So from my last post I replaced and updated the engine oil feed line on a N20,,,,,the new oil line had a built in check valve,,,well after I was done,,,the next day we started the car up and it was still smoking from the exhaust,,,,I guess BMW fix didn’t work this time,,,,you see inside the turbo exhaust housing the two wet oil spot,,,that’s oil seeping out of the turbo housing.
So now I have to do the whole job all over again,,,,we are now replacing the whole turbo and swapping over the updated engine oil feed line,,,I always hate doing the job twice,,,,but I guess it still pays,,,,it’s amazing how fast you can do a job the second time the next day.
Heres the inside of the new turbo housing,,,,hopefully this fixes the problem.
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bmwtechnician 
Hey- I think I might have a turbo issue on my N20.
How do I actually get to the turbocharger since it’s under the engine. I haven’t found any resources online that show how to do it.
Is there any way for me to buy the oil line with the valve check without going to the dealer and submitting the PUMA report? How much would it cost me to do it if it’s not possible?
Also, how much would replacing the turbocharger completely cost? Is it possible to do it on your own?
Any input would be greatly appreciated, this is very frustrating.
Thanks in advance!
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Ok good news is you don’t need a puma case to get the updated oil line,,,,BMW finally released the oil line to the public,,,,you just have to order the updated oil line with a check valve,,,,I don’t know the price,,,,,but if a independent shop does it they should charge you about 5 to 6 hours for the job,,,,ok the bad news,,,,,for you doing it at home that’s not a easy thing,,,,,you have to be able to work from under the car and from the top of the car to get to all the nuts and bolts,,,you also have to support the engine,,,,because you have to remove the right side motor mount and bracket.,,,,I would never try and do this at home without a car lift.
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Also check out your emissions warranty where you live,,,,here in California it’s 7/70 and some cars the turbo is covered,,,,hope this helps
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Thanks for the replies, man. I really do appreciate it.
I’m looking into the warranty right now- I’ve still been doing a lot of additional research and I was wondering if there was a way to diagnose whether its a blown turbo seal or the oil feed line without taking out all the nuts and bolts? I’m not looking to replace them right now- just figure out which one it is.
Also- while it probably isn’t good to drive with these issues, would normal usage of the vehicle cause catastrophic damage to the engine? As i understand the turbocharger is already carrying/passing super heated gas from the engine and I’d assume that it’s built to withstand tolerances that wouldn’t be affected by a little extra burning oil.
What are your thought on the matter?
Thanks again!
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Driving the car won’t cause anymore damage,,,,you should be just fine ,,,,except some burning oil during start up.,,,,there really isn’t any test to see if the problem the turbo or oil line or both.
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If you replace the turbo,,,you are going to replace and update that oil feed line anyway.
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hello, i would ask for your help i am getting 120308 code on my n20 f25, i have some tested it , pressure tested cant seem to see any leaks
adjusted the wasgate to close at 6 inces of vacuum, swapped out the blow of valve with used one
also installed brand new oem pressure control solenoid tested all vacuum lines no leaks
it holds 15 inches of vacuum at idle between the wastegate and boost control solenoid
vacuum does drop some on higher rpms
i have low power and only one code
please help
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Can you smoke test the intake system and the charge pipe,,,,the most common issue is the charge pipe where it connects to the throttle body,,,the charge pipe cracks, or pops off.
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its solid it does not move i pused almost 25 psi thru turbo inlet no issues of popping
120308 comes on when i coast dow to downhill than going up hill it trips the light where it demands alot of boost
turbo is nice and tight , no smoke at start up
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I believe your car has the electro magnetic vacuum boost control which bolts right next to the valve cover and 2 vacuum hose goes to it.,,,if you have one did you replace it yet.
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Would this (newer oil line or turbo replacement) be covered under CPO warranty?
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Yes it should be covered under CPO
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Thanks. I sent you a PM on Bimmerfest, is there any chance you can take a look and get back to me?
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Hi bmwtechnician, My 2012 528i with 74K miles is now experiencing this problem during startup in the morning. Is there a way I can have BMW cover the cost of repair since it’s due to a defective inlet oil pipe and turbo.
