Hi to all. My 2014 Passat TDI SE has developed a steady coolant leak. When I took the shield off the bottom of the engine, drips of coolant were steadily dripping off of the lower attach nut/stud for the A/C compressor. I looked down from the top, and up from below at the hoses and water fittings on the front side of the engine, around where the oil filter housing attaches to the block, and could not locate the source of the leak. Has anyone out there had this happen to them. I have about 109,000 miles on it, and am wondering if it could be the water pump that developed a leak, and the water is migrating to the compressor attach point??? There weren't any maintenance actions that could have induced this. Kind of hard to think that a gasket or o-ring could just start leaking on it's own. Thinking about going into the front of the engine and changing the water pump, and while I'm at it also the timing belt. I would appreciate anyone's shared experiences and advice! Thanks in advance.
2014 Passat coolant leak
- Thread starter Jimbo-Mo
- Start date
06bluebeetletdi
Veteran Member
My ‘14 Passat had the water pump fail at 53,000 miles. It would only leak when the engine was running. The coolant was leaking onto the timing and serpentine belts.
Top Dead Center
I am about to replace the timing belt, and the Alldata repair guide says to align the crankshaft mark for TDC with the mark on the tool, making sure that the tool is at 12 o'clock. So after I do this, and before I put the new belt on, is there a mark on the camshaft that should be aligned, and are there any other things (high pressure pump?) that need to be aligned as well?
I am about to replace the timing belt, and the Alldata repair guide says to align the crankshaft mark for TDC with the mark on the tool, making sure that the tool is at 12 o'clock. So after I do this, and before I put the new belt on, is there a mark on the camshaft that should be aligned, and are there any other things (high pressure pump?) that need to be aligned as well?
06bluebeetletdi
Veteran Member
Mine was replaced under the powertrain warranty.
There are holes in both the cam and HPFP sprockets that you insert pins into that keep them aligned, a drill bit "could" also be used if you do not have the tools.
This looks like the tools I have, the lock pins are the rods with the black knob on the end.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/905B-Metal...392011?hash=item3d7dab6e8b:g:GncAAOSwWz5cENLv
This looks like the tools I have, the lock pins are the rods with the black knob on the end.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/905B-Metal...392011?hash=item3d7dab6e8b:g:GncAAOSwWz5cENLv
Thanks d2freeman
Hey d2freeman- thanks for the info. I saw that in there, had ordered the tools from Amazon, getting them today. I suspected I needed to do that, but wanted to hear from someone who had gone down that road once and had everything work correctly when the engine was restarted. Nothing like fixing something only to make things worse in the end! I am a bit curious about the HPFP and why it would need to be aligned to a certain position? My first thought about it would be that it would be like a water pump, and as long as it was turning, it would be doing what it was supposed to be doing. Anyone know? Also, on engines I have worked on in the past, the cam goes around once for every 2 turns of the crank (4-stroke). So you can have the crank mark aligned and not have the camshaft in the right place. I am guessing the pin falling into the hole takes the guess work out of that and let's you know that you have reached TDC?
Hey d2freeman- thanks for the info. I saw that in there, had ordered the tools from Amazon, getting them today. I suspected I needed to do that, but wanted to hear from someone who had gone down that road once and had everything work correctly when the engine was restarted. Nothing like fixing something only to make things worse in the end! I am a bit curious about the HPFP and why it would need to be aligned to a certain position? My first thought about it would be that it would be like a water pump, and as long as it was turning, it would be doing what it was supposed to be doing. Anyone know? Also, on engines I have worked on in the past, the cam goes around once for every 2 turns of the crank (4-stroke). So you can have the crank mark aligned and not have the camshaft in the right place. I am guessing the pin falling into the hole takes the guess work out of that and let's you know that you have reached TDC?
HPFP is not "timed" to the engine as in older engines per say but it does have a lock hole just like the cam.
