# Any DIY's on replacing oil filter housing/cooler on Mk5 GTI FSI?



## helldiver14 (Jul 4, 2016)

So I noticed that I have an oil leak from above my oil filter that goes down the front of my oil pan. It seems to directly relate to a crack in the housing or even one of the two gaskets on the housing that attaches to the cooler or the block side. Is there any DIY's that I can use in order to help me tackle this job?


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

Search = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHkLufyDpBs


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## 10001110101 (Aug 7, 2007)

ROH ECHT said:


> Search = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHkLufyDpBs


Not even close to what he needs, what you posted tackles the canister that holds the oil filter. 

I am dealing with the same issue on my 2008 Passat wagon. I am trying to put it off until spring.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Volkswagen_Golf_GTI_Mk_V/39-WATER-Replacing_Your_Oil_Cooler/39-WATER-Replacing_Your_Oil_Cooler.htm


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## bkpassat (Jun 18, 2012)

10001110101 said:


> Not even close to what he needs, what you posted tackles the canister that holds the oil filter.
> 
> I am dealing with the same issue on my 2008 Passat wagon. I am trying to put it off until spring.
> 
> https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Volkswagen_Golf_GTI_Mk_V/39-WATER-Replacing_Your_Oil_Cooler/39-WATER-Replacing_Your_Oil_Cooler.htm


Here are some notes from when I did the job this summer on a 2008 Passat Wagon

It is definitely doable from below, not fun, but doable.
Removing the fan shroud assembly creates a lot more room to work.
Have long L shaped hex keys available in 5mm for the housing to block bolts and 6mm for the oil cooler to housing bolts. Ball end helps too. Long hex key sockets would probably work as well, but would have to be at least 4 inches or so.
There is a bracket on top of the oil cooler, held on with the same bolts that hold on the cooler, that appears to completely block one of the bolts. It doesn't, there is room to slip a long 6mm hex key in underneath the bracket lip and reach the bolt.
Didn't remove the throttle body - had plenty of room to work after removing the fan shroud.
I decided to replace the entire assembly with gaskets instead of just the gaskets. Didn't want to invest all the time just to risk having the leak still there because there was a small hard to see crack in the plastic. The part is relatively cheap compared to the time involved. Didn't see any cracks, but with it all back together and not leaking, I don't mind at all the extra cost for the peace of mind.
Drain the coolant from the auxiliary electric water pump - the lowest point in the system. Then unbolt the single bolt holding on the pump bracket and tuck it out of the way - gives more room to work.
Lastly, take your time. I did the removal on day one (about 4 hours), rolled down the garage door, and put everything back together the second day. Putting things back together was a lot easier.


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## ROH ECHT (Dec 9, 2010)

Yep...fail. Didn't even watch the vid...whoops. 
The Pelican diy will help to see how to get there and back again. 
This may help as well: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?7135638-FSI-Oil-Filter-Housing-Assembly-replacement


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## kjr6306 (Sep 12, 2007)

Before taking the cooler off and changing the gasket try and get to the 4 Allen bolts that hold the cooler on. They are accessible without having to remove too much. MAKE SURE THEY ARE TIGHT!! I had an oil leak this summer and found all 4 loose. Tightened them up and leak is gone. It is well worth a try as removing the cooler is no fun....


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## Thy_Harrowing (Dec 7, 2014)

kjr6306 said:


> Before taking the cooler off and changing the gasket try and get to the 4 Allen bolts that hold the cooler on. They are accessible without having to remove too much. MAKE SURE THEY ARE TIGHT!! I had an oil leak this summer and found all 4 loose. Tightened them up and leak is gone. It is well worth a try as removing the cooler is no fun....


I was thinking the same and planned to try tightening them up first too. It's hard to tell for sure but I think my leak is from the rear-most gasket position where the whole assembly bolts to the block NOT where the cooler bolts to the assembly... but these 4 bolts you mention go through the length of the assembly and effectively bolt the cooler to the assembly and the assembly to the block, right? Or are their totally separate bolts that bolt the cooler to the assembly and assembly to block?

What all did you have to remove to get access to those allen bolts? Just the throttle body pipe? Or did you find removing anything else made it easier?

