BMW E46 Vacuum Pump Repair

A short repair tutorial video on how to fix a vacuum pump that's leaking oil onto the exhaust and causing startup smoke and a burning smell on a E46 BMW. My particular model is a 2001 BMW 318Ci with an N42 engine.
The gasket repair kit can be purchased for about £6-10 from eBay or other websites, and the total time it took me to repair this was around 1-2hrs (considering I went at it from scratch and took a while getting the vacuum pump to come out of a 15 year old car).

[@maxzn8585]

If any of you guys has problems with getting the vacuum pump back in due to the "bolt" not being in the exact position as it used to be : put your car in neutral, try to stick the vacuum pump as far back in as its possible and hold it there with slight pressure, then turn the crankshaft with the help of a (i think) 22mm socket and a big ratchet. The "bolt" of the vacuum pump needs to fit into a slot that is connected to the exhaust camshaft, by turning the crankshaft, the camshaft then turns aswell, and as soon as the slot is in the right position, the vacuum pump should slide in. Just thought this might save you some time trying to "guess" the exact position

[@ifteenarrey7703]

Hello Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, I will look on Amazon. Your video is clear, with clear spoken step by step instructions. It has given me the confidence to want to do this. So thanks again.

[@migelprager1097]

Excellent guide...I have a similar issue and I will replace the o-rings following your video :) Thanks ! PS: Nice terrace ..I guess your GF, wife or mom are very happy that you use it as garage :D

[@aaronbligh3619]

Thanks for this video bro, I did my pump seals yesterday and I followed this step by step. My brake pedal is better it's doesn't sink now when I come to a stop . Also no more oil smell as soon as the exhaust heats up and I'm hoping the oil consumption slows down a bit. I think my next job is valve seals once I e collected all the tools I need.

[@TheNostorian]

Thank you. After getting my car back for the third time with this problem. It´s time to go oand do it myself.

[@johnwellings3225]

great video Jacob very help full . thanks

[@fmmsss]

After the vacuum change you need to change the tulumb of brake as well, because all the oil goes there, i change the vacuum pump and still no brakes.

[@andreasvraximis4665]

Hi mate very helpfull video thanks!!! What is the size of the o-rings in mm (length and thickness)

[@MongooseTacticool]

Use the sealant. I didn't. Still leaks haha! Cheers for the video.

[@SopwithTheCamel]

Thank you.

[@eddiebaby22]

brilliant

[@LeeneshSingh]

I made the mistake of forgetting the rags stuffed down the back of the engine to catch anything falling. Rags caught fire as I was driving.

[@jcue]

great video mate. do you know if its the same procedure on the M54 engine? thx

[@Neumannen]

I have a 2003 E46 318i with the N42 drinking oil like crazy and positive oil lid preassure.

[@Bagged.e38]

Which sealants did you use ? Has to be something that supports high temperature right ? Any recommendations?

[@malp6280]

a quickie question......... I've just done this job today, yeh its a quick job only abit of a bugger getting the x3 bolts off etc anyway, did you find lots of oil inside the pump or just a smidgin. other videos I've watched prior today I've only seen a small amount of oil inside the pump.. so I'm just wondering if that's a good sign or a bad sign ps, did your Ebau kit also come with 3 gaskets??? "whats the 3rd one for..............."

[@user-lp8ro5lj8x]

You mention the vacuum pump leaks oil after a cold engine start up, did it also leak during normal operating conditions or just cold start up?

[@TelstarTAK]

hi there. what sealant did you use and did you only apply to the inner large O ring gasket? thanks.

[@RomainBodossian]

Hi jakob, Thank you for this great tutorial. I did everything and I remove the 3 nuts, bur the pump seems to be heavily fixed to the Engine, so solid !. I can't remove it. How did you remove it. Do you have any advices for me ?

[@JakobAungiers]

I found it was very very tight as well in there... you just have to use a lot of force (carefully!) to remove it... maybe even worth trying to put a rag down and hitting it with a hammer to dislodge it.

[@shaheedpetersen6231]

Hi. Tried following the guide but pump is stuck. It does not want to slide out. I even removed the entire tapper cover and losses the 2 bolts on the pump housing . Still jamed tight. What could ot be?

[@mundex125bieszczady]

Do you know what is size of rubber seals?

[@burakasiliskender]

Valve stems cause a lot of oil leaks or burning? Suspect with that?

[@drugbustin]

Hi, i replaced my vacuum pump on my 320d e46 ...but now it cranks and don't start...could the system get air locked in any way ?

[@markwyatt9847]

Did your servo have oil in it aswell?

