Anyone seen a vanos pressure accumulator or line go bad?

[bavarian3]

Wondering if this ever happens. I'm dealing with a small oil leak that I've narrowed down to the vanos accumulator line or cannister.

Thing is, I've recently replaced the line with a bimmerworld part. It probably has less than 500mi on it. Oil seems to get sprayed intermittently(likely at high rpm pressure) against the block and AC compressor.

Only thing I can think is the joints of the line itself are defective, or the banjo bolt to cannister mounting point has a weak point.

I can say with near certainty as everything is clean and the oil has dye, that this is not coming from above(such as vanos unit itself, chain tensioner, or cpv.)

Curious if anyone has thoughts on this.

[sapote]

Cover the ACC banjo bolt with plastic bag to see if it’s leaking here.

[lemoose]

My impression is that these lines going bad are far from unheard of. Mine started doing the same thing around the 130k mile mark.

[Ramage]

They do go bad, usually dramatically, since the line is under pressure.

One thing to check is the copper crush washers. When I first did my Vanos upgrade, I bought 6x 07119963129 (12x15) for the oil return line, not 4 x 07119963072 (10x13.5) for the Vanos line.

I chased that leak for a year, and it was not until I was reviewing an old invoice that I noticed my mistake. I replaced the crush washers with the correct ones and have not had any leaks since.

The trouble finding leaks in that area is multiplied because that area is where the majority of the leaks originate. In addition, the fan blows the oil around, quickly becoming a costly exercise to track down a small leak.

Good luck

[maupineda]

The accumulator can go bad and won’t provide pressure reserve for vanos actuation. You need a pressure gage to test it

[Estoril]

I had a line develop a slow leak on my track car. Easily fixed. Also, check your belly pan.

[bavarian3]

Thanks all. I was curious more about the cannister itself going bad. maupineda any idea what symptoms this may cause?

[bavarian3]

Cover the ACC banjo bolt with plastic bag to see if it’s leaking here.

genius idea! need one that wouldn't melt though...perhaps I can fab up some foil tent.

They do go bad, usually dramatically, since the line is under pressure.

One thing to check is the copper crush washers. When I first did my Vanos upgrade, I bought 6x 07119963129 (12x15) for the oil return line, not 4 x 07119963072 (10x13.5) for the Vanos line.

I chased that leak for a year, and it was not until I was reviewing an old invoice that I noticed my mistake. I replaced the crush washers with the correct ones and have not had any leaks since.

The trouble finding leaks in that area is multiplied because that area is where the majority of the leaks originate. In addition, the fan blows the oil around, quickly becoming a costly exercise to track down a small leak.

Good luck

iiinteresting. I did use the lines it came with so it shouldn't be an issue, but I'll have to check this. How did the leak behave? did it just seep or actually sprayed?

[Ramage]

genius idea! need one that wouldn't melt though...perhaps I can fab up some foil tent.




iiinteresting. I did use the lines it came with so it shouldn't be an issue, but I'll have to check this. How did the leak behave? did it just seep or actually sprayed?

Super slow sipping making it hard to track down.

[maupineda]

The accumulator can go bad and won’t provide pressure reserve for canos actuation. You need a pressure gage to test it

`got you, as leaking through the canister. I had not seen that, other than the bajo joint, or the line itself. if the joints are all caked in oil grime, I would clean, and replace the crush washer with new. the few times I have tried to reuse after level them with a file, have worked for me. or if you have an aftermarket line, there maybe a tiny hole.