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I’m sorry,,,,but no,,,,BMW won’t cover it due to your car is out of warranty.
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Thank you for the reply. I read on another forum that replacing the oil inlet pipe works but somehow, yours didn’t work. Do you really think that a turbo replacement is needed for this problem. I’m just looking for a cheapest way to repair this problem.
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The oil feed line doesn’t always fix the problem,,,,it’s a 50% chance that it will fix the problem,,,,,the other 50% is the turbo replacement,,,,there is no cheap way to fix the problem,,,,sorry
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Can you post the part number for the new inlet oil pipe that have the check valve. Thanks.
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Oil line part number for turbo 11 42 8 648 368
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Hi… just a thought… if the problem is just started… would parking the car with the passenger side slightly raised above the driver side help ( Tilted parkingO .. since all the oil will drip and rest on the driverside of the Sump !
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No I don’t think that would help,,,,you can always give it try.
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I hadn’t driven my car for a few days while I was out of town. I fired her up this morning and I was engulfed in smoke! I called my SA and said if I can take a video of it and send it to him he will get the line ordered. He said if that doesn’t fix the issue I’ll be getting new turbo. Should I be concerned about anything if it comes down to that? How much did it smoke after you just replaced the line before BMW authorized the turbo replacement? Did that require a PUMA? I sent you another message on Bimmerfest.
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There’s no major concerns,,,,and no you don’t need a puma case to replace the turbo on a N20 engine anymore,,,,,because they know there is a problem with the turbo now.
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Are you saying the turbo will be replaced at no cost because it is a known issue? Even if the car is not under warranty. I am having this same problem 2012 528I. My car is no longer under warranty. I am told by another mechanic, this is a known issue.
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It is a known issue,,,BMW is thinking about extending the warranty on the turbos because of this problem,,,,they have not extended this warranty for the turbo at this time yet,,,,,hopefully it is soon.
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Also in some states,,,your state where you live might have a emissions warranty,,,,which might cover the turbo,,,,you might have to find out where you live if there is some kind of a state emissions,,,,hope this helps
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Do you have to remove the turbo to see traces of oil in the housing?
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You just have to remove the Catalytic converters to see if oil coming out the exhaust side of the turbo,,,,,there should be some pictures on my blog
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You can also see oil coming out the center of the turbo,,,,right where the turbo clamp is for the intake to the exhaust side of the turbo,,,,the oil drain for the turbo should be right next to it
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Thanks for this post, it help me a lot to identify the problem and change the oil feed line with the correct part number (11428678840), the dealer want to give me this parts 11428626652 for my X1 2013, but I told them that I wanted the other number with the check valve. I removed the turbo myself and change the oil feed line and put a rebuilt kit in my turbo, after 15hrs of work and 240$ in parts (feedline, rebuilt kit, and gaskets), all is good now… Like you said, don’t try this at home if you don’t have a lift, this is not a easy job.
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I’m glad I can help,,,you have a lot of courage doing this at home
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Hi andreas question about the turbo oil feed line. If this doesn’t get fixed soon would it cause the turbo to fail in the future. Also how would you know if there is a problem with the turbocharger?
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It might cause further damage to the turbo if not replace soon,,,,you won’t know if it odd any damage to the turbo until you replace that turbo oil line,,,I have replace a lot of turbo oil line,,,,but I know of several one that have come back to replace the turbo a week later.
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Hello BMW technician
I’m having a similar problem with tons of white smoke. It all began one day when my car started saying drive train malfunction, and it had limited acceleration. About a week later I took it to the dealer for servicing and to check out the problem. They told me that I had a blown turbo and that I would have to pay for it because I could present the receipts for the oil and oil change that I did myself. Long story short I took the car as is and drove for about another month and one day on the freeway there was a tremendous amount of white smoke behind me. The car seemed to keep stopping as I got off the freeway to pull over. But I never saw an overheat warning or anything on the display. Tow truck driver saw it all and swore I blew a head gasket, so he towed it home. The more I read, I wondered if it was a blown turbo seal. It’s a 2013 328i, 59,000 miles. Any advice would be great please. I checked the oil in the oil filter housing before and after running the car for a minute and no white creamy substance whatsoever in my oil.