[@eddiebaby22]

amazing camera by the way, what is it a go pro or something?

[@JakobAungiers]

Eddie thanks, yup, GoPro with head strap

[@chilissimagrozna6401]

It doesn`t look you have enough back up pressure. Check the oil separator

[@ifteenarrey7703]

hello sorry to bother you again I tried to take of the vacuum pump - got as far as the bolts - but I found mine were really in there tight - anyway I was determined to get them out and out I did - however, as it was getting dark the next day when I looked at 2 of the ones I got out, - one is still in there - I noticed that I have sheared the end and possibly 2 stumps of the bolt is still stuck inside the pump? How can I get the rest of bolt out possibly stuck in the vacuum pump, should I use WD40 for the last one? many thanks

[@williamthomson7820]

Mines the same, put wd40 around where the pump edge that mates with the engine and had to tap it for nearly three days off and on before it budged. it was nearly as stubborn as the wife!

[@matthewwarbutton6877]

I have to do this, but I'm scared as I'm not very mechanical. What the worst that could happen if I mess it up?

[@JakobAungiers]

I never used to be hugely mechanical either, you might as well give it a shot. I think worst thing would be that you get gunk in the pump or don't fit it properly. Usually that would just cause the seal to squirt oil when you start it up. Very worst case it just breaks the inside of the vacuum pump, but as long as you keep a check on the engine when you start it up after you repair it, you won't damage anything else.

[@andreifarcas1920]

My car lacks braking assistance sometimes, so I have to push the pedal very hard, do you think it could be the same cause? I didn't noticed any oil leaks

[@mrphil3446]

Mines doing exactly the same thing right now, scary when it happened going down a 30° hill haha. Andrei, have you fixed the issue at all by doing this job?

[@andreifarcas1920]

@@mrphil3446 nah, I didn't had the issue for quite a long time. Now It happend again. I heard from someone that the valve which stops the vaccum from getting back to the brake booster is damaged.

[@mrphil3446]

@@andreifarcas1920 thanks for getting back to me so quick, wasn't expecting it haha. Mine did it about 3 months ago and fixed itself and now it's done it again, must be the valve right next to the servo, thing is it sucks but not as hard as it should, I'll take that valve out and see if it makes a difference then if not it'll be the pump I reckon. Quite scary especially having a 6 month old baby in the car

[@andreifarcas1920]

@@mrphil3446 I suppose you already fixed your issue, sorry but I don't check notifications here :)) From what I've found out, you can only change the valve alongside with the vacuum pump. Because they come as one part.

[@tpgmadara]

Hello ! Do you have any oil leaks after you have done this repair ? I have the same problem with smoke under the hood and burning smell on my E46 :) Greetings from Romania !

[@JakobAungiers]

tpgmadara hey! This repair solved all my oil leak problems and since I have done it I've not had any oil smoke or smell at all! This engine is prone to burning some oil from time to time, but I can say that this solved the main problem :-)

[@tpgmadara]

Super ! I will give it a try tomorrow. I also changed the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket but the leak is still there :-( This is the last solution. Thank you very much for the fast reply.

[@JakobAungiers]

tpgmadara cool! well good luck and I hope it works out for you. let me know if it fixes the problem!

[@malp6280]

tpgmadara u really should make sure your can cover gasket is fitted correctly, prior to venturing repairing anything else... check with the engine running look for steam etc usually you'd also find discoloration on the exhaust to indicate where oil is dripping onto.. as its the BMW engine there's tons of spots prone to oil leaks ccv x4-6, oil filter housing x2 , cam cover

[@75119]

Jakob Aungiers hi Jakob I need your advice as my N42 318i engine has a suction problem like I can’t even remove oil cap in fact the engine turns off straight away, even though I had replaced breather last month but still problem is there. Thanks

[@ryhu5642]

Is that an oil catch can I see. And if so does that really help these engines ?

[@frederik7601]

it helps, but isn't 100% neccessary on a naturally aspirated engine

[@stoner75014]

hi! why did you wait 24h before start the engine? good job by the way 👍

[@JakobAungiers]

Thanks, the 24h is to let the sealant set and harden fully. It's been 10months now and it's still going strong with no issues at all.

[@stoner75014]

Jakob Aungiers that is a speed return! thx mate 👍

[@Framus-wm3ye]

What millage was your car on when you changed it?

[@JakobAungiers]

Framus 1634 around 94k miles as far as I remember

[@lelekkozje3049]

Hello. Can this pump cause a gasoline engine knocking like a diesel engine. ?? I mean E46 318i N46.

