[e92ryan]

I have no idea what part is causing this leak, the rectangular part looks like something is supper to be there but i have no clue if that is true or not. any help is super appreciated! This is located past the back of the engine. I also can not see any oil leak from the engine bay, this is the only place it is present as it is leaking out of this spot.

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[e92ryan]

my apologies, I see i posted this in the wrong place but do not know how to delete it

[E92_William]

Is that wiring the one that runs to the oil level sensor and such? It could be the oil level sensor seal. Check under the hood if the side of the cylinder head where it meets the plastic valve cover is clean, if so then it's probably not leaking from the valve cover down and instead it's either oil pan or level sensor. This is the general forum so it's fine to post here too

[ptpending]

if the N52 had never replaced intake manifold the oil will spill over all weak engine rubbers due the reason that breather valve in intake manifold not working/failed

[Efthreeoh]

Early stages of an oil pan leak. Common issue with the N52. Millions of threads on the subject if you care to search on it.

[e92ryan]

appreciate the responses everyone, was able to find someone to put it on a lift. leak ended up being in two places. at the rear main seal and the oil pan. Decided to go to a 10W-30 Synthetic blend oil to help the seal and lessen the amount of leaking. is this something that could actually work out long term or is it more short term and i will have to end up doing the rear main seal?
Also drove it today on the new oil and got no dripping at all

[e91Owner]

Given the N52's propensity for oil pan gasket leaks, it is more likely that your OPG alone is leaking and just collecting near the rear main seal. This is covered a lot in other threads on the subject. The short of it, though is that you really have two options:

If it is not affecting your oil quantity appreciably, live with it until it exceeds your comfort level.

Replace the oil pan gasket, which is a fairly cheap, but complex DIY, involving supporting the engine and dropping the subframe or a rather costly Indy/dealer repair.

Using different oil weights, liqui moly oil saver, etc., may have some small benefits, but they likely aren't going to stop it altogether.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by e92ryan

appreciate the responses everyone, was able to find someone to put it on a lift. leak ended up being in two places. at the rear main seal and the oil pan. Decided to go to a 10W-30 Synthetic blend oil to help the seal and lessen the amount of leaking. is this something that could actually work out long term or is it more short term and i will have to end up doing the rear main seal?
Also drove it today on the new oil and got no dripping at all

I have to backup e91Owner, you most likely do not have a real crankshaft seal leak. What you probably do have is an oil pan gasket leak. The N52 starts to leak at the oil pan gasket on the right side of the engine in the rear of the block. It leaks there first because the gasket design sucks and hardens over time so it doesn't seal well. Added to that, the engine is canted to the right so it will fit under the hood, so inside the engine, the oil drips off the windage plate right on to the partline between the bottom of the engine block and the top of the oil pan (where the gasket is), so the oil seeps out between the two surfaces because the gasket has hardened up. It leaks in the right rear first because the engine is also canted from front to back, so the right rear of the engine is the lowest point.

The rear crank seal appears to be leaking because the rear of the oil pan is allowing engine oil to get into the bellhousing. There is a lot of air turbulence in the bellhousing because the rotating clutch (or torque converter) stirs up the air as it rotates, which helps spread the seeping oil from the rear of the oil pan.

If you are bothered by the oil leak, say by staining your parking space or you smell burning oil, get the oil pan gasket replaced first, and then see if the leak stops. If it does, then the rear crank seal is in good shape. If it continues to leak as before, then the rear crank seal is probably at fault as well. Replacing the crank seal requires removal of the transmission and engine flywheel; it's an expensive repair.

[ptpending]

you may change as many gaskets as you want and they will continiue to leak until you replace valve cover with new oil breather
the only happy n52 owners is owning pre-2006 cars, they cars have silver engine cover and that mean that they have oil breather as separate unit hanging on a pipe to valve cover

[e90yyc]

What’s your mileage?

I agree with everyone here, but would add that in my case I did have a leaking rear main seal. My OPG was also replaced a while back though so I knew that wasn’t the cause.