[burro_blasta]

I noticed this yesterday while I was underneath changing oil - no specific problem led me to look for it - there's some kind of leak or seepage from these two caps underneath my transmission.

One pic is zoomed in, other is zoomed out for context that they're near the end of the downpipe and towards the middle of the car.

I found the parts, links below, but has anyone else experienced this? Doesn't seem like it's gushing out but it's def not a good thing to ignore, and just going to guess it's not as easy to fix as swapping in for new caps bc all the fluid would gush out and need replaced, I assume.

I'm only 73k miles, 2013 n55 awd, so I'm surprised I've never seen this mentioned before as happening to older/higher mileage cars already.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...p/24147603258/

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...p/24147567139/

[burro_blasta]

OK, found another thread saying it was a rear main seal leaking

Some other threads mention it could be oil pan gasket or other oil leaks...but I'm confused whether an oil leak from farther up front could pool inside the shell I'm looking at in those pics and leak down farther back like this, or if oil leaks from farther up actually wouldn't make sense

[Sylverlee]

No leaks up top?

[burro_blasta]

Originally Posted by Sylverlee

No leaks up top?

Not that I've seen, yet.

But if there were, would it drain inside and leak further back by the caps like this?

[beegeezy]

Mine looks like that too. 2013 535i, 93k miles.

[burro_blasta]

Originally Posted by beegeezy

Mine looks like that too. 2013 535i, 93k miles.

Interesting. I'm wondering if this is somewhat common.

I'm first trying to figure out whether a leak closer to the engine can pool back in this area and seep through these caps, or if it would only be from a local leak

[SWFLf10]

Mine also has had small amounts of oil around that area ever since I bought the car at 70k miles. It has 130k now and doesn't appear to be getting worse. I just keep an eye on it.

[COUWK]

I've noticed mine is also like yours. Maybe not as much, but still seeping.
I don't notice a oil level drop in my engine over the coarse of the 16k oil change interval.
Do you?

Originally Posted by burro_blasta

OK, found another thread saying it was a rear main seal leaking

Some other threads mention it could be oil pan gasket or other oil leaks...but I'm confused whether an oil leak from farther up front could pool inside the shell I'm looking at in those pics and leak down farther back like this, or if oil leaks from farther up actually wouldn't make sense

[burro_blasta]

Originally Posted by COUWK

I've noticed mine is also like yours. Maybe not as much, but still seeping.
I don't notice a oil level drop in my engine over the coarse of the 16k oil change interval.
Do you?

I do notice a drop in oil over fewer miles than that, but I'm on ps2 so I'm not attributing it to the seeping...yet. I'm going to clean it off and give it some time and see what comes back

[COUWK]

The other option is it could be trans oil leaking from the torque converter seal.
When i smelled it, it didn't stink like the ATF in these ZF units.
So it must be engine oil.
Could be rear crank seal.
I have noticed a dark patch near the rear upper top pass side of the engine, just above the exhaust manifold.
Not sure if it could make it's way down there.

Whatever the case, it's a slow leak in my case.
I hope it stays that way.

[Redvtech]

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]Did you find the cause of this leak. I have a similar leak what appears to be from the lower cap?

[SWFLf10]

Originally Posted by Redvtech

[ATTACH]Attachment 2997499[/ATTACH]Did you find the cause of this leak. I have a similar leak what appears to be from the lower cap?

I never went any further with it. It didn’t seem to be a large leak worth digging further, and at this point I’ve got an oil leak at the oil pan as well. I figure I’ll consider having the engine gone through and replace any seals possible along with some other maintenance if I decide to keep mine. It’s been getting high in mileage and now more recently has some damage from Hurricane Ian.