I have a 1991 bmw 318is, better known as “e30”! I cracked my oil pan Due to a pothole! The damage was a hole in the oil pan, the entire oil leaked out of my car, tried starting it back up and it did but was afraid to harm the engine so I turned it off, 10 minutes later I tried turning it on again and it didn’t turn on at all then I noticed a little smoke coming in through my air vents!! I did not drive it far after I noticed my oil pan had cracked Just like 2 car gaps of distance from where it happened ! Could I have harmed anything else except oil pan? And will the engine start up again without a problem when the new oil pan is placed with fresh oil as well? Help thank you!

 

this forum is for thirdgen Chevrolet Camaro's/Pontiac Firebirds, not the place to ask for BMW help.

But chances are the itll be fine after the pan is replaced and engine oil is added back to the engine as long as you didn't run it for long after you lost oil. it most likely didn't start the second time do the ECM not sensing oil pressure. it probably still had a little pressure in the system the first time you started it. But then again, you should probably be talking to people on a BMW forum for better advice.

 

lol i love reading these non-thirdgen related posts and trying to figure out how they came to the conclusion its not a thirdgen website despite all the camaros and firebirds plastered all over the place.

 

Since this thread is going nowhere...

żShould Seńor Jorge get some of that oil treatment like Z-Max or Prolong that lets you run the engine with no oil?

Remember those info-mercials from the '90s? The FTC remembers.

 

Two words say it all...................bmw owner aka clueless snob!

 

Yeah I remember! I have a bottle of Slick 50 for him!

 

BMW = Break My Windows , Biff & Muffy Wagon , and a few others not fit for open print

Kid you not , some time ago I read an article that rated driver's courtesy toward other drivers and , you guessed it , BMW owners were said to be the worst jerks on the road . Now I have no clue how the article's writer(s) came up with that info , but it sure does seem that if there is road douchebaggery afoot , it's usually some middle aged guy in a Beemer !

 

Man I had some old split fire spark plugs I could have sold him.

 

 

Duralube!

 

LOL!

Thems some GOOD post right there!

 

I've owned 4 e30s. Cracked an oil pan on a curb in a parking lot and had the same - instant and complete oil drain. I personally wouldn't have tried to start your car - hopefully no damage as a result. Unless you're handy and ready to tackle a pain-in-the-**** job, flatbed the car to a garage to get the pan, pump, pickups and any related parts or seals replaced while you're in there.

Fair warning, the labor may be expensive as the steering rack has to be dropped in order to remove the pan (at least that's the case on the 6 cylinder models).

You'd also want to source a used pan as new ones through Bavarian Autosport etc. are outrageously expensive. If you haven't already, join the R3VLimited board. It's a board like this one, but specifically for e30s. You can probably find a used pan there - it's where I sourced mine.

R3V site: https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/index.php

Also, if you hit a pothole that hard, I would expect some of your steering components to be damaged, especially tie rods. Def look at those, replace if bad, get alignment when done.