Thanks, I REALLY hope that's all it is and I don't need to replace the gasket/assembly!


Edit: looking closer at pictures it looks like it'd be impossible to get at the 4 bolts that bolt the assembly to the block itself without first removing the oil cooler, right? I hope I'm wrong about that but it sure looks that way and I'm pretty sure the leak is from those bolts not the cooler-to-assembly bolts so I guess I may as well do the whole removal and gasket replacement after all.


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## Fogcat (Apr 29, 2015)

Kinda late here buut.... I had a shop do this for me, since it was damaged by an accident with a tank-like Pit Bull. The bumper is removed, radiator guide pins screwed in so the rad can be moved away from the assembly. I wish I could find the DIY I was going to use but for the life of me I can't. There WAS one but it was hard to find because it didn't sound like it applied but it truly did. It was concerning the thermostat and inter cooler though. My old computer crashed and took the link and guide I created for myself with it. I was able to cop out by having the insurance company pay for it because live-stock destroyed it. Don't give up, there is info out there.


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## Thy_Harrowing (Dec 7, 2014)

I'm gonna give it a shot like bkpassat mentioned on some other thread which will be just removing the fan shroud for extra room and pretty much nothing else. He said it's a pain but he did it without removing bumper, manifold, throttle body, or any of that. I think it looks do-able too. I'm also not gonna drain coolant because I'm gonna be doing that in a couple months anyway for something else I have planned so flush is pointless. I plan to pinch off coolant line and top off when it's done. I'll update the thread with how it goes, any particular things to note, etc. for future readers...


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## kjr6306 (Sep 12, 2007)

You don't have to remove the bumper, radiator or fans. It's a PIA but can be done without removing anything.....you will need a mirror to find some of the bolts.


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## Thy_Harrowing (Dec 7, 2014)

kjr6306 said:


> You don't have to remove the bumper, radiator or fans. It's a PIA but can be done without removing anything.....you will need a mirror to find some of the bolts.


I've got plenty of those... gonna tackle it today, will report back if there's anything worth reporting for future readers...


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## Thy_Harrowing (Dec 7, 2014)

Welp it was, indeed, a bitch and a half to do it with minimal removal of stuff but I got it (the oil filter housing adapter/cooler gasket replacement) done and there is no trace of leak now so it was all worth it...

It was certainly one of those jobs that if I had to do it again - praying I don't - it would take half the time or less, but that's per usual honestly so nothing new there. Point being, it's all the little **** that makes this job annoying; ostensibly it's not that bad. 

I have long wanted to contribute a proper DIY to this community so I really wish I could do so here but unfortunately, as with every time I do a repair and think about doing a DIY, I just never actually have the patience or even presence of mind while I'm doing the repair to intentionally document anything with video, pictures, or notes. It's just not on my mind while I'm in the middle of it. Also, this particular job isn't really one that lends itself much to doing so, the tricky parts of this job are tricky because they are bolts or items in such ridiculous places and with such tight space to operate that documenting it for a DIY would be very difficult in and of itself. I hope that the level of detail I tend to go into when explaining things will make up for the lack of pictures...

It's the kind of job you just go in with knowledge of what to expect and figure out the details of how once you get into it, I think anyway. So here are my tips for general knowledge and consideration to anyone who reads this in the future:

1) Like bkpassat said, you CAN do this without removing any other stuff besides the throttle body pipe and the radiator fan shrowd - both of which are extremely easy to remove and should take ~ 20 minutes or less depending on your familiarity (oh and of course the splash guard has to come off too but that's a given...)

2) It seemed like on all the threads I read about this DIY everyone assumed you need to flush your cooling system completely. If you're due for a coolant flush then definitely do it because you will be loosing a decent amount and will be topping off just the same but you DO NOT need to. You can do what I did since I didn't need a flush and just plug off the coolant hose that goes to the oil cooler IMMEDIATELY after removal. The goal is to not only keep it from leaking but to COMPLETELY block it so that not even a drop can escape because this also means that it is not allowing the loop to depressurize; if it depressurizes then coolant will not stop leaking out of the block once you remove the cooler/filter housing adapter itself. So, yes, I did clamp the oil cooler hose but I also corked it/ I probably only lost a few cups of coolant max.