Check out this video, explains it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAi667H7M2Y
Also order a new tensioner stud so you do not need to remove the engine mounts. as in the video below. If you get the dieselgeek kit it includes the stud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=a-fd0dIo7Ss
Check out this video, explains it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAi667H7M2Y
Also order a new tensioner stud so you do not need to remove the engine mounts. as in the video below. If you get the dieselgeek kit it includes the stud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=a-fd0dIo7Ss
Last edited:
oilhammer
Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
It IS timed, actually, and the reason is to level out the pulsed loads on the belt system so that the spike load of the valves does not occur at the exact same time as the spike load of the HPFP plunger. Even the crank sprockets are not actually round, for this same reason. It is called "SmartSprocket" by Litens, the company that designed this setup, it is quite sophisticated and engineered very well.
Help!
I got into replacing the timing belt today, but the camshaft pulley looked nothing like the one in the video. Instead of a readily identifiable saw-toothed window that would be located at 12 o'clock, all it had was a bunch of (approx 1/2") holes around the perimeter, and one.....I'll call it a radial slot. When the slot was around the 2 o'clock position, I could see a shallow diagonal window that the pin would fit into when properly aligned (just a wee bit off from where it was), but couldn't see any other definite hole that it would go through.......either there or 180 out, with the crank lock tool in, and the slot for the fuel pump just a slight bit from lining up (maybe 25 thousandths of an inch). I just want to make sure I get this right.... so any help is greatly appreciated!!! It has about 110,000 miles on it- if that info helps.....
I got into replacing the timing belt today, but the camshaft pulley looked nothing like the one in the video. Instead of a readily identifiable saw-toothed window that would be located at 12 o'clock, all it had was a bunch of (approx 1/2") holes around the perimeter, and one.....I'll call it a radial slot. When the slot was around the 2 o'clock position, I could see a shallow diagonal window that the pin would fit into when properly aligned (just a wee bit off from where it was), but couldn't see any other definite hole that it would go through.......either there or 180 out, with the crank lock tool in, and the slot for the fuel pump just a slight bit from lining up (maybe 25 thousandths of an inch). I just want to make sure I get this right.... so any help is greatly appreciated!!! It has about 110,000 miles on it- if that info helps.....
Here is what my cam gear looks like, sounds like it is same as yours.
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AvI9LGoLADbSphVQq7w80dkzmYiY
tdi54
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2010
- Location
- California
- TDI
- 1981 Rabbit Diesel(sold), 2009 Jetta TDI MT(sold)2010 Jetta TDI MT, 2015 Jetta TDI SEL, DSG, 99 Ford F 350 PSD Dually, 2016 BMW X5 xDrive35d, 2016 535d
It IS timed, actually, and the reason is to level out the pulsed loads on the belt system so that the spike load of the valves does not occur at the exact same time as the spike load of the HPFP plunger. Even the crank sprockets are not actually round, for this same reason. It is called "SmartSprocket" by Litens, the company that designed this setup, it is quite sophisticated and engineered very well.
Never knew that and has been wondering why the hpfp pump requires timing adjustment even though it has nothing to do with timing of the fuel injection.
Now I know, thank you for the info Oilhammer.
Never knew that and has been wondering why the hpfp pump requires timing adjustment even though it has nothing to do with timing of the fuel injection.
Now I know, thank you for the info Oilhammer.
Thanks!
Thanks to all who helped me out with this! d2freeman- my cam pulley did look like that. This morning I noticed that the pin was located at 8 o'clock on the video, and when I took the belt off it was at 2. I wondered if there wouldn't be some mark which identified the top- then saw the arrow at 6 o'clock. I marked where everything was before I took the belt off, so I put the belt on per the video. After I turned the engine 180 degrees, I found the hole in the slot. (Can't imagine how I missed it before) It was a bit off, so I adjusted per the video, spun it around 720 degrees, and the cam hole lined up perfectly when the crank tool was installed. The fuel pump was off just a little, but on the video he said it was ok. I am really happy with how it turned out and am looking forward to turning it over tomorrow night when I get everything else back together. Thanks again for seeing me through this process!
