Hi everyone,

I've been chasing down a P1498 on my 2005 R53 for about a month now. The EML light only comes on on a cold start with the A/C off. If the A/C is on the light will not come on.

I've changed the intercooler boots (they were badly leaking) and the car seems to make much more power now. The car has had the supercharger duct and green gasket replaced recently so I don't think that is causing the problem either.

After talking with another forum member I checked out the fuel pressure regulator vacuum line and saw that mine was cracked slightly at the turn the line makes to go under the intake manifold.

Can I change this line by just pulling the intercooler? Also, rather than wait for a new Mini line, can I use some vacuum hose with the same diameter and just use plastic ties to "clamp" the line down where it attaches to the intake and fuel pressure regulator?

Thanks in advance! I wanted to eliminate some unknowns before pulling the intercooler again (those silicone boots are tough to get on :D )

Here is a picture of the crack.

 

You should be able to get at these by just removing the intercooler. I believe the size you’re looking for a 5/32nd ID vacuum hose. I just redid mine the other day. Can’t remember the exact size off the top of my head. The bottom of the regulator is kind of a pain.

 

yes, you can replace the plastic line with just some rubber vacuum hose.....that's what I did with my '04 R53 when I installed my boost gauge.....I T'd it into that line.....you will need to find the right size hose do it fits tight, and get a pair of long needle nose pliers to aid in putting it on the regulator and intake nipples

Bryan

 

Thanks! I'll pull the intercooler off again soon and try to match up some vacuum hose that fits properly. I'll also add some plastic ties on either end where the line attaches to give it some extra support from falling off.

 

Do yourself a favor, see which size fits "snug" and go one size smaller, and force it on.
That's one hose you don't want coming off at WOT.

 

Okay, thanks for the tip! I'll probably end up going to the local auto store and matching up a size, then go a little smaller like you say.

After I got the car home from work I didn't have time to pull the intercooler (was getting dark fast). Plus I didn't want to get the car in a state where I couldn't take it to work the next day. We were able to stick some electrical tape (using long needle nose pliers) around the cracked portion. I'll find out tomorrow but hopefully the EML light stays off. This is just a temporary fix until I have some more time to pull the intercooler again and have the hose ready. It's very possible the line is cracked somewhere else near the fuel pressure regulator, so I'm not holding my breath that this fixes the issue.

 

Well the EML light came on again so I'll be pulling the intercooler again tomorrow to replace the hose. I'm assuming it's likely cracked elsewhere.

Are there any other vacuum lines I can check while I have the intercooler off?

 

There is a hard white plastic vacuum line that snaps into the front of the SC that can get brittle, have you checked that? It's one those connectors that have a red ring that you push, then pull to remove.

 

Ah okay, I have not checked that yet. I'll be sure to take a look when I pull the intercooler. Any other common ones?

 

Well, I changed the line out today with a nice tight fitting vacuum line and put everything back together. EML still came on with a cold start and pending code for P1498.

Any other ideas? Is the car safe to drive with this code coming on?

Another note, I seem to hear a slight hissing only when the engine is cold, but seems to go away when it warms up. Would this point to a vacuum leak only when the engine is cold?

 

It sounds like a vacuum leak, best way to check is by doing a smoke test, or have a shop do it......if the leak is present, it could make the engine run so lean that you could end up burning a valve or piston

Here are a few things to check that I have found on the web.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Unmetered air after compressor)

Google says that NAM says P1498 is (Unmetered air after compressor) Check for leaks in the intercooler or the tube that goes from the back of the SC to the TB.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...1498-code.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and more links to the code

https://www.google.com/search?q=p149...hrome&ie=UTF-8

 

Thanks! I've read through most of those threads and checked most of the vacuum system. My next step will be to run a smoke test (home made device). The light comes on with the car just idling, and seems like it seals up as the engine warms.

The supercharger duct was changed twice, hopefully it was done properly but if not I guess I'll be putting the car into front end service mode and taking it all apart again.

Since the light comes on at just idle I hope my smoke test will find the leaks.

 

How did you make out with this P1498 code....what was solution if any ?
Thanks!!

 

I ended up putting the car into front end service mode and carefully went over much of the vacuum system with the front exposed. I found that the supercharger by-pass valve gasket to the intercooler horn was completely flat and not sealing. So I replaced that gasket and then pressure tested the system and found the plastic seams on the supercharger duct/charge pipe were leaking. At this point the car had 2 of these ducts replaced (brand new OE MINI) within 10k miles. I have also read that brand new ducts would leak from the factory so I was not that surprised. I ended up coating the seams in gray RTV sealant and this seems to have resolved my P1498 code.

I only had the issue on cold starts with the A/C off when the vacuum pressure was highest. I am guessing that these leaks sealed up after the first few minutes of the engine warming up because the car ran perfectly fine. So I think my issue was a combination of small vacuum leaks but it is hard to pinpoint it to one single issue. It was definitely vacuum related though. I hope that helps

 

Do yourself a favor and get ahead of the game, esp if you have spare intake tubes.
Repair one with JB Weld: Plastic Weld, works phenomenally, I've even repaired a coolant tank with the stuff when I was out of town once, never did leak.

 

So we actually picked up a wrecked R53 that had a large hole in the intake duct. I had grabbed a spare duct from a local salvage yard for ~$7. A little bit of RTV on the seams and it went back on the car with no issue!

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more parts as R53s make their way into the junk yards.