[@emilakhmedov9668]

Probably u have problem with valvetronic

[@dustinss1]

Does the pump share anything with the engine oil? My friend put sea foam into his vacuum pump?

[@JakobAungiers]

The oil inside the pump is the same oil that gets circulated around the engine, yes.

[@malp6280]

dustinss1 sea foam is to help clear engine intake/combustion chambers... it's not for direct oil feed lines

[@Arnyyy94]

It will stop the vacuum pump noise too?

[@beyondtheicewall4417]

I'd say you'd have to replace the 2 small inner edge gaskets on the spinning wheel/bar inside to fix the noise.. something I'm about to try EDIT it didnt stop the rattle so I bought a new pierburg replacement pump

[@hammerphilosopher]

Hello, when you start the engine at 10:33 i *think* i hear a slight rattle for a short duration of time. My engine seems to do the same sound, do you have any idea why? Is it normal? It happens only on cold starts. Thank you :)

[@JakobAungiers]

Don't worry, it's just a trademark of the N42 engine. It's by far not the best engine that BMW have ever made so at times it has a slight diesel-like sound to it and little rattle here and there... if the rattle starts to be constant or gets a lot louder then you might want to check your timing chain tensioner bolt as that might be a bit loose though.

[@hammerphilosopher]

I'm happy to hear that, thank you so much for your answer :)

[@malp6280]

Jakob Aungiers sorry for the future edition .. the tensioner are also prone to failure hence a loud rattle on start up/running.. this part was updated by BMW, check for specific videos to find easy visualisation to help identify old & updated parts etc

[@ifteenarrey7703]

Hi Thanks brillant video - can you help me though **I am complete newbie never done this before 1] can you tell me where you bought the TORX screw kit and the wrenches from please 2] From the video, the pump looks to be in a very compact space - if I do this there is no danger I can damage the area - I have previously done a service on a VW Golf but that is all.ers Cheers

[@JakobAungiers]

Hey! The tools I already had, but you can buy them from any local hardware store, or maybe a bit cheaper on Amazon... Yes the pump is in a very tight space, however there are no other fragile parts around the back of that engine so you can rattle around quite hard back there and you won't damage anything . Just make sure you take the hose off the pump first and put it to the side, and put a towel or cloth below the pump to catch any bolts or bits that you might drop (it's very easy and I almost dropped some a few times).

[@ronib2508]

Hi dear Jakob. Wached your video and enjoyed it very much. And like two oder viewer i am also interested in your camera wich I now know. But would you be so kind and share the brands of your two mini tool boxes please. Cheers and good luck with A I .

[@JakobAungiers]

Thanks Roni, The brands of the mini-toolbox is RED which I think might just be a local hoardware shop brand from around here, but there are plenty of ones similar to buy on Amazon for not that much :). Thanks

[@ronib2508]

@@JakobAungiers Cheers. Very kind

[@deanagius420]

Is there a vaccuum pump on a manual ?

[@JakobAungiers]

Yes, this was a manual transmission

[@Baldur_1]

I've changed the two o-rings of the vacuum pump, but it stills leaking oil on the smaller o-ring. Shoud I put some sealant on the smaller o-ring or on the vacuum pup where it fits to engine?

[@Traumassa]

Did the car too make "rattle" noise 1-2 sec, when you cold start the engine?

[@arkadiuszkarwacki4843]

Hi all, I’ve done similiar replacemnt of the both o-rings seals of the vacuum pump (BMW e90 330d). After sealing with the proper o-rings there were no leaks of the oil. BUT right after the replacement problems with braking occurred (hard pedal after braking 3 times). There’s some issue with the sub-pressure. What is funny (If I may use such word for this s**t) that after using the old o-rings, everything went back to the previous condition (leaking of the oil but normal braking). Can anybody give me any clue or hint? What can cause such strange condition? Thanks in advance…

[@igorstetsiuk6850]

Hi, did you fix you problem? What was the problem?

[@Javier3RM]

I have the same problem. Did you solved it?

[@arkadiuszkarwacki4843]

Yes, but i had to replace whole pump. Bought the used one for some little money and checked the subpressure with manometer to avoid crash-like situation on road. So, in ma case o ring replacement was a bad choice. Probably the inner side of the case was deformed and could normally operate only with old orings with specific torque of screws etc. So, replace the pump.

[@witciu12]

jakim kluczem odkrecamy pompe ?

