# just changed my haldex fluid



## hotgrass (Aug 22, 2008)

this is what came out.


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## mbaron (Aug 21, 2008)

Looks like it was due for a change. That **** stinks too. I got it all over my hands when I did mine and they stunk for a few days. Next time I will wear gloves.


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## hotgrass (Aug 22, 2008)

i guess this is how a 20k miles fluid looks like.


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## goTTone (Mar 9, 2011)

is it easy to change the fluid?


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## hotgrass (Aug 22, 2008)

yeah! i used a rhino ramp. and i didnt even use a caulking gun. you just remove the allen nut which i think is 5mm then let the fluid drain. stuck your haldex in there and twist it in thw whole for like 2 to 3x then push the fluid with a screw driver or allen wrench or something that can be use to push the fluid onto the haldex. thats just for replacing fluid. if its replacing fluid and filter, you replace the filter before you put the fluid. just like oil change.


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## PLAYED TT (Oct 17, 2010)

I need to do this soon. Not sure if mine was ever done before


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

PLAYED TT said:


> I need to do this soon. Not sure if mine was ever done before


buddy and I did ours last year. Both unknown mileage since last change. Mine drained out about same as OPs. His dripped 3 drops on the ground. :facepalm:

Get'er done!


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## jbrehm (May 16, 2006)

TTC2k5 said:


> buddy and I did ours last year. Both unknown mileage since last change. Mine drained out about same as OPs. His dripped 3 drops on the ground. :facepalm:


Yeah, I'm half convinced that all the Haldex units failing is just due to lack of maintenance. I mean, what percentage on TT owners are really going to change their fluid every 20K miles. I say none but the enthusiasts and guys who take it to the dealership religiously.


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## PLAYED TT (Oct 17, 2010)

TTC2k5 said:


> buddy and I did ours last year. Both unknown mileage since last change. Mine drained out about same as OPs. His dripped 3 drops on the ground. :facepalm:
> 
> Get'er done!


Oh I know. As soon as I have some spare money I will


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## 20v master (May 7, 2009)

And this isn't the first thing you guys do when you bought your car? I was so happy when it came out relatively golden/clear and saw the filter wasn't original in my 02. Now my 01 is another story.


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

hotgrass said:


> this is what came out.


Ive got $100 paypal for you if you chug that..:laugh:


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

20v master said:


> And this isn't the first thing you guys do when you bought your car? I was so happy when it came out relatively golden/clear and saw the filter wasn't original in my 02. Now my 01 is another story.


For me, almost the first thing. Bought it on a monday. TB/WP on wednesday. Haldex service shortly after, but within the first 1000 miles of ownership. I was having no issues with my haldex at the time, but my buddies had already failed. 

TBH, mine wasn't quite as dark as OP's but it wasn't golden/clear either: more brown than black. But I did not know how many miles it had on it. Car had 67k miles when I bought it from the second owner. I know he did not change it in the year he owned the TT as he told me as much. About the only thing he did was change oil/filter and put gas in it. My thought process was that the original owner had it changed some where around 40K (under original warranty/maintenance coverage) so at worse, there were 27K miles on the oil (yes, a gamble). 

IMO, haldex isn't as critical as TB/WP, but it is certainly on the new owners' very short list of items needing service.

cheers


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## CharlieTT (Mar 31, 2010)

I do mine every other year, which equates to about 13k between changes and I always change the filter too rather than every other time. 

I think it's false economy to overlook stuff like this.

Charlie


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## FtLaudBruce (Jun 2, 2011)

I changed mine a couple weeks ago. Car was at 64,000 and hadn't been changed since the 40K dealer service in 2007. My fluid was darker than the new lube, but nothing like that.

Changed rear differential fluid, trans lube, oil. Spark plugs, too. The plugs are a bitch!


