# 2018 Altas 3.6L Haldex oil change



## sinnerman666 (Mar 22, 2018)

Going to be doing my first Haldex oil change. Does anyone have any pictures of the fill & drain plug locations? Is it the same as the Tiguan?

Any help greatly appreciated.


----------



## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

It's the same as any other haldex gen5

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


----------



## ksanchez (Mar 12, 2001)

BsickPassat said:


> It's the same as any other haldex gen5
> 
> Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


Yep. Check the MK7 R forums. Full diy in there. Did it to our R and Alltrack with great success


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Shopdap has a good youtube DIY they put out recently.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## sinnerman666 (Mar 22, 2018)

Thanks everyone. I'll check out the suggestions and vid.


----------



## Chris4789 (Nov 29, 2017)

*Changing the Haldex Coupler Fluid*

While doing an oil change and tire rotation on my 2018 Atlas SEL-P, I changed the Haldex fluid. Since the car was already on four jack stands it added about 20 minutes including 10 min. to drain the fluid. 

-Tools: 5mm & 8mm hex socket and ratchet, 6” extension; drain pan; news papers; tarp, rags. 850ml bottle of new fluid: VW G-060-175-A2 Gear Oil; New Fill Plug w/ (non-removable) Copper Crush Washer, VW PN N-902-818-02 $3.86
New Drain Plug w/ (non-removable) Crush Washer VW PN N-910-827-01 $4.08 from the dealer, Camera; Lights; Pump for new fluid w/ 10mm or smaller diameter hose, 18 in length

According to one of the Atlas dealer guides, putting the Atlas Driving Mode selector in the Snow position: “Activates the 4Motion AWD system”. Therefore, as I drove the car a little to warm up the engine oil, I used this setting to possibly engage the AWD and heat/stir up the oil prior to changing it. Any comments on this theory are welcome. 

-Lift vehicle by your preferred method of ramps, jack stands, lift, etc.
-Loosen Haldex fill plug with 5mm Hex Socket and ratchet; loosen drain plug with 8mm Hex Socket 6” extension and ratchet; (This order is important in case the fill cannot be removed)
-Position drain pan; remove drain plug; remove fill plug;
-Take Pics for proof of service: Fluid running out; Atlas Mileage; New fluid bottle; Receipt for new fluid and plugs, etc.
-Let fluid drain; Replace drain plug (I torqued to 14 Nm); Pump new fluid into fill hole until it runs out, almost the whole bottle
-Replace Fill Plug (I torqued to 12 Nm)
-Drive and check for leaks

Notes: 
-This is a very easy task to complete, you could probably do this operation without lifting the vehicle if you can slide under the rear end and see the plugs. 
-My dealer needed to order the drain plug and fill bolt taking 3 days, the oil was in stock
-There is no fluid filter on the Atlas Gen V Haldex (per my dealer parts dept. and online parts diagram). Gen IV has a filter.
-I should have bought a fluid pump with a larger neck so it would screw onto the large mouth bottle of gear oil (see pic).
-The small neck pump worked, but I had to be careful to not tip it over. It took about 700ml of the 850ml (150 pumps) to fill the Haldex case
-Using a higher volume pump (sucker pump, pressurized pump, etc.) that pumped more fluid would make the job easier. 
-I will not use this cheap fluid pump when I replace the Trans fluid.
-I specifically asked my dealer if there were any crush washers on the fill/drain plugs and was told no. The crush washers are there as part of the plug and not removable (much like the engine oil drain plug).
-This is what I did, comments or suggestions to improve the process are welcome, use at your own risk.


----------



## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

Cool write up. Thanks. 

I'd recently changed mine at 44K miles on the clock. And the oil was similar to yours. The filter was a little dirty, but it seems it's normal for those that don't used their 4Motion as much as others. This is based on reading the Golf R forum with guys running the Gen5 Haldex. For those that trash on their Golf R, their oil seems to have less residue. Weird.

Anyway, a note I would add to your instruction. If you want to clean your filter: You'll need to fiddle with removing the cable guide, from the car, to easily pull the pump from the housing, so you can clean the filter. 