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That’s a good sign that the oil color is ok,,,,,how was the coolant did that look ok,,,,if everything looks ok you might have blown the turbo seal,,,,it will cause the same thing a lot of smoke coming out the exhaust .
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The coolant looked fine too from what I could see. Is there a situation in which the car will keep trying to stop itself or shutdown over the turbo and smoking? Or would that only happen with an overheating situation? But I never smelled that traditional antifreeze overheat smell and I never saw anything on the display regarding water or overheating either. Yeah the white smoke comes out of the tailpipe immediately upon startup and looks to be coming from the right exhaust manifold section of the engine bay. Thanks for the response.
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I don’t know of anything that would make the engine shut off because of the turbo,,,,,only if the car is overheating,,,,,make sure the waterpump is working and t-stat
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Hello BMWTechnician. My X3, 2012(n20) has recently got a 5-10 seconds of blue smoke at the tailpipe after startup over sitting more tgan a night. I was aware of the new turbo oil feed line with the check valve and ordered it. Meanwhile I was waiting to receive the new oil line and not pushing the car so much, I got a low coolant warning (not so much lack of coolant) and also my engine oil level decreased about 0.7 liters in 1000km. (My radiator was replaced a month earlier). Then I did a compression test for checking valve seals/guides failure or head gasket failure and all four cylinders pressure were almost the same(140). There is no sign of oil in the coolant or vice versa. I also checked the spark plugs for finding signs of oil or overheating but all of them seemed fine. Now, I am a little bit confused: is the low coolant and low oil level and blue smoke somehow are related to the same issue or they are different problems to be investigated? What do you guess about thus situation? Any recommendation from you for diagnosing these problems is highly aporeciated.
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The low oil could be from the blue smoke out the tailpipe,,,,a common coolant leak sometimes is from the coolant lines that go to the turbo,,,the o-ring start to leak,,,,,so when you replace that turbo oil line you have to replace those 2 coolant o-rings at the same time,,,,good luck
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Hello BMWTechnician. My X3, 2012(n20) has recently got a 5-10 seconds of blue smoke at the tailpipe after startup over sitting more tgan a night. I was aware of the new turbo oil feed line with the check valve and ordered it. Meanwhile I was waiting to receive the new oil line and not pushing the car so much, I got a low coolant warning (not so much lack of coolant) and also my engine oil level decreased about 0.7 liters in 1000km. (My radiator was replaced a month earlier). Then I did a compression test for checking valve seals/guides failure or head gasket failure and all four cylinders pressure were almost the same(140). There is no sign of oil in the coolant or vice versa. I also checked the spark plugs for finding signs of oil or overheating but all of them seemed fine. Now, I am a little bit confused: Are the low coolant and low oil level and blue smoke somehow related to the same issue or they are different problems to be investigated? What do you guess about this situation? Any recommendation from you for diagnosing these problems is highly appreciated.
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Thanks a lot for your reply. I will check the turbo coolant inlet and outlet for sure.
Does the leakage from turbo coolant lines occur only while driving the car or it can leak while the car is switched off as well? Because as soon as I refilled the coolant reservoir to MAX level two weeks ago and drove the car for or about 200 km, I din’t get any coolant warning and the coolant level to remain fine at the moment (at MAX level).
The abnormal oil consumption could be from blue smoke coming from turbo housing oil leakage, but I guess the low coolant level may because of other reason.
Can the low coolant level happen because of low quality of coolant in hot summer days (i.e. low mixture of BMW antifreeze with water) after replacing my new radiator? I guess it should be almost 2.3 Liters of BMW anti freeze mixed in the whole coolant system (which is obviously less that 50-50 mix). Is it possible?
Thanks in advance.
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Yes the low coolant could be from the wrong coolant mix.
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Hello again and thanks a lot for your kind guidelines. After receiving the new turbo oil inlet pipe (with check valve) and leaving the car for a night at the garage, this morning I removed the turbocharger and the oil seems to coming from turbine shaft at the exhaust side onto turbine itself.
