Coolant leak

crdouger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Location
Michigan
TDI
99.5 & 06 jetta TDI's
Started disassembling my Passat on Wednesday but didnt have a whole lot of time. Got most of the hoses disconnected I believe. For those who have completed this on the 2012 Passat, did the entire intercooler have to be removed or just loosened? The triple squares are buried in there at a weird angle... Is it easiest to remove oil cooler and then the filter housing or is it completely doable to remove them as one? Hoping to get back to it Sunday, thanks again for any tips!!
I did this job several years ago and I'm fairly sure I removed the intercooler. Unfortunately I have to do it again tomorrow (Saturday). I should know more tomorrow as I hope to get it all done in one day. Send me an email and we can exchange contact info in case you have questions. 3rdstallgarage@gmail.com
 

LMM_HP

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Location
Central Wisco
TDI
2012 2.0L SEL Passat
I did this job several years ago and I'm fairly sure I removed the intercooler. Unfortunately I have to do it again tomorrow (Saturday). I should know more tomorrow as I hope to get it all done in one day. Send me an email and we can exchange contact info in case you have questions. 3rdstallgarage@gmail.com
Awe man that sucks... I will try to send something at some point but I for sure won't get to mine until Sunday midday. Every YouTube video I've come across, motor components are slightly different than the 2012. Some say remove fans, some say remove throttle body... etc... thanks man!
 

LMM_HP

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Location
Central Wisco
TDI
2012 2.0L SEL Passat
I actually looked at this forum and apparently didn't read it thoroughly... haha thank you!!
 

mak474

Active member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
I actually looked at this forum and apparently didn't read it thoroughly... haha thank you!!
I just did my oil cooler/filter housing yesterday. It wasn't the easiest thing. Some of the clamps can be a pain.
One thing that worked well for the clamp on the upper side of the intercooler was a long set of needle nose from the bottom of the car.
The hose clamp on the driver side of the oil filter housing was tough. It was easier to get too when you unbolted the filter housing first though. Putting it back on was another story, the filter housing needed to be in place inorder to get the hose fully seated, slide the clamp on as far as you can then remove the filter housing and slide the clamp the rest of the way on.
 

MarshMarlowe

Active member
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Location
South Carolina
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SE
I realize this thread is getting older, but I think I may have a leaking oil cooler / oil filter housing as well on my 2014 NMS. But mine looks to be just leaking oil at this point, but I'm not totally sure. What's giving me pause is the low miles (44k miles) and the oil seems to be covering the oil filter cap as well. Would an oil leak at the block gaskets of the oil cooler assembly migrate all the way up to the oil filter cap? I'll post some pictures if I can - any thoughts?

Also - has anyone had luck with the aftermarket assemblies? I see Urotuning has this part for about $125

Thanks!



I'm not convinced the filter housing block seal is leaking on my NMS. I opted not to spray it down with brake clean since it is a plastic part and I was concerned about degrading the plastic. I did wipe down the cap, and drove the car again for a half hour. I then ran my finger along the backside of the cap and found a good amount of fresh oil. Unless the failed seal is squirting oil up onto the filter housing, I'm thinking it might be worth a try replacing just the cap and filter o-rings... Thoughts?

I do recall the tech having to reinstall the cap last time I got the oil changed, as it leaked the first time he tried to reinstall. I wonder if the cap is damaged. I've never changed the oil in this car - any issue with pulling the cap and filter out just to inspect it? Or would I need to have new o-rings on hand to reseal it?


Thanks
 

LMM_HP

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Location
Central Wisco
TDI
2012 2.0L SEL Passat
I just did my oil cooler/filter housing yesterday. It wasn't the easiest thing. Some of the clamps can be a pain.
One thing that worked well for the clamp on the upper side of the intercooler was a long set of needle nose from the bottom of the car.
The hose clamp on the driver side of the oil filter housing was tough. It was easier to get too when you unbolted the filter housing first though. Putting it back on was another story, the filter housing needed to be in place inorder to get the hose fully seated, slide the clamp on as far as you can then remove the filter housing and slide the clamp the rest of the way on.
I did manage to get the hose clamp on the driver side removed using exactly that, a long needle nose, I came in from where the air filter housing would sit, of course that was not in place. It really only costed me a skinned up knuckle, little blood shed ha! Dont recall if there is another hose to remove or not but i believe im currently at the point of getting the actual housing removed. Ill try to take a few photos Sunday and report back. Seems to be a lot more common than I thought! Thanks to all previous posts!! Much appreciated
 

