# How to remove the Plenum Chamber Cover (pictures)



## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

In order to get access to the J217 Automatic Transmission Controller electrical connector (part of the process of Retrofitting Paddle Shifters to a Phaeton), I had to remove the plenum chamber cover. This is the long black part that you can see at the bottom of the windshield, below the windshield wiper arms. It is (more or less) just a leaf screen, to keep debris out of the cabin air intake.
All I can say about this is that I am sure glad that we have discovered that it is NOT necessary to take this cover off to retrofit paddle shifters. It is a very frustrating and difficult task, and the instructions provided in the Phaeton Repair Manual (including the VESIS documentation) are not very clear or helpful.
So - just in case anyone has to remove this cover in the future, I have posted some photos below in an attempt to better explain the process. I think that if - before you start the work - you have an idea of how the plenum chamber cover attaches to the retaining channel in the bottom of the windshield glass, then it will be a bit easier to comprehend what you have to do to remove it.
Michael
*Instructions provided in the Repair Manual*
_not very explicit, in my opinion._








*The Plenum Chamber Cover, showing where the attachment point is.*
_The attachment point runs the full length of the bottom of the windshield. 
The thin strip of rubber between the bottom of the windshield and the plenum chamber cover is attached to the windshield, not the cover - so, it remains in place after you remove the plenum chamber cover._








*First, you remove this part, which is described as the 'additional cover' on page 64-7 of the Repair Manual.*
_This is easy. The fasteners rotate symmetrically on either side. They only rotate about 45 degrees, no further._








*It helps to know where the retaining hooks for the 'additional cover' (shown above) are before you try to remove it.*
















*Once you have the 'additional cover' off, remove these three clips from the plenum chamber cover.*
















*This picture shows you the edge of the plenum chamber cover that snaps into the bottom of the retaining channel in the windshield.*
_It requires a remarkable amount of upward force to get this clip removed from the bottom of the windshield. It was designed to stay in place at speeds of up to 300 km/h._







>
*Once you get the edge out at the very end of the windshield, everything becomes much easier. But, it is really difficult to get the first part of the plenum chamber cover out of the bottom of the windshield.*
_The trick is to lift the plenum chamber cover straight up (in other words, at a right angle to the windshield) using a lifting tool._








*Once you have the first 6 inches released, the rest is easy.*
_After you remove the whole cover, flood the clip at the base of the windshield with soapy water before you re-install the cover. This will flush sand, dirt, etc. out of the retaining clip, making re-installation MUCH easier._








When you re-install the 'additional cover', pay attention to how you tuck the rubber flaps on the plenum chamber cover underneath the 'additional cover'. It's easy to get it wrong. The rubber flaps go on top of the 'additional cover', as you can see in the first photo at this thread: Water in Front Footwell (Cleaning Air Intake Plenum and Sunroof Drains)
Michael


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

The part described above (the plenum chamber cover that attaches to the bottom of the windshield) needs to be removed in order to carry out the following maintenance actions, which are listed in the Phaeton Forum 'Table of Contents' (FAQ by Category):

Wiper Mechanism Mechanical Failures - Replacing Wiper Actuating Components

Smoothing Capacitor - Function, Diagnosis, Replacement

It _MAY_ need to be removed to clean debris out of the plenum chamber, but this will only be necessary if there is a great deal of debris in the plenum chamber and the debris is backed up into the aft corners of the plenum chamber. See this post for more information: Cleaning Air Intake Plenum and Sunroof Drains. If you are cleaning out the plenum chamber on a regular basis (once every couple of years, or once a year if you park outside under trees on a regular basis), it should not be necessary to remove the part that attaches to the base of the windshield - only the (easily removable) cover forward of that part, which is held in place with 4 thumb-turn fasteners.

Be *VERY *careful when removing the large slotted plastic piece that fits into the groove running across the bottom of the windshield. You can easily break the windshield while trying to dislodge this part - especially if your car is now 7 or more years old, and especially if the part has never been removed before!

Do not attempt to remove this part unless the car is at room temperature (70°F, 20°C). 

Michael


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

PanEuropean said:


> Be *VERY *careful when removing the large slotted plastic piece that fits into the groove running across the bottom of the windshield. You can easily break the windshield while trying to dislodge this part - especially if your car is now 7 or more years old, and especially if the part has never been removed before!
> l


Hi Michael,
This is a very useful thread! I wish that I had seen it before, as I only could find the instructions given in Wiper Mechanism Mechanical Failures - Replacing Wiper Actuating Components, which are good too, but not as complete as this one.
I had a little headache while removing this gutter/weir or whatever it is called. (Additional cover is so generic). I think the "trick" for removal of this part is to apply a force which is perpendicular to the windshield. And that is easiest done near the ends of the part. It took me more time to figure out what would be the best way to remove it, then to actually do it.
Also noteworthy is that the retaining channel in which it fits, at the low side of the windshield, can be quite filled up with fine sand, almost clay, which was the case with my car. So I cleaned the retaining channel as well, to allow an easier re-assembly and future dis-assembly of the part.