And if you're going to pull the pump, they have two o-rings to seal the pump to the housing. VW also makes a replacement kit, which is like $38 bucks...crazy. I did buy it, just for the piece of mind. Parts:0CQ-598-305


----------



## Chris4789 (Nov 29, 2017)

*Filter on Atlas Haldex?*

Thanks for the feedback. I was told by the dealer there was no filter on the Atlas Gen V Haldex. It does not show up on the parts diagram explosion either. Can you post a diagram or Pic of where the filter is on the Atlas? 
I appreciate it.


----------



## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

Chris4789 said:


> Thanks for the feedback. I was told by the dealer there was no filter on the Atlas Gen V Haldex. It does not show up on the parts diagram explosion either. Can you post a diagram or Pic of where the filter is on the Atlas?
> I appreciate it.


The filter is not a disposable filter. It's a small filter with metal mess screen that's bolted to the pump. 

picture can be seen here:
https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?8908177-MK7-Haldex-Fluid-Change-DIY


----------



## Chris4789 (Nov 29, 2017)

Thanks knedrgr for the comments and link to the MK7 Haldex change showing the filter/screen at the end of the Haldex V pump. 
The difference in oil and debris in the filter is incredible and is either due to different driving habits, engagement time & wear of Haldex, an error in the posting, or??. 
I expressed my dissatisfaction to the dealer for not telling me about this filter component and they said they were unaware of it as it is not shown in the parts schematic. I’m trusting the VW parts counter and parts diagrams less and less.

Anyway, the “Gasket set for primer pump” PN 0QC 598 305 includes the pump “O” rings in the Pics and was $58 at my dealer and $28 at VW Parts Center. Next time I service the Haldex I’ll pull the pump to reveal this filter to clean it and the housing. This MK7 post
thought the bolts to remove the filter housing from the pump were T10.
Below are some of the pics from the MK7 post but since it is a Haldex V system it should be the same one on our Atlas, giving us what we need for a complete service of the Haldex coupler.


----------



## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

Chris4789 said:


> Thanks knedrgr for the comments and link to the MK7 Haldex change showing the filter/screen at the end of the Haldex V pump.
> The difference in oil and debris in the filter is incredible and is either due to different driving habits, engagement time & wear of Haldex, an error in the posting, or??.
> I expressed my dissatisfaction to the dealer for not telling me about this filter component and they said they were unaware of it as it is not shown in the parts schematic. I’m trusting the VW parts counter and parts diagrams less and less.
> 
> ...



NP. From browsing that thread, it appears that those who pushes their Golf R more, ended up with cleaner oil. It's weird. 

The O-ring kit was $38 bucks from my local performance shop dealer. Got the whole kit (oil, bolts, and new O-rings) for $80ish. 

I'm assuming that filter goes with the pump, so it's not a part that can be sourced separately. Plus, it seems to be durable enough that you can clean and reuse it w/o issues. I'd taken it off the pump and cleaned it. But I don't remember which Torx size I'd used to remove the filter.


----------



## autostrophic (Aug 23, 2011)

sinnerman666 said:


> Going to be doing my first Haldex oil change. Does anyone have any pictures of the fill & drain plug locations? Is it the same as the Tiguan?
> 
> Any help greatly appreciated.


How many miles do you have on your Atlas?


----------



## Allawi (5 mo ago)

Chris4789 said:


> *Changing the Haldex Coupler Fluid*
> 
> While doing an oil change and tire rotation on my 2018 Atlas SEL-P, I changed the Haldex fluid. Since the car was already on four jack stands it added about 20 minutes including 10 min. to drain the fluid.
> 
> ...


What about the haldex motor filter ? Did you open it and clean it


----------



## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Allawi said:


> What about the haldex motor filter ? Did you open it and clean it


You should as part of the service.


----------



## speed51133! (Aug 5, 2002)

It is not a "filter", in the ordinary sense, that is why the dealer did not mention it. It is just a mesh screen on the pump. It is not published as any part of a service interval. Obviously it is good to clean it. I would not be upset at the dealer for that one.


----------

