Timing belt

[former chevy man]

So I just completed the water pump / timing belt replacement on my 2012 Passat. Seems like more of a PITA than doing them on my old 02 Jetta with the ALH in it.
2 questions....With the old ALH you'd run Vag Com and then make super minute adjustments to the fuel pump to get it dialed after the timing belt replacement. Is that not the case with the CKR engine? If that's still needed...I can't find the procedure anywhere.

Second...the coolant is obsolete from the dealer although a dealer near me has a couple jugs left for 30 bucks each. Anyone have any issues running the Xerex G40 coolant in the CKR engine?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[AverageAndy]

I just did this ~5000 miles ago. No need for Vag Com and I replaced with G40. Based on color and the fact that my coolant reservoir said G12++ on it, pretty sure that was what was in it previously.

 

[former chevy man]

Thanks Andy for the input.

 

[former chevy man]

Figures...start filling it up and getting coolant drips off the front of the oil pan maybe 6 inches back from the crank pulley end. Guess I'll pull the intercooler and get it out of the way so I can see better where the leak is.....DAMMIT

 

[eugene89us]

@former chevy man I actually switched from OEM G13 coolant to Zerex G40 because G13 coolant's "green initiative" actually makes it less stable, causing deposits in our engines. I have stuck with Zerex since I replaced the oil cooler at around 110K miles. You are probably in the same category as me, usually coolant leaks that drip to the front of the engine come from oil cooler -- they will drip slowly on the shelf of engine and drip down to your underbody from there. Not too hard of a fix, took me a few hours. See other threads on that, just have to remove a few things, including intercooler and oil dipstick.

As it comes to our HPFP pump, no specific timing adjustment is necessary. As a matter of fact, ErWIN manual states that after you perfectly time the crankshaft pin to camshaft pin, it is okay for HPFP to be slightly off and you are unable to insert the pin there. The new pumps don't strictly depend on engine timing at all, although there is talk that being close to right timing may have been engineered to avoid high stress positions liming up at the same time on the timing belt.

Best of luck!

 

[mak474]

I just did mine the weekend before last. It wasn't super easy like other belts. Yes I used G40 now. The dealer flushed G13 through mine like 12 times and it kept clogging. My oil cooler took a dump so I had to do a drain and fill. G13 was on backorder at the dealer. They told me get G40. So I've said screw it and have just been running it. I do have some penitosin from my timing belt kit but had so much G40 around from two failed oil coolers in a row. DO NOT BUY THE AMAZON cheapie, resist the urge. I think it lasted maybe 2 weeks before it began to leak again.
I got the Nissens Unit and have put about 4k mi on it. The cheaper unit didn't even appear to be the same type of plastic as the OEM unit. The Nissens unit was the same color and texture plastic.

Oil Filter Housing - VW TDI B7 Passat / Mk6 Jetta – UroTuning

 

[former chevy man]

What a PITA....got the intercooler out last night, the bolts for the oil cooler they make the upper about impossible to find! How do you get the oil hose off the cooler assembly?? I quit for the night before I attempted that....if I get my clamp remover on it....not sure I have enough room to push/pry off to the side.....ugh. Going to order mine from IDParts today. NOT a job I want to do again anytime soon! Does everyone "wash" their intercooler out while it's out? Thinking diluted solution of Dawn then through rinse. Didn't have much oil sludge in the intake port of it....maybe a couple of tablespoons worth?
NEVER had to clean my intercooler 1 time on the ALH and it lasted 385,000miles. The original 01M automatic gave out at 385,000.

 

[oilhammer]

Here is how I deal with the front of the CKRA. Pretty easy, really. Looks words than it actually is.

You guys fighting to work on modern FWD VAG products with the lock carrier assembly in the way, you have my condolences. I realize not everyone has the equipment to evac and recharge the refrigerant, but man it makes EVERYTHING so much easier when the whole front end is exposed.

 

[former chevy man]

WOW...with that view it would be much easier!!! What's the "Lock Carrier"? Appreciate the response oilhammer...you've been a guru on here since I joined back in 2002.

 

[mak474]

WOW...with that view it would be much easier!!! What's the "Lock Carrier"? Appreciate the response oilhammer...you've been a guru on here since I joined back in 2002.

The lock carrier is a fancy name for what's more commonly known as the radiator core support. I haven't had it off this car but from what I've read it comes off pretty easy on this body.

For the hose that your struggling with. It is likely the coolant hose on the side of the oil filter housing. Unbolt the oil filter housing and get to the clamp with the housing off. You'll end up dumping more coolant into the oil as the cooler comes off but there's not much getting around that. Make sure you at least drain off the coolant that makes it into the pan. I just do an oil change with the cooler replacement because there is a considerable amount of coolant that makes it in the oil pan. Make sure you clean the gasket mating surface. Mine had fairly deep pitting so I had to sand out the pits and smooth it up with scotchbrite.

