Oil leak after year long storage

[BlackandBlue]

I just returned from overseas and I noticed a 3’ by 1’ oil stain under my SHO. I started the SHO up and there was smoke (burning oil) coming from the front of the engine meaning that oil from high in the engine was dripping down on the y-pipe. I suspect the cam seals are leaking. I replaced them two years ago.

My question is can the cam seals leak even though the engine has not run for a year? I thought cam seals would only leak under pressure (engine running).

It is really hard to motivate myself to work on the SHO since I have a new 135i sitting next to it.

 

[itwonder]

Being high in the engine, the cam seals see little oil if the engine is sitting. If it made a spot that size from just sitting, I would suspect something else. Maybe a leaking oil filter or cooler gasket. Could it be PS fluid? The hoses can harden and leak from sitting.

 

[rubydist]

My red 94 mostly sat for a year, and after that it would leak here and there - a bunch of places. After driving it for a month, the leaks pretty much went away. The various seals will shrink if not exposed to oil for an extended period of time, and if you put in good oil with lots of seal conditioner (I use Mobil 1) they will swell again after they start seeing oil again, and in many cases 'heal' themselves.