Upper Oil Pan Leak

[WingerRed]

2011 135i. TL;DR: Shop says upper oil pan is leaking and quoted $5,800.

Brought the car in for an oil change about 6 months ago and the dealer pointed out that the oil pan was leaking as well as the OFHG. Brought it to my own shop and they found a pretty bad leak from the oil pressure relief valve and fixed that, but held of on the OFHG since the leak wasn't super active. Anyway, brought the car in for the OFHG and the shop said there was a small active leak from the Upper Oil Pan or Oil Sump and quoted me $5,800 for that job as it is pretty time consuming. My question is, has anyone heard of this? The dealer mentioned the oil pan and they didn't quote me anywhere near $5,800. Also, the car has lost about 1/2 a quart since the last oil change.

I got my notice for the airbag replacement, so I am thinking of bringing it in and seeing what the dealer says. Obviously, I'm not going to spend $5,800. I'd get an extended warranty to cover the repair along with the OFHG and anything else that comes up.

I couldn't find anything about this when I did a search so any thoughts or input is appreciated.

[swagon]

You sure it's not just the oil cap not tightened properly? Been there done that

[Ginger_Extract]

What a rip off!!!!!!!!!

I'd do it for $5,700.

[YearOneOne]

I'd do it for 5600

[Gizmo135i]

Lol there is no upper oil pan, they are probably looking at the bed plate which really doesnt ever leak. The oil pan is about a 4-6 hour job if that’s leaking so max $1200.

I would suspect the oil filter housing gasket is leaking down the front of the engine and the oil is making its way around the seam between the bed plate and block... you should really change the ofhg before it makes a huge mess, once they start leaking it only gets worse from there.

[WingerRed]

Yeah, I'm definitely getting the OFHG fixed, but they cleaned up the oil pan and said they saw it weep. I'm going to get a second opinion for sure.

[desertman123]

Are there literally any repair jobs that are $5800 where 95% of that is labor? Maybe turbos but still...

[Suhb]

I just had this done at an indy shop around philly.

They charged me ~$450 labor to do it, plus another $60 or so for gasket + new bolts.

While the whole thing was dropped, I also had them do engine mounts and oil level sensor gasket.



Here is where the trouble happened. Car is at 105k right now and when they removed the oil level sensor, one of the bolts snapped and there was a lot of rust around the studs. It surgical process of cutting the bolt from the inside, and tapping it from the inside out, then welding a new bolt on from the inside. Sanding away the rust, and repainting and sealing the surface. All to avoid buying another oil pan for $750. They charged me another $150 for the work on the oil pan.

[chris_flies]

While messy, you could probably pretty easily DIY the OFHG and the Oil Pan gasket, if that is what's actually leaking...

[WingerRed]

I spoke a little further with my shop and he said that since they cleaned up the oil filter housing about 6 months ago when they repaired a different leak they didn't see any further leaks around the OFHG and that it was still clean, so they don't think there is actually a leak on the OFHG at this time. I'm stopping in today after work so he can show my where he sees it leaking. I'm still going to bring it up to the dealer for the airbag recall and get any maintenance I can under my service plan. I will talk to the SA at the dealer to see what they have to say. I can live with a leak under the motor since it was only losing about a half a quart every 6 mo.

[1smokehouse]

Just had my charge pipe go today and when I opened the hood, there was oil splattered on the charge pipe, seepage on the CP connection from the intercooler and along the seam of my oil pan. I can see oil around my filter housing too. Is some of that from my CP popping? I suspect the OFHG as well as I too have lost a quart of oil since my last oil change.

[quicksilver3121]

Originally Posted by 1smokehouse

Just had my charge pipe go today and when I opened the hood, there was oil splattered on the charge pipe, seepage on the CP connection from the intercooler and along the seam of my oil pan. I can see oil around my filter housing too. Is some of that from my CP popping? I suspect the OFHG as well as I too have lost a quart of oil since my last oil change.

It's probably all from the OFHG. I had mine resealed twice in the last year and a half and both times I had oil splatter on my charge pipe. I'm guessing that the oil is getting onto the belt and pulleys and is getting thrown around. You'd probably want to get it resealed ASAP. There are some horror stories of belts getting thrown due to oil leaks... in a few cases they got sucked into the engine through the crank seal and ruined the motor.

I also had oil along the seam of the oil pan as well. The oil trickles down around the OFHG and hugs the seams around the engine. It can make it all the way to the rear of the engine too.

Any chirping belt noises when the engine is fully warmed up?

[1smokehouse]

Originally Posted by quicksilver3121

It's probably all from the OFHG. I had mine resealed twice in the last year and a half and both times I had oil splatter on my charge pipe. I'm guessing that the oil is getting onto the belt and pulleys and is getting thrown around. You'd probably want to get it resealed ASAP. There are some horror stories of belts getting thrown due to oil leaks... in a few cases they got sucked into the engine through the crank seal and ruined the motor.

I also had oil along the seam of the oil pan as well. The oil trickles down around the OFHG and hugs the seams around the engine. It can make it all the way to the rear of the engine too.

Any chirping belt noises when the engine is fully warmed up?

Sounds about right for what I see. No chirping from the belt. Car will sit until I get the charge pipe in, then I'll drop it off at the shop and have them replace the seal.