VW 2.5L 5 Cylinder Vacuum Pump Oil Leak/ Gasket

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The 2.5 L mechanical vacuum pump is a common point to leak oil.  If this sounds like you check out below for more info about how to fix this leak on your 2.5 engine.

VW 2.5 Vacuum Pump Replacement Options

Pierburg 2.5 Vacuum Pump for VW #07K145100H (Same Manufacturer as the OEM just no VW logo)

OEM VW 2.5 Vacuum Pump Assembly

How it fails

If you have an oil leak coming from the drivers side of the engine you most likely are having an issue with your Volkswagen 2.5 Mechanical Vacuum Pump.  This part has a cover on the outside that commonly leaks.  In the picture below we have an arrow pointing to where the cover and vacuum pump housing meet.  If your 2.5 was leaking you would find oil coming from somewhere around the bottom of where that cover meets the housing.  Unfortunately the seal between the vacuum pump cover and the pump itself is not something offered by VW (or anyone else as far as we know).  The complete Vacuum Pump must be replaced.  Please note that there has been an updated versions of this 2.5 Vac Pump where the outer cover seems to use a different material than the previous version. Both versions linked above are the most current revision at this time.

What are the Symptoms?

A bad vacuum pump will commonly leak oil and result in pooling below the engine of transmission of your 2.5.  The leak will generally be more prevalent where the engine and transmission meet, and this is often misdiagnosed as a bad rear main seal.  The easiest way to know if you have a leaking vacuum pump would be to see if you have oil build of on top of the transmission of the vehicle.  Often times when trying to track down an oil leak its easiest to start by cleaning everything off then run it to track where the leak is actually coming from.

Is replacing this 2.5 Vacuum Pump a DIY?

On manual transmission cars this is a fairly simple install which makes it a great DIY.  On automatic transmission 2.5 engines the transmission should be removed as per the proper instructions, but there is a option that is not by the book that can prevent the huge expense of having to take out the trans.  Take a look at the video linked below which shows you the trick on how to install this 2.5 vacuum pump, without taking out the transmission on a VW 2.5 with and automatic trans.

How to replace the Vacuum Pump on a VW 2.5 Engine with an Automatic Transmission

Take a look at this video to see more detail about how this 2.5 Vacuum Pump Fails