[@emilakhmedov9668]

10mm a same obudowe torx 25

[@jaeger8882]

"Rebuilding" the vacuum pump this way is actually false economy - it's not a true rebuild. It is actually impossible to rebuild these vacuum pumps because they have an internal interference / bearing type seal which cannot be replaced - the entire pump needs to be replaced with a new one. I know as I made an extremely expensive mistake by doing exactly what is shown in this tutorial, as the common advice on the internet told me to. My pump was leaking oil onto my exhaust manifold and causing smoke / smell. I had replaced the CCV some time before that, as well as the valve cover gasket, vanos solenoid seals, and oil filter housing seal - so this was the last leak on my 'to do' list. I procrastinated about changing the seals for a while until one day my power brakes just died. Needed two feet on the pedal to stop at an intersection. 'Damn' I thought - the pump must have given up the ghost. I stripped it all down, pulled out the pump and opened it up - but it all looked fine inside. There was a bit of oil, but the rotor looked in perfect order. I 'rebuilt' it with the new seals as shown in the video and put it all back together. Started the car up and - still no brakes. hmmm. I then checked the brake vacuum line check valve - working perfectly. hmmm. 'Bad booster' I thought and proceeded to take it out - big job that also involved disconnecting the ABS/DSC/master cylinder and all brake lines on my RHD car. When I got the booster out it was full of oil! Like litres and litres of oil. I ordered a new genuine BMW booster (didn't trust a used one) - for about $350 USD in early 2018. Put it in and suddenly I have brakes! (hooray!) Drove around like this for about 1500kms (~1000 miles) when the oil light on the dash came on (didn't I just top that up?) Then, the brakes failed on me again. Huh? Turns out 'rebuilding' the vacuum pump made the problem worse! With the new seals the oil which was leaking through the shaft bearing - which would normally leak out of the pump body and onto the exhaust -went straight into my brand new booster. The booster was dead. It had even started leaking oil into my cabin, dripping onto my shoes. There was TONS of oil in the booster -after such a short distance! It was FULL of oil - like half the sump capacity! I bit the bullet and ordered ANOTHER new genuine BMW booster $350 USD + a genuine BMW vacuum pump (about $150 USD on eBay) and the revised vacuum pipe which BMW released for the later N46 engines with TWO check valves in the line. This hose was made for the later models than my e46 so I cut out both of the new check valves and grafted them into my old line using hose and clamps. Problem solved. Working brakes. No oil in booster. No leaking vacuum pump. The poor man always pays twice.

[@DL-dy9tt]

Jaeger 888 bro this is the exact symptoms my car had. I replaced the booster and then the abs pump. Both big projects. Brakes worked each time for a few days after. Now I’m off to the the vacuum pump. Thanks my man!

[@kay19833]

Hi mate, is the vacuum pump tied to the engine or on the cars body? because believe me, I didn't see how you removed it. KZbinrs usually show the whole process, where each nut and bolts are etc, you just skipped it and abrakadabrah! here comes the vacuum. It's not helpful I am sorry.

[@JakobAungiers]

kay poly it's attached to the back of the engine. Quite literally impossible to swivel round and see, you have to feel your way around the nuts with your fingers which takes about 20mins, as I explained. If you want 20mins of me cursing with useless visuals then I'm sorry.

[@kay19833]

ahaha funny. I have ordered the parts and just waiting. I will update my comments as soon as I am done. By the way we have the same engine. What made you fix this Vacuum anyways? you had smokes coming out of the engine bay too?

[@JakobAungiers]

Yea, smoke from the engine and the oil burning smell on a cold start... Plus little oil puddles on my drive. Fixing the vacuum pump solved all of them. Done about 6000 miles since then with no issues!

[@kay19833]

I did it the whole day yesterday, I finished in the night though. I didn't know where exactly the 3 10mm nuts were so I mixed it up with some other nuts behind the engine, so I spend hours trying to put them back. Plus one of the 3 nuts that holds the pump to the rear of the engine couldn't be tightened, it went lose after tightening it, I took it out and found out the thread from the inside of the engine or on the pump had worn out but, I am not sure which one. The worn thread came out with the nut so I saw it. e Can I drive to the mechanic to see what we can do despite this? I mean it's not 24 hrs yet and only 2 nuts are holding the pump to the engine.

[@JakobAungiers]

kay poly hmm sucks about the worn thread... as long as the pump has a good seal it's fine to drive. So with two tight screws it should be enough to keep it in place. Try and reach down and give it a good tug and wiggle. if the pump is solid and doesn't move then you're alright.

[@Robert.3Coupe]

That's weird , this engine should shutdown when open the oil cap

[@michaelohare3157]

No it shouldn’t..

[@josepeixoto3384]

defective and out of sight!! nice design...avoid , avoid.