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      11-07-2012, 05:49 AM   #1
ifocus
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Exclamation Oil Leakage

I had a strong smell coming from the engine. I opened the hood to check this out; I was shocked to see oil dripping over the manifold. The car is out of service at the dealer to replace the Valve Cover Gasket!

I am pretty disappointed. My X1 has 44,000km. This is my first BMW and the first car over 20 years of ownership leaking oil enough to spoil the driveway. My VW jetta TDI 360,000 km never lost a drop.

What does it mean for the next year or two? Is it a sign of problem to come?


Do you have any oil leakage issues?

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      11-07-2012, 10:04 AM   #2
edx1
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What year, engine?
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      11-07-2012, 10:24 AM   #3
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Since its under warranty I wouldn't worry too much. Yes it shouldn't happen but a valve cover gasket is not a big deal mechanically and shouldn't have done any damage unless you ran it low on oil. Any possibility it was ever overfilled with oil? I 've never heard of BMW's having this issue so I think it's a freak occurrence. I assume its the N20 engine, I'd search the 5 series and 3 series threads to see if this has happened to anyone else.
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      11-07-2012, 11:45 AM   #4
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I just remembered having this happen to a brand new 1985 Pontiac Fiero GT. Had it running down the manifold and a small pool under the car. They replaced it and it never leaked again for the next 10 years
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      11-07-2012, 12:29 PM   #5
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Never thought about it that an engineer made a mistake not closing it good enough at one of your cars' check-ups?
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      11-07-2012, 12:53 PM   #6
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If these are cork (or cork/rubber sandwich) gaskets, keep in mind that they have natural variations, once in a while they may have a natural flaw not easily caught by visual inspection or initial run checks.
Just like you sometimes get a bad cork on a bottle of wine, despite the rigid inspection they go through. When it works, it's the best material, but only time will tell.
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      11-07-2012, 02:38 PM   #7
ifocus
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My X1 is a 2012 model year and it has the N20 engine xdrive 2.8. I will report about the final repair once I get the car back from the dealer.

Last edited by ifocus; 11-07-2012 at 02:39 PM.. Reason: added model year
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      11-16-2012, 06:35 PM   #8
ifocus
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Just a quick update;
Dealer called Nov 6th to tell me that a second gasket from the valve cover is leaking also. Apparently, there are two gasket sealing the valve cover. This gasket is back order in Canada hence it must come from Germany! I am driving a Mazda 3 loaned by the BMW dealer. As of Nov 16th, there is no firm date when I will get the car back. I cannot find the words to express how bad this is! Really, this is almost 2013 where an ipad can be shipped from China to my house within 3 working days! Does it make you feel confident to drive a BMW X1 pass its warranty?
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      11-17-2012, 04:10 AM   #9
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Bad management from Canadian HQ, their fault that they themselves don't have enough parts!

On the other hand, this is a fairly new model for Northern America.
Up here in Europe I can't imagine for it to take weeks.

My current car is a Kuga, only had one problem with a Navigation sensor which was replaced with no cost.
Now four months out of warranty and despite being sold, I had a malfunctioning alternator, forced to replace it along with the battery costing 1200 Euro...
But these are regular parts because of it being a PSA engine(roughly half of Europa drives a PSA engine).

If the garage would've told me before replacing the parts I would've bought the parts from a crashed car somewhere in Belgium or Holland, for a fraction of the present bill.

So it's a combination of a fairly new(updated) engine and distance.

Confidence in BMW if it will get out of warranty, hell yeah!
By then parts will be scattered all over the continent Europe + America's!
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      11-20-2012, 06:36 PM   #10
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Oil leak - Final Update

