Oil Leak - Shaft Pump Seal

[Mirko]

Hi all

It all started with a smell of burning plastic when the car was hot and I would also get light smoke coming out the passengerside, usually around the cats. I checked the power steering and brake fluids, coolant and oil level and everything was fine.

I would find drops of fluid on the ground but the liquid didn't look like anything in particular. Sometimes it would be brown and resemble oil and other times it looked clearish purple. It didnt have any particular smell to it either.

Last weekend it was finally warm enough that I could work on the car and take a look. I raised the front and end took the lower plastic engine cover off and saw no fluid underneath the engine. However with the front being raised all of the fluid spilled out the back near the transmission (which was soaked from underneath). As I didn't have a lift available I had to take it to the shop to get looked at.

Upon first inspection they thought it was the valve cover gasket from the back. Taking everything apart they discovered that it was actually the Shaft Seal, part # 1 or 2 (which ever is rear of engine) http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_4760. Or part # 17 http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_4766

In order to work on it they basically had to take apart the entire top of the engine and while there they replaced the valve cover gasket. All in all about 4hrs of work and $100 in gaskets.

The one thing they told me is the shaft seal didnt have leaks from inside the seal, that area was clean and dry. It was on the outside/top of the seal. Mechanic put a little silicone sealant around the top to help properly seal it but he said it looks like a flimsy build by BMW and would fail again in the future. While back there and cleaning he said that as the engine got hot the car would literally spray oil from the back onto the firewall and down the entire back.

I didn't notice any threads on this and BMW had this part in stock, they also indicated that it is a common repair item. Sooo .. if you can't find the leak and your car is creating smoke along with burning plastic smell this might be the problem. Car also only has 70K km on it.

[vstolpner]

That's really good to know, thanks for the post. It's getting warmer now so I'm planning to have a very thorough inspection of the entire inside of the engine compartment. Good to have one more item on the list of things to check

[Gamb1t]

What year and engine is your X1?

[Mirko]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

What year and engine is your X1?

2012

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by Mirko

2012

...And what engine... 2.0 or 3.0?

Edit, looked at your links.

He's referring to the 2.0l.

[Mirko]

Originally Posted by PrematureApex

...And what engine... 2.0 or 3.0?

Edit, looked at your links.

He's referring to the 2.0l.

sorry, i missed the engine part of the question on my phone. Yeah it is a 2.0l N20 engine, also x28i.