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2006 BMW 325i

Question: Fluid on garage floor

Question

gj1, Westerville, OH, March 03, 2011, 07:00
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 Rookie

In cleaning my garage floor of winter dirt I find a patch of what looks like an oily substance on the floor as the water beads up as I wash the area. The drip could be following a part by gravity to this point or is dripping straight down.

Based on how I park the car the drip is coming from a spot in the middle of the car about where the windshield meets the hood. It has been 6 months since I washed the floor and the patch is about 3" x 6" as I don't park exactly in the same spot everyt time. I have only driven 4800 miles in this time span as I use the car mainly for trips in the summer

Any Ideas

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  • Answer #1

    ZeeTech March 03, 2011, 11:40
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     Master

    It could be the valve cover gasket. It usually starts to leaking at the back due to higher temperature which causing the rubber seal to harden up.
    I'd strongly suggest to find a good BMW specialty shop since the valve actuator has to be removed to get access to the cover.
    While the cover is off ask them to check the cylinder head bolt torques. They tend to break since they are aluminum bolts in a magnesium engine block and won't expend exactly with the same rate when they are warming up. This also could create problems. A good BMW shop will know about this and how to check it. If there is non in your area you stuck with the dealer, but it still better than someone incompetent ruins your engine.
    Hopefully it will be something simple.

    Zee

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