X5m plugs 5,6,7,8 covered in oil. 1,2,3,4 clean

[chris604]

Hi all,

Just had #7;coil die. Replaced it. Then ran fine. Decided to change all plugs anyways. Saw that all left side plugs were drenched in oil as far as the tthreads. Tips were half black and half brown on all 4. Right side were a bit white-ish coating on it but looked normal to me. What is the issue I have? Valves or rings or something?

First pic is normal looking plug. 2nd is black one.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by chris604

Hi all,

Just had #7;coil die. Replaced it. Then ran fine. Decided to change all plugs anyways. Saw that all left side plugs were drenched in oil as far as the tthreads. Tips were half black and half brown on all 4. Right side were a bit white-ish coating on it but looked normal to me. What is the issue I have? Valves or rings or something?

First pic is normal looking plug. 2nd is black one.

Valve cover gasket leak is causing the wet oil on threads. Carbon build up on the plugs is valve guide seals and/or CCV system. Recommend inspecting CCV hoses and install catch-cans with sintered bronze micro filters and then doing idle for 2min, then accelerate and monitor if excessive smoke comes from exhaust which indicates bad valve stem seals.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by Sophisticated Redneck

Valve cover gasket leak is causing the wet oil on threads. Carbon build up on the plugs is valve guide seals and/or CCV system. Recommend inspecting CCV hoses and install catch-cans with sintered bronze micro filters and then doing idle for 2min, then accelerate and monitor if excessive smoke comes from exhaust which indicates bad valve stem seals.

Thanks for that! It does burn a LOT of oil, and only within the last 6 months or so does it do that. Every single time I accelerate a big puff of smoke comes out, so I guess it's bad valve stem seals? And, also, when I get out of the car, there is an oil burning smell, and also smoke coming from top of engine on drivers side, so I'm guessing bad valve cover and seals? Will the motor last a lot longer tho? progressively worse? It's got 92K miles on it right now.

[Thecastle]

If your smelling burning oil from the engine bay, you will have a leak. Common leaks that I've had are valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, filtered air ducts (part of the CCV system), turbo oil lines and turbo oil return block. They will all leak on hot parts of the engine.

A puff of smoke can also mean bad oil seals on the turbos. What color is the smoke? White, Blue, black?

But its most likely bad valvestem seals. I've had them go bad on my N62. Redneck is right about the test. Get the engine fully hot, let it idle for 5 minutes, floor it with your reverse camera on, or someone watching. If you see smoke from your exhausts its bad valve stem seals.

AT-205 can be a temporary fix. But it won't fix your head gasket.

[chris604]

Originally Posted by Thecastle

If your smelling burning oil from the engine bay, you will have a leak. Common leaks that I've had are valve cover gaskets, rear main seal, filtered air ducts (part of the CCV system), turbo oil lines and turbo oil return block. They will all leak on hot parts of the engine.

A puff of smoke can also mean bad oil seals on the turbos. What color is the smoke? White, Blue, black?

But its most likely bad valvestem seals. I've had them go bad on my N62. Redneck is right about the test. Get the engine fully hot, let it idle for 5 minutes, floor it with your reverse camera on, or someone watching. If you see smoke from your exhausts its bad valve stem seals.

AT-205 can be a temporary fix. But it won't fix your head gasket.

It's White smoke. It does a little bit on startup, but mainly when I'm at the stop light for a while or idling in the parking lot somewhere, then take off, it just puts out a huge cloud of smoke, if I give it WOT or close to it.