Thanks to all who helped me out with this! d2freeman- my cam pulley did look like that. This morning I noticed that the pin was located at 8 o'clock on the video, and when I took the belt off it was at 2. I wondered if there wouldn't be some mark which identified the top- then saw the arrow at 6 o'clock. I marked where everything was before I took the belt off, so I put the belt on per the video. After I turned the engine 180 degrees, I found the hole in the slot. (Can't imagine how I missed it before) It was a bit off, so I adjusted per the video, spun it around 720 degrees, and the cam hole lined up perfectly when the crank tool was installed. The fuel pump was off just a little, but on the video he said it was ok. I am really happy with how it turned out and am looking forward to turning it over tomorrow night when I get everything else back together. Thanks again for seeing me through this process!
Good luck!
Good luck doing that! You'll have to let me know how it goes. I started my car yesterday, and it runs like a champ. Only problem is- I still have the water leak- so I guess the cause might not have been the water pump after all. A part of the story I haven't told was that a young technician at the dealer (the one who told me I needed to change the water pump) also told me that it was behind the thermostat housing that I would find the pump. I found the pump alright......I found the back side of it, and found that I would be going into the front of the engine to find the front of it. So now I had the intercooler, throttle body, egr valve, and a few other things apart to get to the thermostat housing. I guess it is possible that the original problem was the water pump, and the second leak, which is showing up slightly to the right of the first, looking at the engine from the front of the car, might be from the seal between the block and the thermostat housing. That was awfully hard to get in, and after I had the line to the right of the housing slid into it, couldn't really push the housing/o-ring into the block. I ended up just getting the bolts started, then alternating the tightening of the bolts (a turn at a time) to hopefully seat it evenly. Not much room to work in there! Hard to see exactly what is going on, but the water (with the front of the car jacked up) ends up running along the engine block along that side of the engine, and dripping off of the oil pan near the DSG. I am bringing it to the dealer to let them fix it- tired of putting everything on hold while I work on it. Have a feeling it's not gonna be cheap! Take care!
Good luck doing that! You'll have to let me know how it goes. I started my car yesterday, and it runs like a champ. Only problem is- I still have the water leak- so I guess the cause might not have been the water pump after all. A part of the story I haven't told was that a young technician at the dealer (the one who told me I needed to change the water pump) also told me that it was behind the thermostat housing that I would find the pump. I found the pump alright......I found the back side of it, and found that I would be going into the front of the engine to find the front of it. So now I had the intercooler, throttle body, egr valve, and a few other things apart to get to the thermostat housing. I guess it is possible that the original problem was the water pump, and the second leak, which is showing up slightly to the right of the first, looking at the engine from the front of the car, might be from the seal between the block and the thermostat housing. That was awfully hard to get in, and after I had the line to the right of the housing slid into it, couldn't really push the housing/o-ring into the block. I ended up just getting the bolts started, then alternating the tightening of the bolts (a turn at a time) to hopefully seat it evenly. Not much room to work in there! Hard to see exactly what is going on, but the water (with the front of the car jacked up) ends up running along the engine block along that side of the engine, and dripping off of the oil pan near the DSG. I am bringing it to the dealer to let them fix it- tired of putting everything on hold while I work on it. Have a feeling it's not gonna be cheap! Take care!
final solution to water leak
So although I was halfway expecting to find the thermostat housing leaking, I did some further investigating- including putting rags to form dams to eliminate components since it is so hard to really see the source of the leak. As it turned out, I found that it was coming down the left side of the oil cooler, forming a pool on a ledge on the engine block, then finally overflowing that and falling off the aft side of the oil pan near where it meets the transmission. When I removed the oil cooler, I found that the smaller of the 2 piece seal was deformed, and the wall of the track that it lays in was broken. Dealer wanted $450 or so for the new cooler- found exact same aftermarket part with next day delivery for just$59, which included the dealers $41 seal kit. Going to install it tomorrow, and anticipate that it will be the end of my coolant leak problems. I don't exactly understand how something like that could happen and take so long to turn into a sizable leak, but will be glad to finally have it fixed.
