e69

Should this be a concern? What is this name of this pulley, and is this a common problem?

There is considerable dry oil on the skid pan, but nothing that is leaking to the ground. The oil level on the dip stick looks ok. No noticeable drop in oil level.

How easy is this DIY?

545iMike

That looks like the a/c compressor. I don't think its the compressor that's leaking. Its probably coming from above the pulley. Valve cover gasket, upper timing cover, oil pressure switch, vacuum pump, all things that could be leaking onto the a/c compressor. Does your a/c still work? Could be compressor oil, but I doubt it.

BimmerFan52

+1

If you are keeping a very close eye on your oil level and it is not dropping then it is just the normal "N62 sweats".

The N62B44 is a great engine, but the BMW engine designers must have worked on the gasket designs on a Monday after Octoberfest!

If you are really anxious about it you can use a degreaser to completely clean the area and then check it regularly to find the source from above.

ianbmwe60

have u an oil cooler in it

e69

I think you might be right. The same oil is present above the pulley, so I think it just leaked onto the pulley. In any case, the oil looks rather old and not fresh.

The AC works fine. I'll check out the other oils, as I don't think it's engine oil since the engine oil level is not affected.

e69

Thanks for the feedback. I'll take your advise and degrease the area and check it regularly. Love the engine, but it feels like a time bomb.

westsidebalto

It may be worth your while to replace the Oil Pressure Switch, since they are notorious for failing. Mine was contributing to a loss of about a half quart per month when it went. I've had to top up only once in the year following that replacement. It's a cheap part that's only a mild pain to access (I removed the Vacuum Pump) and shouldn't require jacking if I remember it correctly.

H F

Looks to me like the compressor front seal is leaking ... thats what mine looked like before the ac went out and lost all the freon and compressor oil from that front seal ... Check the under side of the coolant hoses , if the seal is leaking it sprays oil on the underside of the near by coolant hoses . The underside of my hoses had compressor oil on them .. Realized thats where the oil came from after I installed a new compressor .. If you look to the left on your picture , that bracket looks to be sprayed with oil flinging out of the seal , mine looked the same too.

Quarta2six

+2
My compressor looked the same exact when when the vacuum pump was leaking and UTC gasket failed at different times covers the compressor and that bracket to the left. Looks like more oil than what your actually loosing atleast in my case it did.