my bulletproof 3.5 is in need of something BIG or ? It seems to be performing normally, but I haven't changed the oil yet (going to do it w/mobil 1 synthetic).

Anybody have any ideas?! HELP!

[stevebuk]

Hard to tell from the picture, could be the front crankshaft oil seal.

[Chad535]

I have the same problem ....mechanic suggested that it is the front cranckshaft oil seal .....is it a major work ?

[stevebuk]

I had mine changed recently. It isn't major but is a few hours of work, the crankshaft pulley bolt has a very high torque so it makes the job a little tricky. It's also recommended to remove the radiator to help access to the crankshaft pulley.

[MicahO]

Start simple, and don't worry yet. There are well documented leaks at the front of the M30 that do not mean you've got massive repairs looming, or even leaky seals. Pursue this route of repair first. (http://www.koalamotorsport.com/tech/misc/m30oil.leak.htm)

[Bill R.]

front seal you'd see a lot more oil than that, and at that location its usually the timing cover bolts as explained below..






Start simple, and don't worry yet. There are well documented leaks at the front of the M30 that do not mean you've got massive repairs looming, or even leaky seals. Pursue this route of repair first. (http://www.koalamotorsport.com/tech/misc/m30oil.leak.htm)

[Kalevera]

whew...okay....

You guys are awesome. I'll check it out. Today, my agenda is getting the L & UCA's done, along with the steering links...and that damn glove box...so it may take a few days to look at it.

[632 Regal]

yep, looks like timing cover, hopefully the bolts are just a bit loose. That doesnt look like a major leak though.

[MicahO]

Hey Bill - that damn tractor is running right again--

It was indeed just a bad diode in the magneto harness. Actually very well documented in the service manual for these motors, so I can't imagine that the shop had actually spoken to BS about it. This diagnosis is on page 5 of the service manual, and when I asked about the diodes, the mechanic told me there were none on the engine.

So a pair of 90-cent diodes from Radio Shack later (actually 4 - I did the harness wrong the first time :( ) and the thing is back at 100%, ready to mow and blow. I faxed the shop the diagnosis page, as well as a detail of exactly what I would not be paying for.

As always--Thanks for the help and insight.