Ok so this was interesting,,,,I was performing a service on a N20 engine,,,,I had to replace the spark plugs,,,,,so I remove the plastic engine cover and disconnect the 2 vacuum lines that are connected to it,,,,,,,and I put it on my work bench,,,,,a couple minutes later I look back at it and a lot of oil is dripping out of the vacuum pod that is under the engine cover,,,,,,,so I check vacuum lines,,,,the main one comes straight from the vacuum pump,,,,and the other goes to the elect romantic turbo. valve.
Here are a couple pictures of the new vacuum pump,,,,,so the small black nipple fitting is for the vacuum line that goes to the vacuum pod under the engine cover,,,,the bigger one with the yellow cap is for the brake booster vacuum line,,,,,I also check that line but no oil was in it,,,,,I cleaned out the vacuum lines and replaced the vacuum pump,,,,,for some strange reason,,,,BMW has to give me permission to replace this part,,,,,,and they don’t carry to many of them.
bmwtechnician 
How where the plugs? What would have happened if you did not replace the vacuum pump?
-Oasis
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The spark plugs were ok,,,,,,I think if you didn’t replace the vacuum pump,,,I think it would just keep pumping oil through the vacuum lines and go to the vacuum waste gate ,,,,and probably start leaking out the vacuum lines on to the engine,,,,,it would just be a matter of time.
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Did you have to dismount the engine for vacuum pump job?
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No you don’t have to dismount the engine for the vacuum pump,,,you just work by feel for the bolts on the vacuum pump,,,,it’s a tight fit and you will scrap up your arm against the firewall
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I have a 2012 528i 70k mls the mechanic said my vacuum pump is leaking and needs to be replaced. Can this cause rough idling issues? The plugs were replaced 3 months ago with no effect on the rough idle. The car runs beautifully at speed.
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No it shouldn’t cause any rough running,,,,but you could have a loss of engine vacuum for the brake booster and also if you have vacuum controlled wastegate
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thanks for the reply
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If you pull the small black vacuum adapter from the pump you’ll see a one way check valve that has torn and gone bad. It’s not available as a part one must replace the whole pump.
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BMWtech… I have a 2012 F30 N20 Vacuum waste-gate turbo, 82K miles). Recently I been noticing a surge or what seems like an on/off/on/off lose of turbo boost at RPM’s over 3K while accelerating. This could also be described as a surge or wave of power rather than a normal linear power feel. This has been ongoing for about 1-2 months. I recently checked and changed my spark plugs and did not notice any issue. I have no codes or lights. Interestingly I noticed last week oil coming from my vacuum turbo line as you pictured. After I clean the oil out I notice my surge or power lose issue seems to go away. I called my dealer and they said there is an extended warranty on this part due to the brake pedal booster vacuum issue so I hope to get it replaced next week and solve my other power issue. Was curious if you have heard people complaining about the surging power before?
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Yes I have heard and seen that problem with oil inside the vacuum lines causing problem
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Vacuum pump replaced and problem gone! Thanks
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Hi I have this exact issue.
I went to replace my spark plugs today and had no leakage anywhere.
I put the cover down and the oil leaked out of the reservoir just like your description and picture.
What should I do in terms of repair?
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You need to replace the vacuum pump,,,,and if you can clean out the vacuum hoses the best you can,,,,next question do you have a vacuum wastegate for the turbo or a electric wastegate,,,,if you have a vacuum wastegate make sure no oil went inside the wastegate because that could damage the wastegate
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Thanks so much for your reply. I’m not technically inclined I have a 2013 528i xdrive vin: WBAXH5C51DDW14272
Do you know if my vehicle has an electric or vacuum wastegate? How would I know if it is damaged?
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Having the VIN number won’t help me,,,,you need to look at the exhaust side front of the engine you will see a wastegate with a rod coming out of it going to the turbo,,,,now if the wastegate has a vacuum hose going to it remove the hose and clean out the hose only,,,,do not clean out the wastegate ok,,,,your wastegate is probably ok they are pretty tuff and if it was bad it would send a check engine light on saying no boost,,,,if the wastegate has a electrical plug on it then don’t worry about it.
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How did you clean the lines with oil in them?
How did you clean the pod underneath the engine cover that was filled with oil?
