[fms-ben]

hi, ive been looking at bmw 316i compacts (e36) and ive seen a seemingly good condition black one with some of the subtle mods i was thinking of already been done. lowered, sports rear light, new wheels, induction kit etc. bodywork and transmission seem to be in good order and the engine sounds and goes like its in good working order, the only problem being theres a lot of oil down the side of the block and around the sump and steering rack etc. it looks fairly old and baked on but im not completely sure. also there was also a bolt missing from the cam cover which suggests its had a new cam cover gasket which i hear is common. i was wondering if any of you know what could of caused this oil to be there ( its only down the inlet side of the engine) as im sure with the amount of oil thats there it couldnt of come from a leaking cam cover . cheers for help

EDIT.

I posted earlier after ive been to a see a e36 316i compact and there was alot of oil around the block sump steering rack area. ive now been told by someone that their sump gasket went on their 316i and they had heard its a pretty common problem although they weren't a mechanic so i was just asking on here whether this is a common problem and if it is, is there room to drop the sump down and to replace the gasket?

 

[Ronnie]

I've moved your thread to the correct forum(the e36 forum), please have a read of the forum rules regarding posting in the correct sections http://www.bimmerforums.co.uk/forum/...delines-t1603/

And no there isn't room to drop the sump, you'd need to unbolt the engine mounts and jack the engine up away from the cross member so you could remove the sump gasket.

Your best bet will be to clean the oil off the engine and then run the car and see where it's leaking from. The oil filter housing is another common item for leaking.

 

[fms-ben]

ok thanks for your help
if it's just a small leak is there room just to silicone it up then?

 

[Ronnie]

ok thanks for your help
if it's just a small leak is there room just to silicone it up then?

Not really as you can't get round the rear of the sump, so you may cause a leak if you drop it a little to silicone the front up for example.

 

[fms-ben]

ok may have to borrow the keys for the workshop off my boss one weekend then