Turbo leaking oil? (Pic included)

[febul]

I noticed an oil leak while getting my oil change a few weeks ago. Brought the car to my mechanic who said that it's a leaking turbo.



A friend of mine said that a blown wastegate would cause the turbo to leak oil.

Can anyone give me more information on the cause?

What do I do about this? D: I bought the car with 43,500 miles a few months ago. Only bolt-ons it's got are catless downpipes and midpipes.

[Downeaster1]

Turbo's should still be under warranty. Go get em replaced I believe it's 7 years, 120k miles for the turbo. If you live in a state that is compliant to emission warranty, that will replace em too along with your valve cover gasket, injectors and a few other things. I can't remember if EW applies in New York though.

[Dackelone]

IF your turbo is leaking oil, I would think your exhaust would be producing lots of blue smoke. What's more common for the 135i is for the valve cover gasket to leak oil. I bet its your VCG and not your turbo. Both items should be covered by the the federal emissions warranty which is 6yrs/80k miles(I believe).

Pull off your valve cover(the cover for the spark plugs, four 6mm allen bolts) and check for oil leaks on your VCG.

[febul]

Originally Posted by Downeaster1

Turbo's should still be under warranty. Go get em replaced I believe it's 7 years, 120k miles for the turbo. If you live in a state that is compliant to emission warranty, that will replace em too along with your valve cover gasket, injectors and a few other things. I can't remember if EW applies in New York though.

I'm just worried about BMW denying coverage due to the catless downpipes. I plan on buying a set of used, stock downpipes (previous owner didn't provide me with them) and putting them on before I take the car into them.

And I'll take a look into whether or not New York is compliant to emission warranty, that would be great.

Originally Posted by Dackelone

IF your turbo is leaking oil, I would think your exhaust would be producing lots of blue smoke. What's more common for the 135i is for the valve cover gasket to leak oil. I bet its your VCG and not your turbo. Both items should be covered by the the federal emissions warranty which is 6yrs/80k miles(I believe).

Pull off your valve cover(the cover for the spark plugs, four 6mm allen bolts) and check for oil leaks on your VCG.

Well, I've been getting white smoke. I'm not sure if that's related. What other issues would the turbo leaking oil cause?

I'll check the valve cover gasket first thing tomorrow and report back here with pictures.

I read through that service bulletin. I haven't noticed any clanking noise as yet, would a leaking VCG cause that?

[Downeaster1]

Try and find a mod friendly dealership. The past two that I've been a tech at could give a rats ass wether you had downpipes or not. It wouldn't affect the turbo being of crap design. Turbo replacements pay pretty decently and most techs want to replace them. We get paid to replace parts, not to tell the customer no.

[Dackelone]

A leaking VCG would not be caused by a noisy(rattling) wastegates. I only included the wastegate pdf to show you that the turbos are covered under an extended BMW warranty - since a lot of the early turbo wastegates fail or rattle.


Almost every 135i produces white smoke, when you go fully catless.

IF you are seeing oil dripping under the car(or belly pan) I really suspect a leaking VCG. Btw... if your spark plugs are around 25K miles... I would replace them along with a new VCG. The spark plugs should be replaced every 45K miles max. But most replace them at 25K.

[Silenus]

Originally Posted by Downeaster1

We get paid to replace parts, not to tell the customer no.

This needs to be repeated. Especially when customer get upset when we don't do a repair because a problem legitimately is normal or could not be duplicated.

[JL135i]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

A leaking VCG would not be caused by a noisy(rattling) wastegates. I only included the wastegate pdf to show you that the turbos are covered under an extended BMW warranty - since a lot of the early turbo wastegates fail or rattle.


Almost every 135i produces white smoke, when you go fully catless.

IF you are seeing oil dripping under the car(or belly pan) I really suspect a leaking VCG. Btw... if your spark plugs are around 25K miles... I would replace them along with a new VCG. The spark plugs should be replaced every 45K miles max. But most replace them at 25K.

could the leak from the VCG cause smoke?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by JL135i

could the leak from the VCG cause smoke?

If the oil drips onto something really hot like one of the two turbos under the hood! Yes. But the smoke would be confined to under the hood area. No out the tail pipe.

[febul]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

A leaking VCG would not be caused by a noisy(rattling) wastegates. I only included the wastegate pdf to show you that the turbos are covered under an extended BMW warranty - since a lot of the early turbo wastegates fail or rattle.


Almost every 135i produces white smoke, when you go fully catless.

IF you are seeing oil dripping under the car(or belly pan) I really suspect a leaking VCG. Btw... if your spark plugs are around 25K miles... I would replace them along with a new VCG. The spark plugs should be replaced every 45K miles max. But most replace them at 25K.

I took the engine cover off and inspected the valve cover. I didn't see any evidence of oil leakage.

Here's an album of pictures I took:

View post on imgur.com

:/ So what are my options now?

Btw. the cabin air filter tray was a real pain to put back in. D:

[saace7]

Like downeaster said, find a dealership that is mod friendly. To do this, simply ask. It's what I did. My water pump went out and I am full bolt on. Dealer took the car in with no issue and fixed it under my extended warranty. Even got my thermostat changed. For my dealer to say no, the part that breaks would have to be aftermarket or the aftermarket part itself caused the issue.

At the end of the day, it's up to the dealer to say no. Which odds are, they will not because they will get paid regardless, so they will want the business.

Also, you need to check the side of the head to see if the VCG is leaking. It can leak on top but if you have oil falling down by the turbo then its probably coming from the side.

[Jmper287]

Originally Posted by febul

I'm just worried about BMW denying coverage due to the catless downpipes. I plan on buying a set of used, stock downpipes (previous owner didn't provide me with them) and putting them on before I take the car into them.

And I'll take a look into whether or not New York is compliant to emission warranty, that would be great.

Well, I've been getting white smoke. I'm not sure if that's related. What other issues would the turbo leaking oil cause?

I'll check the valve cover gasket first thing tomorrow and report back here with pictures.

I read through that service bulletin. I haven't noticed any clanking noise as yet, would a leaking VCG cause that?

435i gran coupe 2016- I noticed white smoke coming from where the hood and front windshield meet. Previously the dealer broke/detached a coolant line…I thought maybe the smoke was left over residue vaporizing with heat. Turns out it's a valve cover gasket leak 😣 explains the smell. Has anyone else experienced this? $1610 is my quote

[Samuel Wikerson]

When the VCG leaks, oil can fills the spark plug wells. Some might also get on the hot exhaust or turbos? You might pull out some plugs and check for oil.