There is no sign of oil in the compressor side and there is no sign of oil leakage in the whole exterior body of the turbocharger. No visible crack can be seen in the housings. There is just a little side to side shaft play at the turbine shaft but there is no in/out play in the shaft. Please note that my car has 75000 km. Although my car has started having blue smoke at startups, but I had not gotten any check engine lights yet and I didn’t notice lack of boost/power yet.
How can I check if the turbocharger itself needs to be replaced? Is a little side to side play of turbine shaft normal for a car having this millage?
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Yes a little side to side play is normal,,,the blue smoke will not cause a check engine light to come on,,,90% of the time the oil line with updated check valve solves the blue smoke problem during morning start up,,,if you turbo was bad you would know it,,,loss of power ,check engine light on, possible turbo whistle noise.
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I have a 2015 bmw 320i turbo that is doing this now.
Is there a copy of the technical service bulletin that exist?
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BMW extended the warranty on the turbo oil feed lines,,,,Bulletin 11 11 16 is for the N20 engine for the updated turbo oil feed line,,,,there is also another bulletin for the N26 engine but I don’t have the bulletin number,,,,if you check with your dealer you might find out if it’s still covered under the extended warranty for that turbo oil feed line
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I am in the process of getting my feed line replaced in my 2013 328xi and they called me up saying I should replace my turbo while they have it torn apart. At my expense. What should i do?
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If there is no problem with the turbo then why should you replace it,,,,unless you have money to burn,,,,lol
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just bought a car 2012 328i immaculate ,but I left it for 6 days and started it up to a massive smoke cloud of blue smoke ,looks like I have the same issue ,is the oil feed pipe a free recall ?
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Yes this is a free recall,,,,but you have to see if your car applies to that recall,,,,you have to go to the dealer and have them perform a key read on your car and it will say if your car is covered under the turbo oil line recall
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I have a f30 328i from 2012. Since a month or so it produces smoke on a cold start. Strangely it only happens when my car is parked on my driveway with the front of the car up (my driveway is on a slope). Having the rear of the car higher than the front of the car it does not produce the smoke on a cold start.
This free recall: is that only in North America? Or also in Europe?
Thanks for all the interesting information on your blog!
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I only know about the American recalls,,,,you would have to go to your local dealer and let them do a key read print out and it will say what recalls or extended warranty is on your car.
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Thank you for your response! I really appreciate that!
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Hi there, i have recently purchased an 2013 X3. According to BMW, it has done all the recalls however i have two concerns. 1) the known tensioner issue. Can you ask BMW to do the fix now (preventitive), rather than when it fails ( as i know there are several court cases about this)
2) on some mornings i have smoke coming from the rear. Now knowing i have had the turbo oil line recall done, how should i approach them about fixing the turbo ????? as that seems like the next step and it seems pretty common for X3 N20 engines ?
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I don’t know how you are going to get the dealer to replace the timing chain,,,,the only way they will replace it if you can prove to them the timing chain is making a whining noise or that the timing chain rail is coming apart,,,,on the turbo smoking after the oil line was updated,,,,you will have to show them that it is smoking in the morning during start up ,,,and they can perform a test on the turbo to see if oil is going into the exhaust system
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I have taken a video this morning. The turbo oil line was updated as part of recall with previous owner. The car has done 57,000 miles and therefore now out of warranty, would bmw still fix turbo under warranty ? What test do they run to see if it is a turbo issue? Is it a quick check? Do you have the bulletin number they refer to when they first replace turbo oil line, and then the turbo if it not remedied?
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Ok the turbo is not covered anymore,,,the test is not a simple one,,,what we do is run the engine in the morning for about 10 seconds then we remove the catalytic converter and look at the exhaust side of the turbo unit and see if there is any oil in the exhaust side of the turbo and that will tell you what is going on with the turbo blowing oil
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I have also read that cars are covered by 8 year 80000mile emissions warranty, which the car would fail burning all this oil, is this your understanding too?