So although I was halfway expecting to find the thermostat housing leaking, I did some further investigating- including putting rags to form dams to eliminate components since it is so hard to really see the source of the leak. As it turned out, I found that it was coming down the left side of the oil cooler, forming a pool on a ledge on the engine block, then finally overflowing that and falling off the aft side of the oil pan near where it meets the transmission. When I removed the oil cooler, I found that the smaller of the 2 piece seal was deformed, and the wall of the track that it lays in was broken. Dealer wanted $450 or so for the new cooler- found exact same aftermarket part with next day delivery for just$59, which included the dealers $41 seal kit. Going to install it tomorrow, and anticipate that it will be the end of my coolant leak problems. I don't exactly understand how something like that could happen and take so long to turn into a sizable leak, but will be glad to finally have it fixed.
Did this fix the leak? The way you described the leak and where it ran, seems to be exactly what I’m experiencing. If it’s around the oil cooler though, I can’t seem to see it originating from there, I only see evidence of coolant very close to it.
Hi Bfrank6, Yes it did fix the leak. Trying to see where it was coming from was the hardest part, there is something in the way from just about every angle you try to look, then it pools in one area, and overflows in another. I will caution you about the new part though, a few months after I put the new one on- it started leaking too. There are bushings in the 4 mounting holes. On the new part, the bushings were too long. It enabled the seals to seal for a while, but eventually the seal broke. Those bushings need to be about .005"-.010" shorter than the hole. When I compared the new to the original that became apparent. I took pictures and sent them in to the company I bought the replacement part from and they sent me a new one. I also trimmed the bushings down and used that part with a new seal kit (now I have an extra on the shelf). Here is a link to the new part on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GRYHZ2K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I also learned the hard way that the heads of the screws for the cooler and throttle body apart are special. (stripped one out- then it was really hard to remove). Better get some of those if you don't already have some: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002NYC0Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I also bought these little jewels to help get the hose clamps off the intercooler: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TB33Z2H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Some good tools on this job really make a difference! Good luck!
I also learned the hard way that the heads of the screws for the cooler and throttle body apart are special. (stripped one out- then it was really hard to remove). Better get some of those if you don't already have some: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002NYC0Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I also bought these little jewels to help get the hose clamps off the intercooler: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TB33Z2H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Some good tools on this job really make a difference! Good luck!
bustNfuel
Veteran Member
@Jimbo-Mo thanks for following up with your findings regarding the aftermarket replacement part, and the hose clamp tool links.
Thanks for the great information. I haven’t bought the oil filter assembly yet, I wanted to see if I only needed the gasket first. HOWEVER, I have rounded out one of the triple square bolts for the oil filter housing. After I drill the bolt and extract it, where in the world do I get a replacement bolt? Looked for a while online can’t find a match.
Did the oil filter housing you got on amazon come with the bolts? I didn’t see them in the description.
Did the oil filter housing you got on amazon come with the bolts? I didn’t see them in the description.
flyboybob
Veteran Member
hi bfrank6!
sorry you’re having this problem too!
when i replaced my oil filter housing i bought bolts too.
still have the package... p/n on that label is N-908-539-03.
should be able to see pics n prices w a web search.
hope that helps.
bob.
sorry you’re having this problem too!
when i replaced my oil filter housing i bought bolts too.
still have the package... p/n on that label is N-908-539-03.
should be able to see pics n prices w a web search.
hope that helps.
bob.
I finally got my rounded out bolt removed, and removed the oil filter assembly. Take a look fellas, looks like the gasket channel cracked and allowed the gasket to move and break the seal. Man what a stupid problem. Thanks so much for all your guys’ help!!!