In my car, it was also necessary to remove the white, flat reservoir next to the e-box. In the picture above, where you are holding a metal clip in your hand, you can see that one screw was missing, so I guess that you also needed to remove this reservoir yourself. I just unscrewed the three screws, then tilted it towards the front while the two attached hoses were still in place.

Willem


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## wouterjansen60 (Aug 27, 2011)

*Pics*

Hello Michael,
Can you " re host" or add the pics as i can see them anymore. Same for the internal overhead compartment (to replace the humidity sensor).

Thanks a lot,

Wouter


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Photos re-hosted.

Michael


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## jenvee828 (Jun 25, 2011)

Hi Michael, 

Just another photo re-host request. Working on a related issue with my Phaeton.

Thanks!


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Having finally decided to remove the windshield strip to get to the V71, thought I'd post my experiences. It turned out to be much easier than I'd expected. I couldn't see a lot of risk of windscreen breakage, and it mostly needs persistence to lift the corner up. I was able to do it with the standard, cheap plastic trim tool set. It took a while, you have to get the tool positioned correctly so it's pushing up on the plastic, and the strip snaps into place in the groove at about 6 different points, including near the ends (don't forget the spring clips as well, three of them). On mine, the vertical black trim pieces at the edge of the windscreen were slightly impeding the raising of the plastic strip, so I just bent the bottom tab on them back a bit. After about 20 mins of wiggling and pulling, the end came free, then you just work your way along pulling the rest out. Replacing is the opposite, and you can feel it snapping back into place at various points. That bad news is that it didn't help with access to the V71. We removed the wiper mechanism (easy) to get to the two screws holding the plate on top of the air intake flaps in place, but still couldn't see any way of removing the piece with the intake flaps and the V71 mounted on the side. My guess is the way to do it is by removing the brake fluid reservoir, unfortunately the dealer also appears to have broken the flaps on mine, so I'm not sure replacing the flap motor will help anyway.


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## AlanX2033 (May 9, 2011)

*Rehost Photos Please!*

Hello! Could you rehost the photos?

Thanks!
Alan


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

The photos are there, you need to use Chrome and install the Photobucket Hotlink Fix extension.


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## AlanX2033 (May 9, 2011)

Awesome! That fixed it.

Thanks!
Alan


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## Robert.Vangeenen (Sep 29, 2005)

Thanks! This instruction proved extremely helpful in sorting my sun roof drain leak issue. Pretty soon I'll have dry feet again! ;-)


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## rangsudh (Mar 20, 2013)

Hello,

Does anybody have the part number for the 3 metal clips that secure the "plenum chamber cover" to the car body?

Thanks.


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## Robert.Vangeenen (Sep 29, 2005)

rangsudh said:


> Hello,
> 
> Does anybody have the part number for the 3 metal clips that secure the "plenum chamber cover" to the car body?
> 
> Thanks.


*3B0819145*


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## rangsudh (Mar 20, 2013)

Robert, wonderful, thanks.

May I ask where/which parts diagram you were able to find it on?


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## Robert.Vangeenen (Sep 29, 2005)

rangsudh said:


> Robert, wonderful, thanks.
> 
> May I ask where/which parts diagram you were able to find it on?


Sure, but I'll post it when I'm behind my laptop. It's a lot easier than fiddling around on my phone. 🙃


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## Robert.Vangeenen (Sep 29, 2005)

Robert.Vangeenen said:


> Sure, but I'll post it when I'm behind my laptop. It's a lot easier than fiddling around on my phone. 🙃


Here it is. And I can understand you had trouble finding it. It's actually _not_ depicted on the diagram. I used the search function on the page for the word 'clip'. Then doublechecked if it was the right clip and sure enough it was. However the quantity states 2, I believe there to be three clips involved if I've interpreted @PanEuropean 's instruction above correctly.











Robert


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## rangsudh (Mar 20, 2013)

Robert, interesting, thanks.

I had looked on 7zap but missed it. And yes, it is actually 3 clips, not 2. (I continue to be surprised that even back in 2004, such obvious errors and omissions exist in a VW part catalog. Surely they must have had years to perfect the process by then...)


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## bachlim79 (5 mo ago)

에스 where is ecu ???


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## 53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN (Feb 10, 2015)

The engine ECU or ECUs are in a box on the right side under the plenum cover.

The location is shown in the paddle shifter retrofit thread. (A link to that thread is in post #1 of this thread.)

If you mean another ECU, they all over the car.

에릭


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

53PL-50AAA-VW611BAN said:


> If you mean another ECU, they all over the car.


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