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8/80 emissions warranty is only in certain states also they only cover certain things on the list for emissions,,,,I don’t know if turbos are covered in your state,,,,you would have to check your state emissions warranty for coverage
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Hi,
When replacing a turbo do you recommend and is it good practice to change the oil feed line to the turbo with the newer version (with check valve)? Also are there any other parts you would recommend changing with a new turbo above the standard turbo install / fitting kit and Oil / Filter change? Finally does the 320i (2012) have any banjo bolts your aware of relating to the turbo install or not applicable?
many Thanks.
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Yes replace the oil feed line with the newer version,,,replace gasket and o-ring,,,,no banjo bolts
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Thanks for the reply. Does the turbo installation or fitting kit (part: 11652411444) include both the Oil Feed line and Oil return (drain pipe) ? Also is it recommended that all the coolant to the engine be changed with new coolant following a turbo install or not required? And would you advise a sump plug (with washer) to be changed with the oil change after turbo install ?
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No that part number is just for the turbo oil feed line,,, no need to replace the oil return hose unless it is leaking or damaged,,,,yes you will be changing the coolant when removing the turbo,,,no just replace the washer only on the drain plug.
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Hi, I think that install kit part no (which ends in 444 from previous message sent) looking at the site below does not contain the Oil Feed line, it does have the Oil pipe outlet (guessing this is the Oil return tube?). See link below:
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/11652411444
Hence it appears you would have to get the Oil feed line (with check valve) separately to the turbo install kit.
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Yes you have to get that line separate
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OK thanks, if you had to retrospectively just install an Oil Feed line (with check valve) later on an already replaced turbo would it be just a case of taking that turbo out and installing that new Oil Feed line or what other parts that would need to also be replaced or renewed again (eg gaskets, etc) ?
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You would have to replace gaskets and o-ring
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Hi bmwtechnician， I’m currently replacing new turbocharger on my 2013 BMW X3 28i with N20 engine but the oil feed line on realoem shows up with part# 11428626652(without check valve). The new oil feed line with check valve part# is 11428678840 I don’t see this part on realoem so I’m confused on which oil feed line I should use on my new turbo. PN# for turbocharger is 11657635803
Thanks in advance.
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Your best thing is to go to the dealer and ask the parts dept what’s the best thing for your car,,,,it should be the updated part with the check valve.
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My local dealer won’t give me part number on the phone, I did some searching and found out the part# RealOEM gave me 11428626652 for does come with check valve but I already ordered 11428678840. Is there any way to check PN#11428678840 is interchangeable with 11428626652.
Thanks
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The only way would be the dealer,,,,sorry
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Hey mate I got a issue on my n20 220i stage 2 after I pull hard I get smoke from tail pipe oil smell after the pull when decelerat and come close to stop it smoke for a few seconds sometimes no smoke at all..I got no oil consuming and the car pull hard as always.. 3 bmw mechanic told me that my turbo is done.. we took it off and it was visual okay.. replaced the feed line no oil leaks no oil coolnat mix what do you think
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It sounds like it could be the turbo,,,did you guys see any oil residue on the output side of the turbo on the propeller shaft?,,,,maybe check your spark plugs for any oil burning,,,,there is a possibility that the valve covers vent valve system is failing also.
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Hey there,
I have succesfully replaced my oil feed line to tthe updated version, and no more smoke! Happy with that. But now i start to notice a “whine”. It happens with accelarating and sound goes together with the rpm. I have checked all chargepipes etc.. but still no luck. Its getting wors every week. It is exactly same noise as related to this issue : https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1692023
Can it have something to do with this new oil feed line? It happened right after i changed it. When i installed everything back to the car i used new sealings for exhaust ports and new o ring for cooling lines etc.. i’d love to hear from you, thanks in advance.
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It shouldn’t have anything to do with the new oil feed line,,,the video is not the best to hear,,,is the noise there while the car is parked and you rev the engine,,,,or is it only there while driving and it has a load.,,,I’m trying to figure out is the issue the turbo or is it the timing chain issue
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Yes it is difficult to hear, but i hear it because i know what to listen for 😃 it sounds like a very silent police siren. And when i’m parked i dont’t hear it with light throttle. When i give alot throttle to reach around 3000 rpm. I can hear it. Best noticable when driving and cold start. I start to think its the turbo, but nothing was wrong with it before the new oil feed line 🤔 i still have all the boost from before.
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