Vacuum Pump leaking oil. How common?
#21
Originally Posted by jprovence' post='1093346' date='Jan 19 2010, 08:51 AM
The pump is pretty much full of oil, And with inerta pulling on one side of the rotor, then suddenly its pulling on the other side, I think that is what makes the noise. Instead of being smooth and touching both sides of the rotor to the wall. Too much play will cause noise. I would love to compair it too a new rotor, but I wouldn't have the nerve to open a new one up.
#22
Any update on this? I just got my car back from the dealer and he said mine needed replaced also. I would be doing it myself, just wondering if there was an o-ring replacement or the entire pump.
thanks,
John
thanks,
John
#23
Members
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: Costa Mesa, CA
My Ride: 04 545i sport, stick, L7, sat, nav. Charcoal/ runflat/ cdv delete.
Suede headliner/ trunk, 3 way front speakers, four 8" subs in rear shelf, ACM, iPod dock in ash tray using gateway 500 with MP3 text and video on screen, MRTM aluminum pedals/ door pins, 10 farad cap, sound processor, line conditioner, 2 amps ( 4x100 and 2x200)
mine was replaced under CPO warranty at 30K miles due to minor leak. 01/04 545i
#24
it hasnt leaked yet, and its been 3 months.
the reason the pumps leak.....the o-ring on the cover losses its shape. when i removed the cover, the o-ring looked flat. its almost as if the oring was designed to fail.
and as for the rotor gap, i think that it's intentional. i cleaned the rotor good, and the ends are made of rubber and showed no wear.
i attached some pics i snapped while doing this.
#25
Contributors
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 948
Likes: 1
From: Sin City
My Ride: Jet Black '05 545i, Sport/Premium Pkg, Steptronic, Adaptive Xenon, Nav, L7, Blue2th, PDC,
I found a lot of oil and gunk around my vaccuum pump and thought it was leaking. But before being certain the pump was bad, I decided to just wiped down the surrounding area and check it after a few days of driving. To my suprise, no leak was apparent.
I've always had the dealer change my oil since I was under warranty, but I'm no longer covered. So I finally DIY'd the oil change for the first time. While filling the engine with oil, I accidentally missed the filler hole and spilled some over the edge. Low and behold, the oil ran down the edge and directly onto the vaccuum pump. What a coincidence! The vaccuum pump just happens to be below the oil filler hole. I think this is why I had so much gunk around my pump. The dealers may have spilled some while filling oil and never bothered to clean and wipe around the pump, which overtime will appear to look like the pump is leaking!
Unless you absolutely know for sure the pump is leaking, do the simple thing first - clean and wipe the area around the pump, especially underneath it. Give it a few days and re-check.
I've always had the dealer change my oil since I was under warranty, but I'm no longer covered. So I finally DIY'd the oil change for the first time. While filling the engine with oil, I accidentally missed the filler hole and spilled some over the edge. Low and behold, the oil ran down the edge and directly onto the vaccuum pump. What a coincidence! The vaccuum pump just happens to be below the oil filler hole. I think this is why I had so much gunk around my pump. The dealers may have spilled some while filling oil and never bothered to clean and wipe around the pump, which overtime will appear to look like the pump is leaking!
Unless you absolutely know for sure the pump is leaking, do the simple thing first - clean and wipe the area around the pump, especially underneath it. Give it a few days and re-check.
The following users liked this post:
Chri$ti@n_545I (06-10-2023)
#27
#29
Mine was replaced about 3 weeks ago. Luckily, I picked up an extended warranty when I purchased the car.
'04 545, about to reach 75k miles.
Hopefully your vacuum pump is replaced soon... good luck man.
'04 545, about to reach 75k miles.
Hopefully your vacuum pump is replaced soon... good luck man.
#30
Contributors
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,727
Likes: 2
From: socal
My Ride: 545I and a half dozen other rides
Hmmm. I wonder if that is why my A/C belt came off? I really need to find out where my leak is coming from, I was just assuming it was from my power steering...
The vacuum pump is directly over the a/c compressor on the 545.
The vacuum pump is directly over the a/c compressor on the 545.