oil leak

[caddyman]

ive not had my e30 325 touring very long its had a oil leak since i got it i replaced the pressure valve cover on the filter houseing new o ring cover and c clip genuine part fix oil leak well so i thought
noticed it leaking today so i removed the bash plate from under gearbox as oil was sitting in that ive run it round to day after cleaning everything i left bash plate off and noticed that oil is coming from between the box and the block would that mean that the main end seal is gone or just sump gasket ?
how hard is it to replace tha main seal
cheers for any help in advance

[Brianmoooore]

Almost certainly the sump gasket. It's extremely rare for a crank seal at either end to fail.
Note that to remove the sump on a 325, you have either to raise the engine or lower the cross member, since the oil pump sits low in the sump and prevents it being slid out.
It's just possible to work blind over the edge of the sump and unbolt the pump, or even scrape the old gasket off the sump and block without fully removing it, but none of the options are easy.

[caddyman]

Ah cheers mate