328 "engine tube" question....

Howdy,
I have not search, but I thought I would as a silly question.

Took my '89 328 for a nice spin today, and when I pulled it out of the garage, there was a drop of oil in a few places, which did not really concern me, but there was a drop by the drivers rear wheel, just a bit inward.

I drove it around, stopped a few places, saw no drips, no motor leaks, everything looked fine. At the last stop, I got under the car a bit more, and notice a little hose sticking down just below the suspension on the drivers rear, and it had a bit of a oily residue.

By the time I got home, it was dark, and had to go back to reality, so I didn't check it again. But was wondering if that tube is a disconnected hose, or some sort of drain? If need be, I will get some pictures this weekend, but I thought I would ask. The car ran perfect, smile on my face, not a care in the world..... just don't know about this hose/tube
Any thoughts?

 

The only two tubes would be from the coolant overflow tank and the fuel filler neck. If there was "oily-ness" to it I would think it was the coolant tank overflow (although it shouldn't be oily if all is well with your engine).

 

There is a small hose that goes down the side you describe. It is an overflow hose for fuel. Check the 'drip' to see if it has a strong odor of gas. It may look like oil from dirt and oil accumulation in the hose but it may just be fuel from when you filled up.

 

If the tube is greenish color, it's the coolant overflow tube. If you trace it,
it should lead back up to the expansion tank.

 

Agree with all above, oil drops on that side of the engine that aren't the oil pan might be distributor seals, oil cooler lines, oil accumulator lines, or something else. I know on my car the oil drain line from the rear most cam to the block which is about 5 inches long was brittle and cracked but not weeping yet. Consistency is good, if it's always done that it can get looked at in the next major, if it's new, it might be worth pulling the inner fender and looking around and wiping off wet stuff then running it a bit and checking again, that is how I found out my oil cooler line was going south in a hurry. Oil filter and sender also on that side.

 

Thanks for the input. Yes, it is the coolant overflow, just never noticed it before.

When I parked the car after my drive, I lined the floor with some paper, to see where it was leaking. Checked it today, not a drop on the either side of the engine, so I think all is good. This car seems to run perfect. I am going to have to start to plan some projects just to get my hands dirty;-)

As far as the tube, it had some dirt grime on it, but nothing leaking out.

Seems like all is good, just need to drive it more, since the weather is getting better!!!
Thanks again,
Bob