DivineChaos

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 27, 2019
Location
Minnesota
TDI
mk6 jetta sportwagen tdi
I did manage to get the hose clamp on the driver side removed using exactly that, a long needle nose, I came in from where the air filter housing would sit, of course that was not in place. It really only costed me a skinned up knuckle, little blood shed ha! Dont recall if there is another hose to remove or not but i believe im currently at the point of getting the actual housing removed. Ill try to take a few photos Sunday and report back. Seems to be a lot more common than I thought! Thanks to all previous posts!! Much appreciated
Yeah I just got my orings, so hopefully it's not too cold tomorrow. I also have a stick on heater to add to the oil pan.
 

crdouger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Location
Michigan
TDI
99.5 & 06 jetta TDI's
Just finished this repair today. Went ok except for one stripped triple point bolt head. I decided to make a video of it to help anybody else doing this repair. This should be relatively the same for 2012, 2013 and maybe 2014 or later. I'm not sure when they changed. Took me about 4 hours start to finish (not including the hour dealing with the stripped bolt head.)

 

MarshMarlowe

Active member
Joined
Jan 20, 2021
Location
South Carolina
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SE
Just finished this repair today. Went ok except for one stripped triple point bolt head. I decided to make a video of it to help anybody else doing this repair. This should be relatively the same for 2012, 2013 and maybe 2014 or later. I'm not sure when they changed. Took me about 4 hours start to finish (not including the hour dealing with the stripped bolt head.)

Great video. Thank you for uploading this, very helpful. I was advised to swap the bolts with the new assembly, so I have 4 on order. My heater core is clogged, so I was not liking the idea of replacing the coolant that would be flushed anyway. I hadn't thought about reusing the coolant, nice tip

Did you go with OEM or aftermarket for the oil cooler / filter housing assembly? Repair still holding up well? Did you attempt to clean the oil leaks off the block afterwards?
 

LMM_HP

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Location
Central Wisco
TDI
2012 2.0L SEL Passat
Thanks for the video Doug, got mine completed yesterday. Only had to get intercooler and fans out yesterday and then the housing was very easily accessible. Came out with no issues. There is a (coolant?) pipe that runs directly in front of the oil cooler that can hinder access but I had access to a lift which made everything easier. Re-assembly was pretty quick. Ran it awhile on the lift, no leaks. Ran it down the road, brought to temp, back to shop. No leaks & double checked fluid levels.

Driving to work this morning about 40miles after startup, I got a CEL and my AdBlue light came on. Said I only have 200miles until empty. This is odd because I just re-filled a few weeks ago. Not sure what to think of this...
 

crdouger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Location
Michigan
TDI
99.5 & 06 jetta TDI's
Thanks for the video Doug, got mine completed yesterday. Only had to get intercooler and fans out yesterday and then the housing was very easily accessible. Came out with no issues. There is a (coolant?) pipe that runs directly in front of the oil cooler that can hinder access but I had access to a lift which made everything easier. Re-assembly was pretty quick. Ran it awhile on the lift, no leaks. Ran it down the road, brought to temp, back to shop. No leaks & double checked fluid levels.

Driving to work this morning about 40miles after startup, I got a CEL and my AdBlue light came on. Said I only have 200miles until empty. This is odd because I just re-filled a few weeks ago. Not sure what to think of this...
Glad your replacement went smoothly. I have a 2012 and a 2013 passat and my 2012 had a similar situation where the AdBlue light came on quite early even though the tank was empty. Mine was still under the recall warranty and so I brought it in to the dealership and they replaced some parts. Then it happened two more times and they replaced more parts each time. It happened one more time after that, but it turned itself off after about 50 miles. Once the warranty is done, I think I might neuter it and be done with the emissions headaches.
 