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## EuroStyle (Jun 24, 2000)

hotgrass said:


> yeah! i used a rhino ramp. and i didnt even use a caulking gun. you just remove the allen nut which i think is 5mm then let the fluid drain. stuck your haldex in there and twist it in thw whole for like 2 to 3x then push the fluid with a screw driver or allen wrench or something that can be use to push the fluid onto the haldex. thats just for replacing fluid. if its replacing fluid and filter, you replace the filter before you put the fluid. just like oil change.


What tool did you use for the filter? I have to do it soon as it was done at 35k and now it's got 56k, but I don't have the tool....


Sean


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## hotgrass (Aug 22, 2008)

EuroStyle said:


> What tool did you use for the filter? I have to do it soon as it was done at 35k and now it's got 56k, but I don't have the tool....
> 
> 
> Sean


i didnt change my filter yet, will be doing that on the next haldex change 20k miles from now. anyways, when i changed it before, i used the modshack tool which you could probably get for cheap now a days.


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

EuroStyle said:


> What tool did you use for the filter? I have to do it soon as it was done at 35k and now it's got 56k, but I don't have the tool....
> 
> 
> Sean


You can actually use a hammer and long screwdriver or other long narrow tool. place end of long tool on fin of filter, tap, tap, tap.

cheers.


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## QUA-TT-RO (Sep 4, 2010)

*Haldex filter and fluid change = no fun*

from my past experience changing the Haldex fluid and filter i can tell you guys this, is a pain in the Axx there's barely any room to work with, so here's me 2 cents, everyone don't go the cheap way :







don't buy this is crap, but it's your choice 
http://www.intengineering.com/Integrated-Engineering/-p8917401.html $35 plus shipping

here's the Schwaben haldex tool







it will save you time and make the job lot's easier, 

1. make sure you can take the filter off before unscrewing the drain plug
2. let your fluid drain
3. put some oil around the filter just like you would with the regular oil filter, and tight back up,
4. filling up with new fluid is done thru the same drain hole, i didn't used a cockpit gun, i just used a screwdriver and push the fluid out, bend the tip of the haldex bottle and fill, put new magnetic plug and washer back on and go for a drive.
here a vdeo i found helpful


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## hotgrass (Aug 22, 2008)

QUA-TT-RO said:


> from my past experience changing the Haldex fluid and filter i can tell you guys this, is a pain in the Axx there's barely any room to work with, so here's me 2 cents, everyone don't go the cheap way :
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have that "crap" and works for me.


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

hotgrass said:


> I have that "crap" and works for me.


Me too, and mine works fine. But for those without either tool, see my post above for alternate. 

cheers.


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## J Patterson (Apr 11, 2009)

*Works for me to. Pretty easy job.*


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## goTTone (Mar 9, 2011)

What oil and filter do you use, anything specific that anyone has found better than something else or is it all basically the same. Im getting ready to do my 40k service and stocking up on everything I need.


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

goTTone said:


> What oil and filter do you use, anything specific that anyone has found better than something else or is it all basically the same. Im getting ready to do my 40k service and stocking up on everything I need.


There is only 1: OEM. Shop for prices at you local dealer (try dub dealer too). they set their own. I paid $100 at my nearest. My buddy paid $80 at his nearest across town. that included new oil and filter.

cheers.


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## Arnolds64 (Nov 13, 2009)

*Tool & Cost.*

Bob Hindson Racing in Kansas City - Was about 85.00 for both filter & fluid.

The mechanic there use the Screw driver method -Tap, Tap , Tap.

Have 61000 in mine. Got a Carfax of the car when I bought and it was service a lot at dealers and hope this was done at least one interval. Just did the T/B & W/P myself. Wasn't as hard as my Dual Overhead cam Mazda MX6 V6 cars (3, I owned). Great Tutorial by the Fotki dude here - http://public.fotki.com/BlueTTop/mods/timing-belt-replacement/ 