3) You do not NEED to change your oil, technically, as draining oil from the housing itself via the filter housing portion before full removal will suffice, however, I STRONGLY STRONGLY recommend that you do AND do the drain AFTER the gasket replacement job is all done because you WILL get coolant in your oil passageways during this job without a doubt no matter what. When the oil filter housing adapter unit is off the coolant passageway that feeds into it is above the oil passageways in the block and the coolant will leak down into them. I had visible amounts of coolant come out with my oil when I did the oil change afterward. Visible evidence was gone after about halfway through the drain (the coolant probably floats on the oil) but just to be 100% sure none was left behind - they say some amount of oil/contents is always left behind even after an oil change - I decided to flush it out with some extra oil to make sure the oil coming out the bottom was totally clean. Probably overkill but I had extra so figure what the hell.

3) When you get to the part where you need to pull the wiring loom that runs over/in the way off the upper 2 oil cooler bolts and slightly beneath the bracket that is held in by the M5 triple square mentioned in this thread.... just cut the zipties. I burned a lot of time trying to do it the "proper" way and release the barbed fitting on the back side of the zipties that hooks into that bracket. It was hopeless, just cut them and be done with it. The wire loom isn't going anyway anyway even if you don't replace them. It's tucked in there plenty well as it is. Cut those ties and pull that sucker out from under/behind the bracket and up over top of it to expose the oil cooler top bolts.

4) When you get to those bolts, as well as the top 2 bolts of the oil filter housing adapter itself (once the cooler is off) for both sets of top bolts you will absolutely want a mirror or, my favorite, a phone with simultaneous video recording/flashlight ability. My iPhone does this and I'm sure most modern smartphones do it. It's invaluable to put it on record with the light on and then peer up to see what the camera is seeing or if it is a really tricky spot just put it on record and then pull it down and watch the recording. You can easily figure out where those bolts are hiding with these methods. Then it's just a matter of getting at them. This is where, just like bkpassat said previously, you practically NEED a long allen key or preferably an allen/hex socket piece with a good 4 or 6 inch allen/hex bit. I picked of a set of 6 inch from Harbor Freight b/c my standard set were not long enough.

5) Careful not to strip the bolt heads. These are not in very tight, don't get me wrong, but while the threads are strong the bolt heads to these hex bolts are weak as hell. You must be careful that you have a center angle before putting much force on them to crack them loose or you run the risk of rounding the hex head out and due to the tight working space you won't be drilling those puppies out easily at all if you f*** that up. For those top-most bolts it's really just about going by feel and playing around with the angle of insertion when you're going in blind like that (obligatory "that's what she said", to make Michael Scott proud). My advice is once you get the hex key in twist it around in a circle, it will have a bit of play as far as the angle allowed once the hex is in the head, and so you get a sense of the outer-most angles it will allow, then with that known you can get a feel for what is the true dead-center of angle and safely crack it loose. This is especially important for the top bolts since you're gonna be cracking them loose completely blind.

6) The oil cooler coolant hose is a bear to pull off, I can't really give any tips other than to wiggle it around NOT just try to pull straight off and put a lot of elbow grease into it. It's on there good. Same goes for the PCV hose going into the top of the oil filter housing adapter, wiggle a bit (gently as it can be brittle) and it will come out a lot easier than trying to pull straight.

7) Oil filter housing adapter itself is quite a pain to get down once it is unbolted. I was trying to be really gentle and careful but in the end I just had to wrestle it down (it's sturdy so it should be fine). Don't mistake this to mean just yank really hard any which way. There is a very clear way in which you kinda have to angle it and finagle it to get it down but once you get to a point you just gotta put some elbow grease into it. BE CAREFUL you don't get it hung up on the oil dipstick on its way down because that thing is brittle and too much force could snap part of it. It's also a pain to get the adapter back on once you're done replacing the gasket but you just kinda gotta feel it out and figure it out once you get there.


I think that's about it for things really worth noting. Other than that there's the usual (make sure mating surface are clean for reassembly and all that good stuff. Do NOT use gasket sealer/RTV here, these are not those type of gaskets).


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