"Secondary Air System Flow Too Low" - worth bothering?

[M3rocket]

Check Engine came on, and my 1998 M3 shows two fault codes, F5 and F6, indicating "Secondary Air System Flow Too Low." I'm not hearing any weird whining or screeching sounds at startup to indicate the secondary air pump has failed. Other than reducing cold start emissions, should I be in any hurry to replace the pump, valve, and/or hoses? Once the car's running, it doesn't effect performance, correct?

[propcar]

you're in california... so there's that. But when mine died, got a tune, plugged the manifold port. No more SAP issues

[QtheGenius]

I have a spare pump, PM me if you want to replace yours.

[M3rocket]

you're in california... so there's that. But when mine died, got a tune, plugged the manifold port. No more SAP issues

Yeah, my next smog check isn't till Sept 2021.
My main question was, will putting SAP service off hurt any other systems?

[Hova]

Same. I've got a few of these laying around. Pay for shipping and it's yours.

[bluptgm3]

Generally, the valve is bad. It can be tested. The bad valve allows exhaust gasses to enter the pump when the pump is not running, contaminating the bearings.
I replaced both.


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[Kraftwerk]

People have rebuilt their pumps.... Easy enough to drill out the 5 aluminum rivets but then getting the fan off the spindle is where I stopped .. since the bearing seems fine, I will just replace the valve to see if that fixes it. I have been driving with a block-off plate on the header, but now I need to pass inspection here in NY and they wont if the dash CEL is on, even though the car is over 25 years, old they still look at the damn dash lights.
Thing runs like a champ otherwise.

[shogun]

I had the same problem, replaced the hose between pump and valve and problem was gone, the hose had cracks http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E3...trol_air_pump/

[bluptgm3]

There are SAP Simulators for sale on a couple of web sites.


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[hinzm3]

No biggie if you don't fix it other than your cel being on all the time. I would just get a simulator but you're in Cali so you will need a Happy smog if you go that route. Check for leaks first if you can borrow a smoke machine if no leaks then just find a used pump plenty of them around

[Stephen Max]

Does your pump come on at all? I had a bad SAP relay that gave me a similar error code (if not the same). I thought the pump had seized, so replaced it. Took me a while to figure out it was the relay and not the pump.

[blckstrm]

Same. I've got a few of these laying around. Pay for shipping and it's yours.

Heh, mine looks like it's toast. You want to send me one? I tried to PM yo, but I'm wondering if maybe it didn't go through. Maybe just busy - it's blasphemy, but there are weeks where I don't log in either...