After 2 weeks at the dealership, my X1 is now back. The culprit was the eccentric valve shaft seal (i think). It was leaking like a sieve. Post on the forum if you are having the same issue. This is #17 on the diagram.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...66&hg=11&fg=15
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      12-27-2020, 04:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ifocus View Post
After 2 weeks at the dealership, my X1 is now back. The culprit was the eccentric valve shaft seal (i think). It was leaking like a sieve. Post on the forum if you are having the same issue. This is #17 on the diagram.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...66&hg=11&fg=15
#17 is the vacuum pump seal.
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      12-28-2020, 06:37 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chamberlin View Post
#17 is the vacuum pump seal.
You revived an 8 year old thread.. curious.. is that to say you experienced a oil leak with this seal?
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      01-09-2021, 05:00 AM   #13
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I have a leak as well.
2013 bmw x1 35i with 198,000kms
So i guess i shoukdnt complain.
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      04-27-2022, 07:15 PM   #14
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Vacuum pump seal and oil leak

I also have the same problem on my 2014 X1 with the 2.0L four cylinder engine. Oil drips from what appears to be the valve cover, onto the exhaust manifold, leaving a nice burning smell and white smoke coming from the engine. Around the time this started happening (approx. 100,000 miles) I also noticed a whirring or whistling noise coming from the engine, especially during acceleration. It sounds like it is coming from the area of the vacuum pump. Also, there is oil in the air cleaner vacuum reservoir.

The leakage has increased over time, to the point that I must really address it. After doing some research online I have determined it is most likely the vacuum pump and seal. I was glad to hear your problem, which sounds like mine, involved that vacuum pump seal, because that now affirms my finding. Youtube has some good videos regarding the replacement and it looks fairly easy.

Carparts.com and Amazon have the vacuum pumps for under $100 which is a far cry from the $687 the dealer wants. It might not be of the same quality, but I feel it is worth giving it a try. I too will give an update once I replace it.

Last edited by rgelinskey; 04-27-2022 at 07:26 PM..
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      05-15-2022, 02:31 PM   #15
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Vacuum pump seal and oil leak

I changed out the vacuum pump and seal. It was a little tricky since there is very little room to work on it. Hopefully that fixes the oil leak. I should know after a couple of days.

As far as the whirring noise, HA! LOL, I think it was just the sound of the turbo. I have never had a turbo before, so I was unfamiliar with that noise.

I will keep you updated.
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      07-02-2023, 12:38 PM   #16
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It wasn't the vacuum pump causing the leak, but I feel it needed to be replaced anyway. I am now replacing the valve cover and gasket. After further research I found this is quite common with the plastic valve covers on the N20 engines. Sure enough, mine has a crack in the valve cover right above where it was leaking. From watching videos, this seems like a common spot also, above the second bolt from the rear. That explains why oil stop-leaks weren't working. This should solve the oil leak and burning smell.

I also changed out the sparkplugs while I was at it. My X1 has 138,000 and still running strong!

Last edited by rgelinskey; 07-04-2023 at 11:26 AM..
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      07-16-2023, 11:09 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rgelinskey View Post
It wasn't the vacuum pump causing the leak, but I feel it needed to be replaced anyway. I am now replacing the valve cover and gasket. After further research I found this is quite common with the plastic valve covers on the N20 engines. Sure enough, mine has a crack in the valve cover right above where it was leaking. From watching videos, this seems like a common spot also, above the second bolt from the rear. That explains why oil stop-leaks weren't working. This should solve the oil leak and burning smell.

I also changed out the sparkplugs while I was at it. My X1 has 138,000 and still running strong!
Bro this is a 10 years old topic and it took you a Year to find out where Engine oil leaked on your X1 ? you should buy a Toyota instead, I'm happy because I did not buy the M expensive car because BMW has issues with the Engine. I bought an X1 N55 engine to test out BMW cars and Scott Kilmer was right, BMW Engineers are F uking around. Your Timing Chain and Rod Bearing will be out soon along with minor headache before Major ones. Good Luck
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      07-17-2023, 06:33 PM   #18
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Rgelinsky, if the Scotty Kilmer reference didn't make it obvious, don't take him too seriously. BMW valve covers are notorious for cracking and the oil leaks are a headache, good on you for solving it and doing maintenance.

If you haven't already, give your engine bay a good degreasing. Let the engine cool overnight, cover the alternator and ECU, spray it down w/ degreaser and rinse w/ water. Generally good to do this regularly (every yr) but especially after a big leak, it's really helps to determine what's new oil/fluid and what's old. Also, pretty engine
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