AchtungE60

First thing is first... find out what kind of fluid it is. Perhaps oil, perhaps hydraulic steering fluid, perhaps trans fluid. Once you do that, track it down.
Good luck!

545Bimmer

My 2004 545i also had a oil leak so i got it checked out. My oil pan was warped since they are made out of plastic and not metal. I checked mine out with an idependant shop and they quoted me for $900 so i took it to the dealer and the dealer confirmed the oil pan was warped. They replaced the oil pan, gasket and filter. The dealer price was the same as the shop so i had the dealer do it instead for guaranteed service. Dealer states its a common problem with these vehicles with higher mileage. Hope this helps.

andrek

545Bimmer, I assume you are referring to the Transmission oil pan and not the engine oil pan? In my case the slow drip is coming from the very back of "rear" undershield that covers the transmission. I have been doing some research and sense the car is nearing 80K it due for the unofficial ZF transmission service, which would replace the plastic tranny oil pan with intergrated filter and the ZF lifetime 6 oil. Looks like the OEM ZF service "kit" runs about ~ $240 online and the DIY tutorial of transmission service on this site looks doable especially after I saw a youtube video of it being done. My only concern is starting the engine while the car is on jack stands and switching through the gears to get the old oil flushed out. I am at least going to take the rear wheels off when I do this.


Tonyb635, if the German government decided to take a environmentally conscious stand and made BMW and other automobile manufacturers use enviromentally-safe gasket materials and we should accept it.

However, sense e60 did go in to police and other government service in parts of EU, there should exist a means of maintaining these gaskets and seals without disassembling the engine and tranny on regular basis. We may not be getting the full information on how these car should actually be properly maintained. The BMW recommended oil probably doesn't contain sufficient amount of solvent additives to maintain elasticity of these bio-degradable "soft bits".

In an earlier post I mentioned I was considering using additive called cera tec. The product description does not mention what similar additives are used for in aircraft engine oil. However it appear this product does serve its original intended purpose:

http://www.syncoptima.com/blog/tag/l...-ceratec-test/

I am fairly certain I will be putting it in to both the transmission and the engine as cheap insurance policy against future oil loss.

In any case, I should get the car up in the air this weekend and find out exactly where the leak is coming from before taking any further steps.

Thank you for all the advice guys, I really appreciate it.

fahad0

Car leaking oil when parked reasons and solutions. Read Here