355 Leak and don’t know what it is. (355)

So the wife tells me the car is leaking. I tell her she’s crazy the car doesn’t leak because I had it checked when I first got it. So she says ok we will put some paper down and see. I start it up and pull out of the garage this morning and this is what I find. The top to the right piece of paper with tape is where the left rear tire sits. The paper that’s lower is where the stains are. I put my finger in it and it’s like dark grey grease. The funny thing is the stains spread out like it’s watery but the grease is thick when you touch it. I have included pics. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login


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Possible CV Axle boot tear on the driver side.

 

CV boot?

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CV boot

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Three people respond in one min ..3 is a charm

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yep that’s what I’m thinking.

 

Messaged first!! lol 3 times is a charm. We should wait and see, watch it will be something else......

 

Yep I think so too.

 

It could be the CV joint

 

It's possible that it can be a CV boot, but CV grease is not liquid and flings everywhere and does not tend to run down like that unless you also have a leaky flange seal. The fluid that is runny and leaks just forward of the axle is the 22mm banjo bolt attaching the gearbox oil line heading up to the heat exchanger. The original aluminum banjo bolt is weak and cracks after some years and it just leaks. The reason it is that color is because it runs down along the side of the gearbox and washes away all the grime.

 

Thanks Mitchell will definitely have that checked out as well. Thanks for the reply!

 

Look in your coolant reservoir. What do you see? How full is it?

 

Is there an odor? That will tell you a lot. Gearbox fluid has that distinct propane type smell

 

Strange things can happen to these cars. I have a 348 now but my old 328i developed a strange leak that was a sort of black greasy watery substance turns out the cavity where the engine mount mounts to the block was full of water and it was weeping out I loosened it up and about a baby food jars worth leaked out. Obviously a very different car but making the point that it could be coming from anywhere. You just never know.

 

Since it was by the wheel, how about the suspension? You could see if its dripping oil onto the wheel.

 

Well it’s really not by the wheel. If you notice the pic where I show my finger you can see the pieces of paper (with the blue tape) the one with the stains (below my hand) and the paper to the top right (where the wheel sits). The stains are actually away from the wheel and in the center.

 

Could be your actuator has slight leak...that's in the general area.