[e90Noobie]

I just purchased a 2011 335d and tonight I noticed an oil leak coming from what looks like the intake manifold, not sure. I'm still trying to figure out how to get to the back bolt in order to take the engine cover off to get a closer look. Based on these pictures can anyone give me peace of mind about what this leak may be?

Also I just replaced the air filter and I noticed that you can still see the bottom of the filter even with the air box put back together. Is this normal?

Also, is the air box supposed to be separated as shown in the last picture? It just seems weird to me.

Thank you for the help

[Yozh]

The bit of oil you see on the valve cover gasket could come from many sources. An obvious one is a valve cover gasket. Could also be from a cracked or leaking CCV pipe. Could also be from oil feed lines to the turbo. Most are fairly easy fixes.

Your air filter showing there is normal.
Your cracked intake feed tube is not normal but it will not affect driveability. It’s pre MAF

[apexit4]

Originally Posted by Yozh

The bit of oil you see on the valve cover gasket could come from many sources. An obvious one is a valve cover gasket. Could also be from a cracked or leaking CCV pipe. Could also be from oil feed lines to the turbo. Most are fairly easy fixes.

Your air filter showing there is normal.
Your cracked intake feed tube is not normal but it will not affect driveability. It's pre MAF

I wouldn't classify a valve cover gasket replacement as fairly easy (at least not for anyone doing it for the first time). It's relatively straight forward but a bit of a PITA, especially when removing the ENPP bracket.

OP, if you're talking about removing the engine cover on the top, it's just 4 or 5 hex bolts that hold it down (you also have to remove the oil cap to get the cover off). Keep in mind that putting it back on is a bit of a PITA because it has three slots that have to go into a second engine cover on the back of the engine (under the rain tray/cabin air filter tray).

[e90Noobie]

It's just the very back bolt is covered by the giant panel where the cabin air filter is. Some people say that piece just snaps out but when I watched a video he took the whole assembly apart which included a bunch of bolts.

About the oil leak, it seems to be wettest around the area in the picture and has been going on for a while because its all over the place lower down on the engine. The flash light makes the leak look smaller than it does in person. I was going to take a 3 hour trip up north this weekend but now I'm hesitant.

I found this tutorial for the valve cover gasket replacement, granted that's what the issue is.
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...h-lid/8JwPMbJl

[cm335d]

I'd be willing to bet that its a cracked CCV pipe. These things get hard and crack, and then leak oil all over the place. Go to AA Rodriguez's website and buy the $20 repair hose that he sells and follow the video to replace it. Super easy to do and saves a ton of $$. I did mine a few weeks ago, worth every penny.
As far as the cracked intake tube, I would order a new one. In the meantime, put a piece of duct tape around it and you'll be fine until the replacement part arrives. As mentioned above, this is pre-MAF, so it won't affect drivability, but it will allow you to suck in warmer air from the engine bay.
Other than that, I'd drive it!

[335stoner]

is oil leaking on the ground? if not check the level and top it off if needed then check it before you leave.. if its oil seepage then I wouldn't worry about it

I wouldn't do anything about the cracked tube until other things get taken care of...

[e90Noobie]

So I took it to a shop and the guy had it for 2 days and then called me and told me it's over his head and doesn't want to work on it. He said it requires a ton of special tools and adjustments to the injectors. It's MY understanding that you only need to program the injector codes when replacing an injector, not just re-installing the same ones.

In any event I'm really tempted to take on this project myself but at the same time I'd like to take it to a German or BMW specialist indy shop so that they can look everything over as well as replacing the gaskets. I've been quoted $620.00 by a local German auto shop.

I asked the first guy if there was carbon buildup and he said yes a good amount so now I have more to stress about and try to find a shop that will also clean the head. I can send the manifold in to get cleaned out by aarodriguez but I can't do the head myself.

[335dlci]

Yeah hes right about it requiring special tools to do. And you're correct and special tools when replacing to calibrate them. I personally charged 400 for vcg.

[e90Noobie]

Ok, so basically I just talked to a guy who specializes in BMWs and other German cars. He claims that the valve cover itself needs to be replaced with the gasket because the cover is plastic and warps with heat over time and then also warps more when you remove it. He says he has customers regularly come in with leaking VCGs that another shop replaced because they only did the gasket and used the original cover so it eventually started leaking again. I've called two shops who have given me the same response.

[M4_GTS]

Originally Posted by e90Noobie

Ok, so basically I just talked to a guy who specializes in BMWs and other German cars. He claims that the valve cover itself needs to be replaced with the gasket because the cover is plastic and warps with heat over time and then also warps more when you remove it. He says he has customers regularly come in with leaking VCGs that another shop replaced because they only did the gasket and used the original cover so it eventually started leaking again. I've called two shops who have given me the same response.

They are not lying. That is exactly the case for the gas engines. Not sure about the m57 myself.

[335dlci]

Not so much