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How To - Water pump replacement, the quick and easy way

kern417

Go Kart Champion
removing the bumper won't help unless you pull the intercooler and radiator with it. in my diy i remove the intake manifold for easier access and allows you to see everything.
 

slowgti

Passed Driver's Ed
Are you sure it's your water pump? Typically people complain of leaks, not complete loss of coolant.
Assuming it's the pump, just follow DBEST's instructions. Removing those extra items would be a waste of time. The only item I would have liked to remove to make the job easier is that stupid plastic engine shroud that covers the top of the IC and radiator, but I didn't want to get into that.

For specific tools you'll need a T30 bit for throttle body bolts and water pump bolts and some others, T25 for belly pan bolts, a triple square bit for the engine block to intake manifold support bracket, I think that's a 12M. During disassembly my craftsman socket wrenches sucked due to the low degree of swing arc required in tight spots, so for assembly I bought some gearwrench 120xp wrenches with the money saved on labor. These things engage a tooth every three degrees of rotation, they're f'ing awesome. You'll also need a variety of socket extensions.
http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-81204P-Cushion-Teardrop-Ratchet/dp/B00BTEXUY4

Beware of the ECS pump, there is an issue I ran into last night with the bolts that secure the impeller to the housing. I'll post here in a bit once I get the photos edited.
 

slowgti

Passed Driver's Ed
After I got the new pump installed I ran into an issue when trying to bolt the belt cover back on. The bolt heads that secure the impeller to the housing are too tall and prevent the cover from lining up with the threaded hole (circled in white). You can see on the old pump the bolt head does not protrude past the face, which allows the cover to sit flush with the plastic. On the new pump the housing sits on the bolt head and gets pushed a few mm to the right, thus preventing the bolt from engaging the threads. I had to swap one bolt from the old pump. They are not the same length but it seems to be working.



ECS pump I bought
https://www.ecstuning.com/ES2837068/
Mfg Part #
06H121026CQ
ECS Part #
ES#2837068
 
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CustomZ02

Passed Driver's Ed
Are you sure it's your water pump? Typically people complain of leaks, not complete loss of coolant.
Assuming it's the pump, just follow DBEST's instructions. Removing those extra items would be a waste of time. The only item I would have liked to remove to make the job easier is that stupid plastic engine shroud that covers the top of the IC and radiator, but I didn't want to get into that.

For specific tools you'll need a T30 bit for throttle body bolts and water pump bolts and some others, T25 for belly pan bolts, a triple square bit for the engine block to intake manifold support bracket, I think that's a 12M. During disassembly my craftsman socket wrenches sucked due to the low degree of swing arc required in tight spots, so for assembly I bought some gearwrench 120xp wrenches with the money saved on labor. These things engage a tooth every three degrees of rotation, they're f'ing awesome. You'll also need a variety of socket extensions.
http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-81204P-Cushion-Teardrop-Ratchet/dp/B00BTEXUY4

Beware of the ECS pump, there is an issue I ran into last night with the bolts that secure the impeller to the housing. I'll post here in a bit once I get the photos edited.

I have my fingers crossed that it is, I know before dumping all the coolant I always had to top it off when it got cold out. The level would always drop during cold weather. But I know the coolant leak is in the pump area as thats where all the coolant was dripping from.

And thanks for all the replys :thumbup:
 
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kern417

Go Kart Champion
mine would do that. once the thermostat opened it would begin dumping coolant past the gasket. and when stopping after a long drive the cooling fans would turn on and it would dump out again.
 

fastdog

New member
Isn't VW replacing these for free now? I recently got mail offering re-imbursement if I'd had the work done already.
 

CustomZ02

Passed Driver's Ed
Isn't VW replacing these for free now? I recently got mail offering re-imbursement if I'd had the work done already.

I checked my VIN number and apparently mine is not covered under the free replacement. :thumbdown: Was the very first thing I checked.
 

CustomZ02

Passed Driver's Ed
Well, I went to the dealer and picked up a new BG pump.

$216 and some change.

Got the old pump off and sure enough a big chunk of plastic blew out where it failed. Apparently my car is not on their list of the free replacement, but Im going to take the old pump in tomorrow when I pick up a new union. I'm gonna have them check to see if its one of the faulty pumps. I have my fingers crossed that it is so I can have it reimbursed and towed back to them to put the new one in.

Or if anyone knows for sure what part number they are replacing take a look at the pics below for the Part number.

Thanks,
Z02





 
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zrickety

The Fixer
Looks like the o-ring gasket?
 

kern417

Go Kart Champion
the gasket moved because the plastic that should be holding it in place was broken.

and how do you have a BA pump? has it been replaced before? if your vin isn't on the list it doesn't matter what the part number is, especially since you already removed it yourself. but if they replaced it within the last 12 months/12,000miles i think it should be free regardless.
 

CustomZ02

Passed Driver's Ed
the gasket moved because the plastic that should be holding it in place was broken.

and how do you have a BA pump? has it been replaced before? if your vin isn't on the list it doesn't matter what the part number is, especially since you already removed it yourself. but if they replaced it within the last 12 months/12,000miles i think it should be free regardless.

Not sure how I have a BA pump Im guessing thats not the original pump? If so maybe the dealer replaced it before I bought the car. But the service part guy got all worked up when I asked him what the part number was on the bad pumps, so much so that he walked away from the counter and someone else had to help me out.

On the plus side I got the new pump in and no more leak, just gonna keep an eye on the levels and make sure im good.
 

slowgti

Passed Driver's Ed
Finished this job thanks to the great write up by dbest. Prob took eight hrs but I think I could get through it again in three knowing everything. I feel like a dumbass because ECS has the OE BG pump but I didn't see it when buying... I'm not too worried because the old pump made it 94k miles. I also checked the VW campaign/recall site and found nothing related to my car for a water pump swap.
 

kern417

Go Kart Champion
Not sure how I have a BA pump Im guessing thats not the original pump? If so maybe the dealer replaced it before I bought the car. But the service part guy got all worked up when I asked him what the part number was on the bad pumps, so much so that he walked away from the counter and someone else had to help me out.

On the plus side I got the new pump in and no more leak, just gonna keep an eye on the levels and make sure im good.

BA is one of the later revisions. i don't know when it was officially released, but i doubt it came from the factory on a 2011. When i bought my replacement pump in March 2014 the latest revision was AT.
 

zrickety

The Fixer
I see the plastic chunk now that I'm at the computer. I wonder if the bolts were over tightened. Tell me you guys are using a torque wrench...
 
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