Oil leak above front differential

I noticed a pretty sizeable oil leak that seemed to originate on the driver's side just above the front differential. I replaced the oil pipe O-rings that feed into the adapter with thermostat to the engine block and no change. Please see the pictures below...it's a difficult area to access and picture with the differential in. The last picture is from realoem and is labeled "adapter with thermostat." It looks like the leak is coming from on this unit or where it mounts to the engine block. There is indeed an O-ring that fits between this unit and the block. Does anyone have experience replacing this or is it known to fail? Thanks a lot

Hi Tripevan,

I recently had my mechanic replace the waterpump, fan belt pulleys, thermostat etc, and when he removed the belt tensioner, we noticedthe source of an oil leak that had been bothering me for weeks. he told me its from something that i now know called "oil pressure switch". apparently its a common problem on the X5, and we had it replaced and since then, problem solved.

How much did it cost you to replace the oil pressure switch?

For a V8 engine the oil pressure warning switch is located at the base of the oil filter housing. If I had to guess it shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to replace the switch with a new switch. Part is about $20.00 same switch is used in the E39 with the M62 engine.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...FILTER_BMWM=ON

correct Upallnight, if i convert my local currency, it does come to just over 20 dollars