Now to see of the Dealers did their job with the Haldex. What is the OEM change interval? To lazy to look at my manual.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

warning:
i dont care what you all say, it can be a total beotch. the only problem is when injecting the new fluid in there, you have to QUICKLY put the tube aside and screw in the plug AS FLUID IS RUNNING OUT. fumble the threads a few seconds, and half the fluid is gone. drop the plug and the entire contents are spilled. if you are using ramps, it is spilled all over your arms/face/chest. the fluid stinks to the high heavens, and stinks anything it touches. clothing you wear is pretty much ruined. dont dare throw it in the laundry, everything will stink.

i ended up buying a second tube and just injecting it through the vent hole with a tube. BE CAREFUL DOING THIS. you can knock in a nut on the vent hole, then you have to dissassemble the whole thing to get it out. the nut holds the vent hole cap. the bentley says NOT TO USE THE VENT HOLE, but as long as you are careful not to knock in the nut, i dont see any reason not to use the vent.


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## darrenbyrnes (Jan 4, 2005)

speed51133! said:


> warning:
> i dont care what you all say, it can be a total beotch. the only problem is when injecting the new fluid in there, you have to QUICKLY put the tube aside and screw in the plug AS FLUID IS RUNNING OUT. fumble the threads a few seconds, and half the fluid is gone. drop the plug and the entire contents are spilled. if you are using ramps, it is spilled all over your arms/face/chest. the fluid stinks to the high heavens, and stinks anything it touches. clothing you wear is pretty much ruined. dont dare throw it in the laundry, everything will stink.
> 
> i ended up buying a second tube and just injecting it through the vent hole with a tube. BE CAREFUL DOING THIS. you can knock in a nut on the vent hole, then you have to dissassemble the whole thing to get it out. the nut holds the vent hole cap. the bentley says NOT TO USE THE VENT HOLE, but as long as you are careful not to knock in the nut, i dont see any reason not to use the vent.


Which is why I have my local shop do this service now.


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## Arnolds64 (Nov 13, 2009)

*Changed mine last night. Notes.*

I was worried that I did not get enough in it after it drip some out while filling. However I poured the contents into a same size water bottle like he shows here and ended up about the same as in pic. Apparently it was enough? Just to measure against what came in the "Caulk like tube" I poured it in the back end of the spent Caulk tube. Well it was only about slightly more than half. So i feel like I got more in it than it had before. I know I did not dump out half the tube of the new fluid. It is really hard not to spill some over. So do guys think it will good enough?

The good thing was that it had a plastic filter and it was pretty Clear and Gold still. Good sign it had been serviced albeit a little low? from the previous owner.

By the way I did use the Cheaper tool. It would have been fine I think if it was not for the old filter being so tight. probably did not lube the O Ring? Went in from the back side finally using a pry bar pushing down on the of the tool and it finally broke loose. I took me about an hour to get that bitch off. I would recommend getting the stock style tool. If it falls down and slides between the unit and the lower cross member it wedges itself an is a pain to get loose. Don't worry you just have to tap it with a screw driver. Sucks! You always should invest in the best tool for the job. I went against my own rule. I was cussing myself the whole time. I hate that! Once it was broke loose then I use 2 short extensions on my ratchet and it worked fine then. I did not tighten much at all. Once the O-Ring seats just snug it. Plenty.

By the way it does not smell near as bad 80-90 differential fluid. That is nasty!


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## darrenbyrnes (Jan 4, 2005)

Arnolds64 said:


> I was worried that I did not get enough in it after it drip some out while filling. However I poured the contents into a same size water bottle like he shows here and ended up about the same as in pic. Apparently it was enough? Just to measure against what came in the "Caulk like tube" I poured it in the back end of the spent Caulk tube. Well it was only about slightly more than half. So i feel like I got more in it than it had before. I know I did not dump out half the tube of the new fluid. It is really hard not to spill some over. So do guys think it will good enough?
> 
> The good thing was that it had a plastic filter and it was pretty Clear and Gold still. Good sign it had been serviced albeit a little low? from the previous owner.
> 
> ...


Which is why I have my local shop do this service now.


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## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

i lent my schwaben tool to some dude in washington state for no charge. he shipped it back when done and paid shipping to him.

id do this again if anyone wants, no charge.


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