If your fighting the two small hose clamps on the passenger side of the cooler, try using long range needle nose plyers on them. Hell I have some super long hemostats I use and can have that intercooler off in a few min without removing the fans. The plyers below are great for this job. I buy the ones at Oriley since the cable ends up wearing and they will warranty them out.

24" Flexible Hose Clamp Pliers Locking Tool Fuel Oil Water 2FT Long Reach - - Amazon.com

That upper intercooler bolt isn't that bad! And as far as cleaning goes, I'm not sure. Couldn't see how dawn would be too harsh on it though.

 

[former chevy man]

the upper intercooler bolt wasn't bad...the upper one on the driver side of the oil filter housing is the one I was talking about. Good thing I need to do an oil change too....I'd be pissed if I had just done an oil change a few weeks ago. One thing I found helped IMMENSELY with removing the hoses on the intercooler for the first time (those suckers were ON there) were some insulated spark plug boot pliers....the boot ends are rubber coated and curved so they grip nicely and and help twist to break the seal. That hose clamp pliers was one of the best birthday presents I've ever asked for...should have seen the faces when I put that on my list..... LMAO

 

[mak474]

Yeah I bought the cheaper filter housing, changed my oil and less than 2k mi later, changed it and my oil again. I was pretty pissed that oil was going to waste already being the expensive Mobile ESP VW507 spec oil. Rubber hoses always get stuck. I have a set of booger pickers that I use to break the seal the rubber creates by sticking to metal but I may give that a try on smaller hoses in the future. You have to be very careful with a booger picker that you don't damage the hose.

 

[eugene89us]

There is no easy way to remove the coolant hose off the cooler itself. I first unscrewed all the bolts from the oil cooler and actually pulled it off and slightly to the side, where I was finally able to reach the clamps to the coolant exit hose. I used pliers to unclamp it and kept pulling until the hose came off. Thankfully, unlike the intercooler, this hose did not permanently bond to the plastic housing. Put it back on in reverse, hose first, followed by carefully placing the oil cooler in place without deforming the gasket and tightening the housing in a sequence.

Edit: I ended up taking the airbox as well as snow guard (or whatever they call this plastic inlet for airbox) out, this provided ample space to reach from the top. If you're struggling reaching all bolts from the bottom, you can also access them from the top end.

I do not think I had any trouble accessing all 4 bolts once the intercooler and oil dipstick were off, I unscrewed some from the top and I accessed some from the bottom. I had the car elevated on QuickJack, which made the job easier and accessible. And I also drained the coolant first from the lower coolant hose that attaches to radiator so that there won't be as much coolant when I removed the oil cooler. There was still oil contamination as the coolant dripped from its orifice into the oil orifice once the cooler was off. I changed the oil right away, do it before you even crank that engine, else the contamination will go everywhere in the oil system. Ask me how I know.....

 

[former chevy man]

Thanks Eugene. The airbox and intercooler are a must to come out for space requirement unless the person has no forearms and hands like a 5 year old. Waiting on the new one to arrive from IDParts right now.

 

[former chevy man]

SUCCESS!!!!. This is bizarre...with the gasket being inside the groove...how could it blow out like this? Looks like it's been leaking for a while. How do I post a picture to here?

 

[eugene89us]

@former chevy man You would have to upload photo to your media on this forum, copy image link, then paste to the thread by clicking Image button. Mine has broken channel that allowed gasket to move and created a leak. Many had same happen to them. Here is mine, I posted these in Oil Cooler Leaking thread. Notice G13 breakdown flakes that look like leaves. It blocked the oil cooler over 100k miles. No wonder our Heater Cores clog easily. Zerex so far is staying clean, will keep monitoring.

Link to thread: https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.ph...housing-and-an-interesting-find-inside.517530

 

[oilhammer]

That is exactly how they all fail. The inner or outer part of the housing that holds the seal cracks and goes away, and then the seal has no way to stay in place. The EA888 gasser water pump housings fail in the exact same way:

 

[former chevy man]

 

[former chevy man]

@former chevy man You would have to upload photo to your media on this forum, copy image link, then paste to the thread by clicking Image button. Mine has broken channel that allowed gasket to move and created a leak. Many had same happen to them. Here is mine, I posted these in Oil Cooler Leaking thread. Notice G13 breakdown flakes that look like leaves. It blocked the oil cooler over 100k miles. No wonder our Heater Cores clog easily. Zerex so far is staying clean, will keep monitoring.

Link to thread: https://forums.tdiclub.com/index.ph...housing-and-an-interesting-find-inside.517530

WOW...that's some buildup.