oil leak in 94 730i
 

I just bought a 94 730i, UK specs. There appears to be an oil leak. Whenever I turn the car off, it leaks a saucer-sized amount of oil and then stops, and it doesn't leak while I'm driving.

I've heard this might be a head gasket and am gonna get it checked out soon, but can anyone fill me in on what else it may be? Ive heard it might be a loose bolt or something, I just want to make sure I know what's what before heading into the mechanic's. Basically looking not to get screwed on this.

It would help if you told us where the leak is coming from, what part of the car, what color. The smell should also tell you what kind of fluid it is.

on some older cars if you use the wrong kind of oil it seeps through the seals

If the Pentosin/power steering reservoir is over filled it will leak like that.

Power steering fluid check is done after the brake accumulator has been pumped down with the brake pedal. About 20 pumps worth.

Most don't know that so they fill it with the accumulator still pressurized. Overnight the pressure bleeds off and forces fluid out of the top of the reservoir.

It's dripping up front and center, looks to be directly under the front of the engine, i'm not much of a gear head and haven't been able to figure out just where, but it's not a readily visible location.

it's motor oil as after it was dripping for a week or two the engine oil low indicator came on every time i turned on the car. i'm just hoping it ain't a gasket. if anyone has any other thoughts, that'd be cool. it's a great car otherwise.

i use 10-30 oil in it, not sure if that would cause the problem. i'm at a us air base in england, and the free shop put 10-30 in there right before it started leaking, so maybe it is the oil type. what kind is the best to put in there anyway?

try 20w-50, that usually is good for old cars w/bad seals(Castrol makes it btw)

Pan bolts need to be retightened/retorqued.

Find an independent BMW specialist and have them pull the pan. Most likely there is an oil pump mounting bolt laying in the oil pan.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone here because all of the V8's have the bolt come out sooner or later. It could actually be the bolt having worn thru the pan causing the leak. This was mine at 140,000 miles.

http://files.unitedbimmer.com/ub.c/TerryY/DSC01184.JPG