LMM_HP

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2019
Location
Central Wisco
TDI
2012 2.0L SEL Passat
Glad your replacement went smoothly. I have a 2012 and a 2013 passat and my 2012 had a similar situation where the AdBlue light came on quite early even though the tank was empty. Mine was still under the recall warranty and so I brought it in to the dealership and they replaced some parts. Then it happened two more times and they replaced more parts each time. It happened one more time after that, but it turned itself off after about 50 miles. Once the warranty is done, I think I might neuter it and be done with the emissions headaches.
I had checked in on my warranty before I started this filter housing replacement. Funny thing is, I have 128k on my car and my warranty expired at 120k. This is just my typical luck. That will be my next project I believe. A little trimmage and some tuning... Time to do some research on that.
If you wouldn't mind, shoot me a PM if you have any good links or suggestions on this please. If this requires a torch and BFH, I have all the necessary tools 🤣
 

2012_tdi_sel

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2022
Location
Michigan
TDI
2012 TDI SEL
Great video. Thank you for uploading this, very helpful. I was advised to swap the bolts with the new assembly, so I have 4 on order. My heater core is clogged, so I was not liking the idea of replacing the coolant that would be flushed anyway. I hadn't thought about reusing the coolant, nice tip

Did you go with OEM or aftermarket for the oil cooler / filter housing assembly? Repair still holding up well? Did you attempt to clean the oil leaks off the block afterwards?
I just came upon this problem on my TDI, thanks for all of the info so far. Wanted to reiterate @MarshMarlowe 's question: @crdouger did you end up using OEM or aftermarket for the oil cooler and filter housing assembly? Is the repair still holding up okay? Thanks!
 

crdouger

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2010
Location
Michigan
TDI
99.5 & 06 jetta TDI's
I ended up purchasing an aftermarket unit from IDParts. I had a hard time justifying the super expensive OEM parts and it felt foolish to go super cheap off ebay. It was a middle of the road option. I don't know if that was a smart move or not. Maybe I ended up paying twice as much for the same cheap stuff on ebay...who knows.

I did try to clean up the oil mess on the block. It's been about 6 weeks now and no more oil leaks that I can see. After driving for a week I had to top off my coolant reservoir just a little bit, but I'm assuming that's air bubbles working its way out of the system. Since then I haven't noticed any coolant consumption. At this point I'm calling the repair a success!!
 

2012_tdi_sel

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2022
Location
Michigan
TDI
2012 TDI SEL
I ended up purchasing an aftermarket unit from IDParts. I had a hard time justifying the super expensive OEM parts and it felt foolish to go super cheap off ebay. It was a middle of the road option. I don't know if that was a smart move or not. Maybe I ended up paying twice as much for the same cheap stuff on ebay...who knows.

I did try to clean up the oil mess on the block. It's been about 6 weeks now and no more oil leaks that I can see. After driving for a week I had to top off my coolant reservoir just a little bit, but I'm assuming that's air bubbles working its way out of the system. Since then I haven't noticed any coolant consumption. At this point I'm calling the repair a success!!
Gotcha. That's kind of the same boat I was in, OEM seems really pricey. I ended up getting the one off of Amazon that someone earlier in this thread recommended. Partly because it was cheap, partly because I need to get it done before the weekend is over. Looks like some people have noted in reviews and on this forum that it looks to be the same as the OEM, so that's a good starting point I guess. Hoping it will last me a little while at least.

That's good to hear, hope it keeps working well for you. Thanks again for the response/video, very helpful!
 

2012_tdi_sel

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2022
Location
Michigan
TDI
2012 TDI SEL
Update: oil filter housing plastic cracked like everyone else's seemed to. The Amazon special filter housing seemed to be equal quality with the OEM, will see how it holds up. Disappointed I even had to mess with this part, but it is what it is.
 

mak474

Active member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
Update: oil filter housing plastic cracked like everyone else's seemed to. The Amazon special filter housing seemed to be equal quality with the OEM, will see how it holds up. Disappointed I even had to mess with this part, but it is what it is.
I put an Amazon one in 3 weeks ago. Its already leaking coolant and oil. Not heavily or anything but it is beginning to slowly seep. I torqued everything to spec, cleaned the gasket mating surface with scotch brite until it was corrosion free too. It had no leaks for the first week of running it. I'm suspecting it has a crack in the casting. I haven't pulled it yet. I'll be buying one elsewhere in the future.
 

