# 00 740iL with oil leak



## bcloud (Feb 21, 2009)

I just posted about an hour ago for my first time saying that I'm about to R&R the valve cover gaskets but as I got a little furhter into it, I don't think that is the problem. I see a little fresh oil leaking on the outside below the cover gasket line on the rear and I did see a little around the rear spark plugs. The oil leak seems to be coming from everywhere underneath so I don't think it is, or only, the valve cover gaskets. I have a friend in Dallas who is a BMW mechanic that told me it could also be the timing covers which he said is a big job. He said the rated hours for that at BMW was about 10-12 hours. From the bottom, the oil leak appears to be in the front and the back, it is everywhere including dripping from where the tranny meets the engine. Any suggestions on what else could cause oil leak


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## DJ_GMONEY (May 27, 2009)

My '98 740IL is leaking from the rear main seal. Thats where the tranny meets the engine. When i first brought it back to the dealer, they thought it was the gaskets leaking. It took them forever to find the leak to begin with. They claim they fixed the gasket but the leak never went away. I took it to my mechanis and he found the leak from the rear main seal and two of the hoses for the power steering. I am taking it to the dealer this week. The rear main seal is a big job because the tranny has to come down. it's about a $800 according to my mechanic.


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