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The vacuum line spray some carb spray and blow them out the best you can,,,,the vacuum pod tilt them so they drain out and also use some carb spray and blow them out,,,,you are not going to get it all out,,,but get the majority of the oil out
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What is the pod underneath the engine cover for? is that the wastegate?
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The pod under the cover is a vacuum canister,,,,it holds more vacuum
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Why did this happen exactly? I understand the vacuum pump malfunctioned, is this normal? which part of the pump is broken? Just trying to better understand the problem and why it happened to prevent it in the future. Thanks
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There is no preventive,,,,what happens is a seal inside the vacuum pump starts to leak and lets the oil leak into the vacuum lines,,,there nothing you can do it just happens
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I found this vacuum pump online. 11667622380
WBAXH5C51DDW14272 – 2013 BMW 528i xDrive
Can you confirm this is the correct part for the vehicle:
https://www.advantagebmwparts.com/oem-parts/bmw-vacuum-pump-11667622380
WBAXH5C51DDW14272 – 2013 BMW 528i xDrive
Thanks so much..
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Sorry I’m come up with 11 66 7 640 279,,,,,I use Realoem.com which is pretty good,,,,the part number you gave me said it doesn’t fit your car.,,,,I would double check with your local dealer
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I used real oem as well and it came up with 11667622380
Vacuum pump,, see link below. Let me know what you think thanks!
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/partxref?q=11+66+7+622+380
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I’m coming up with both numbers,,,,it all depends on the production of the car,,,also could be a old part number,,,,I would check with your dealer for the correct part number
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Ironically the dealer was unsure. I found a really good deal on part #380 so i’ll try it out. Hope it works.
not sure why the the vacuum pump with be different depending on production month of the 2013 f10 5 series. it’s the exact same car pre-lci.
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Your car is right on the split year for the vacuum pump
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If the valve or some seal failed inside the pump (that to prevent oil from getting into the vacuum hose and not the entire pump fail) and since no such small replacement parts available other than full unit replacement, can’t we just place a one way valve along the hose so the oil will not go to the vacuum box or pneumatic servo or actuator?)
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I guess you could put a one way valve to stop the oil,,,,but that really won’t fix the problem that’s just a bandaid
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Good evening, I’m with the problem of the pump, the engine of my BMW is the n26 and according to my mechanic in this part the configuration of the engine is different to the n20 tells me that it does not have the sleeves if not rather it should have a buffer that in theory it came out and that place is losing oil I looked for information about how it actually comes from the factory but I can not find more information if they could help me I will be very grateful because I am afraid to buy the new piece and that the problem is not solved for lack of any hose or something like that Thank you very much
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Hello I have a question,,,,I don’t understand what sleeve or buffer you are talking about on the vacuum pump,,,,ok the n20 and n26 are different vacuum pump,,,,some have 2 hoses going to it or it has 1 hose going to it,,,,the main big hose goes to the brake booster to build vacuum,,,,now if it has a second small vacuum hose it will go to the engine cover or to the vacuum controlled wastegate for the turbo,,,,I have another question where is the oil leak coming from,,,,if it coming from the rear of the cylinder head where the vacuum pump is bolted on to then that is probably your problem,,,,I hope this helps
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Hey, not sure if you are still responding to this post, but thought I’d try. I have a 2013 BMW 328i (F30, N20 engine, electric wastegate). The smaller valve from my pump mists oil when I’m below 1,000 RPMs and acts like a vacuum at 1,000+ RPM. It isn’t a leak, just a small continuous mist at low RPMs. There is no hose coming off of that valve and I am not sure if one is needed since my wastegate is electronic. My plastic engine cover does not have that oil container under it, which is where a hose would attach. Do you know if the BMWs with electric wastegates are suppose to have that container under the cover? I bought the car used so unfortunately I don’t know all of the history.
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If you have a electric wastegate there will be no container under the cover,,,,that is normal
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Is the misting of oil from the nipple normal? Mine also was spraying out oil so i put a cap on it. Car drove fine and no codes. Will capping the nipple harm the engine?
Thamks
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I don’t know if capping the nipple will harm the engine,,,,I have never done that,,I have just replaced the vacuum pump for that problem.
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Actually, a better question, how did you get the pump off? Seems pretty tight back there. Any tricks and/or advice?
