Oil Leak Or Transmission Leak?
 

Hi guys,

1) I just joined this place and this is my first post. I bought a BMW 545i 2004 M sport around six months back and the last owner gave me the small oil pan and gasket to get it replaced as the car was leaking oil from the pan. It wasn't a big leak as there were no spots on the ground when the car was parked. Nevertheless, I got the pan changed on my next oil change and everything was good until I went for the oil change recently at the dealership. They said there is a leak from the oil pan and when I confronted the guy who changed it he said the leak is from the transmission and from the oil dipstick seal. The leak isn't even that much of a big deal but when the car is jacked up you can see the engine shield has spots on it. The car has 49000km on it and drives great, Can anyone shed some light on who to believed on this?

2) Secondly, I am going to order brake rotors for the car. Are the brake rotors different for the M sport package BMW and the stock one?.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I can address the first issue. If the transmission pan is leaking I would get it fixed. If you have an oil leak and you don't have to add oil between changes, leave it. BMWs are known for oil leaks and you will continue to spend a lot of money to keep it from leaking. You have an upper and lower gasket and I can assure you it's probably the upper gasket that's leaking oil. I don't see the transmission pan having a leak unless the past owner did a fluid and gasket change and didn't torque it correctly.

I once spent over almost $2000 to get all my leaks fixed. Almost 2 years later oil started leaking again. The shop that did it told me I was waisting money but I wanted him to do it anyway. Since then I have had oil leaks and only fix the ones that are bad.

It will save you a lot of money if you learn to do it yourself.

Thank-you for the reply Sean, Is there any way that the oil dipstick seal is leaking?

It could be but my 05 is almost at 200k and it hasn't started yet. I would take the car to another shop and let them give you a diagnosis if you don't know how. If you do that then you have ammo if it is the oil pan.

You can't gauge leaks by mileage. Everyone's driving style is different. Some people have had to change things I haven't and vis versa.

Thanks man. I guess I will get it checked out by another shop and see what the problem really is.