eugene89us

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Location
Southern USA
TDI
2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI SEL Premium
I ended up splurging $400 on a genuine filter housing. In my opinion, it is a worthwhile expense if it lasts me another 100k miles. By that point, we may be searching for a replacement car anyways. In my opinion, especially with time investment into this job, it is not worth saving a few hundred bucks to get possibly inferior aftermarket product. Now, if they came up with aluminum housing or some type of aftermarket upgrade that would create a lifetime part, I would not hesitate to buy it. Until then, crappy design or not, I feel there is not much choice but to get OEM. So far, 10k miles after replacement, the area appears dry and coolant level is staying where I left it. Fingers crossed nothing else major will fail anytime soon.
 

mak474

Active member
Joined
Jan 7, 2022
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE
I ended up splurging $400 on a genuine filter housing. In my opinion, it is a worthwhile expense if it lasts me another 100k miles. By that point, we may be searching for a replacement car anyways. In my opinion, especially with time investment into this job, it is not worth saving a few hundred bucks to get possibly inferior aftermarket product. Now, if they came up with aluminum housing or some type of aftermarket upgrade that would create a lifetime part, I would not hesitate to buy it. Until then, crappy design or not, I feel there is not much choice but to get OEM. So far, 10k miles after replacement, the area appears dry and coolant level is staying where I left it. Fingers crossed nothing else major will fail anytime soon.
I thought about doing the same. This time I went with a Nissens unit from UroTuning. Comparing the three, Amazon, Nissens, OEM. The Amazon unit looks like a different type of plastic all together. Its a dark black glossy dark plastic whereas the OEM unit and the Nissens are a flat black or gunmetal black ABS. The overall weight of the Nissens and OEM units are very close in weight, whereas the amazon unit is significantly lighter suggesting it is a different material density. The amazon unit with about 2k on it is bowed significantly on both gasket surfaces (cooler, block mating). I didn't even take the cooler off when it arrived. I just installed it. I'm guessing the material isn't designed to see the temperatures the oil and coolant hit it with. I've put about 250mi on it so far and no leaks. The amazon unit began seeping coolant within a hundred miles or so.

But I would agree, having to change the oil/ filter/ coolant yet again makes it not cost effective to cheap out and see. If this Nissens unit lasts 100k I'll be happy, if not I'll be going OEM next time.
 

TDI1444

New member
Joined
Jul 29, 2022
Location
Clinton, AR
TDI
2014 Passat TDI SEL Premium
Great video. Thank you for uploading this, very helpful. I was advised to swap the bolts with the new assembly, so I have 4 on order. My heater core is clogged, so I was not liking the idea of replacing the coolant that would be flushed anyway. I hadn't thought about reusing the coolant, nice tip

Did you go with OEM or aftermarket for the oil cooler / filter housing assembly? Repair still holding up well? Did you attempt to clean the oil leaks off the block afterwards?
I am looking for the part number of the oil filter housing bolts for a 2014 Passat TDI any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
 

aktxyz

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Location
austin
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI Sportwagon, 1997 Passat TDI
I have a 2010 Jetta TDI wagon ... anyone know if the oil filter housing discussed here is the same for that year?

wow just realized I joined way back when I had the 97 Passat TDI ... probably my favorite car of all time
 

aktxyz

Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Location
austin
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI Sportwagon, 1997 Passat TDI
Boy those 3 torx bolts toward the back of the plastic undercover were a pain to get off ... and that's just the plastic cover.
The leak that just started looks to be on the side of the engine near the passenger area, so not oil filter housing as discussed here.

It seems like a leak around the EGR is another "common" issue ... taking a break.
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
Passenger side could be the water pump seal. For the oil filter housing, the coolant ran down the front of the block and oil pan.
 

06bluebeetletdi

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Location
Middlesex, NC
TDI
'14 Passat TDI SEL and '13 Beetle TDI
I have a 2010 Jetta TDI wagon ... anyone know if the oil filter housing discussed here is the same for that year?

wow just realized I joined way back when I had the 97 Passat TDI ... probably my favorite car of all time
It seems to be a bit different in design because the long plastic piece on the oil filter that gets replaced on every oil change is part of the oil filter cap on the passat. I haven’t studied the oil filter housing on my beetle.
 
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