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Yes you will have to remove the cross brace and the rear plastic cover under the cross brace,,,,you will need a short stubby torque and wrench,,,,on the bottom bolt there is a bracket in the way,,,you can bend it down to gain more access
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I was able to use a 1/4 drive ratchet with allen socket and there is just enough room to slide it out once you remove all the bolts hoses and brackets going to it and over it. Good luck.
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Do I need to crank the engine so cam is in the up down position or do you just rotate the pump shaft? Having a real witch of a time getting the seal out of you have any tips it would be appreciated.
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You can turn the motor so it’s in the up and down position if that helps,,,,now taking the seal out I have only done it with the valve cover off,,,,because the seal is pushed into the valve cover.
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It’s real easy to line up the pump on the camshaft – no need to position the cam at all. I just look at the position it came out at and then just wiggle it back in.
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Correct that the way to do it,,,,,I think his whole problem is trying to remove the seal and then he is going to have a hard time putting in the new seal
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Thanks for your blog, found you with google search! Dealer wants $600 for new part, see some parts for $400, and others for $130-$150 new. I am not seeing anything other than the part, for my N20 motor dealer says part # is 7640279 .Is there supposed to be a gasket or gromet? I dont see where these parts say they come with Vacuum Pump To Valve Cover seal. if the old seal is not the source of the leak, can it be re-used? Thanks in advanced for reading.
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The seal is located on the valve cover,,,,yes you can reuse the seal as long as it is not leaking from the seal area.
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I have a 2013 528I that i replaced the vacuum pump on yesterday. One of the early symptoms of the failure was the a/c quit working. The majority of the oil was cleaned out of the lines and the reservoir on the engine cover. My brakes never got hard..just the a/c quit working. Should I expect the a/c to start working again or is there something else we need to do?
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Question why did you you replace the the vacuum pump because of the A/C not working or because of the oil leakage? ,,,,and what’s going on with the A/C system.
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I have the same issue. A/C quit working. Is the vacuum system related in any way to the A/C?
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Nope
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My oil in my vacuum lines to my wastegate issue was from my valve cover having a small internal crack that the dealership didn’t see and charged me to install the vacuum pump. And didn’t fix the problem. It’s sad when you have to pay someone to fix your car and you end up having to fix it yourself. But this one dealership and this one BMW tech does not apply to all of the dealerships and BMW techs
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hello my vehicle 2013 20i e89 z4 vehicle can do 0-100 in 11 seconds. There is nothing left that we haven’t tried in 6 months. ecu to mechanics but the car didn’t answer anything. The vacuum pump is out of order, but my knowledge is that in my vehicle, the vacuum pump has no function other than the brake and exhaust flap. For this reason, we did not think that the power loss of the car had anything to do with it. What is your interpretation?
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First thing you are not supposed to go that fast,,,,lol,,,,second what is your question,,,,do you feel you have loss of power,,,,maybe check the fuel pressures,,,the low side and high side fuel pressure.
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It’s ok not to go fast 🙂 it’s like a turtle. I can reach 100 km in 11 seconds. everything was checked. there is no fault code. In our live road test, we determined that the ECU does not require turboeqn pressure above 0.5 bar. Why does the ECU not demand 0.5 bar above the turbo, it should not demand pressure between 0.9-1.1 in requests according to the pedal map. does this have anything to do with the vacuum pump? I know I have an electronic wastgate in my car, not a solenoid. It seems unlikely to be from a vacuum pump. In my car as I know it, the vacuum pump only opens and closes the brake and exhaust flap.
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Yes on your car the vacuum pump is for brakes and exhaust flap
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Wow, so many people have had a similar issue! And found you through Google.
I have a 2009 X5 xdrive48i. The other day the car started leaking oil like crazy. I opened the hood and there was oil everywhere, like covering the entire engine bay. It turns out that the vacuum pump was spitting out oil as soon as the car turns on, spitting it into the fan and spreading the oil everywhere. Fwiw I never noticed a problem with my brakes at all.
My car has about 175k miles, transmission problem using Reverse, and a few other problems, so I am trying to avoid paying for any major repairs on it.
So I just plugged that hole in the vacuum pump. No leaks so far (a day later).
What do you think?
I didn’t see you mention this in the picture description above, but from what I gather, that hole in the vac pump is for some kind of air valve, right?
Assuming my plug is secure, is this safe to drive? Thanks
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Yes you should be ok,,,just keep an eye on it.
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