DBESTGTI1
Go Kart Champion
Lately everybody and their mom has been posting about their water pump started leaking like it's breaking news that the pumps suck. For whatever reason people have gotten it in their heads that the intake manifold needs to come off to replace the water pump. I don't know where that idea came from but it's completely unnecessary unless for some reason you want to do about 2-3 times the amount of work and spend the money to replace the fuel injector seals without any benefit. Since as of late I've been pointing out that there is literally no reason to remove the manifold to replace the water pump I've been getting lots of PMs about it. I had no intention of making a how to but today I just so happened to get a 2009 Audi TT with a CCTA 2.0T TSI engine that needed a water pump (it's the exact same engine, layout, and repair process as the VW's). I'm not going to going to go through every tiny step to point out each nut and bolt and explain how to wipe your ass, but I will give you a general step by step rundown of what needs to be done with some pics to go with it.
Getting started
Remove the airbox (1 bolt and a hose clamp)
Remove this bracket (2 bolts)
The bracket is out, harnesses are disconnected, solenoid valve on the intake manifold unplugged
Loosen the pipe from the throttle body then from the bottom take the belly pan off, and undo the pipe from the intercooler to the throttle body (hose clamp at the throttle body, quick disconnect on the intercooler, 2 bolts in the pipe and unplug the boost pressure sensor)
The pipe is out
Take the throttle body off (4 bolts)
Take the support bracket to intake manifold off and remove the plastic coolant pipe into the front of the pump (one nut and ne bolt on the bracket, 2 bolts and hose clamp on the pipe)
Get the pipe out of the way
Take the belt cover off, and undo the other hoses to the pump (2 bolts on the cover, and quick connects on the hoses)
Slide the belt off the side of the pump, unbolt it, and pull it out. No, your pump is not stuck to the engine... pretend you have pair and put some muscle into it (5 bolts)
That's it. It's 30-35 minutes from start to pump removed and in your hand.
Here is what you should replace when you do the job, the water pump, the water pump bolts, the union, and the o-ring that seals the plastic pipe to the pump. The union comes with new o-rings, you can skip replacing the union and just replace the 2 o-rings on it instead if you choose.
When you're installing the new pump, put the union in the pump and slide it into the oil cooler, lower the drivers side and the belt slides right the gear then put the pump up into place. There are dowels to align the pump to block, it's idiot proof. Make sure to lube ALL of the o-rings before you you reinstall connections. I personally have used Sil-Glyde on every single coolant related o-ring for years, it's technically "brake lube" but it's versatile, it's awesome, and it works.
Once the pump is bolted in place, get the hose connected so the coolant system is sealed and then use a vacuum filler to fill the system. It uses compressed air suck down the cooling system and put it all in a vacuum, while the system is in a vacuum you put the fill hose into a bottle of mixed coolant and open the valve on the filler, the vacuum will suck coolant out of the bottle and fill the system on it's own.
***** These steps are important *****
Volkswagen has released a couple "Tech Tips" over the years that are not listed in the repair procedures but are important to follow.
After you have vacuum filled the system, suck it down again a second time while it's filled and let it sit holding a vacuum for at least 10 minutes. Personally I leave it under vacuum until I've put everything else back together and I'm done, then I release the vacuum and top off the coolant.
When the car is completely done, everything is back together and you're ready to go for a drive.... don't. On the initial startup with the new pump fire it up and let it sit there at IDLE until it's reached full operating temperature, don't rev it, don't drive it, just let it sit and idle. It will take 15-20 minutes.
It takes 40-45 minutes to get the car back together and ready to start. I was feeling extra generous today so I took a picture of the tools I had out to do the job. There's a couple more things not shown in the picture... long flat head, coolant drain pan, the vacuum filler, and a drill with the torx bit for taking the belly pan off. As you can see it's not a very involved job.
Getting started
Remove the airbox (1 bolt and a hose clamp)
Remove this bracket (2 bolts)
The bracket is out, harnesses are disconnected, solenoid valve on the intake manifold unplugged
Loosen the pipe from the throttle body then from the bottom take the belly pan off, and undo the pipe from the intercooler to the throttle body (hose clamp at the throttle body, quick disconnect on the intercooler, 2 bolts in the pipe and unplug the boost pressure sensor)
The pipe is out
Take the throttle body off (4 bolts)
Take the support bracket to intake manifold off and remove the plastic coolant pipe into the front of the pump (one nut and ne bolt on the bracket, 2 bolts and hose clamp on the pipe)
Get the pipe out of the way
Take the belt cover off, and undo the other hoses to the pump (2 bolts on the cover, and quick connects on the hoses)
Slide the belt off the side of the pump, unbolt it, and pull it out. No, your pump is not stuck to the engine... pretend you have pair and put some muscle into it (5 bolts)
That's it. It's 30-35 minutes from start to pump removed and in your hand.
Here is what you should replace when you do the job, the water pump, the water pump bolts, the union, and the o-ring that seals the plastic pipe to the pump. The union comes with new o-rings, you can skip replacing the union and just replace the 2 o-rings on it instead if you choose.
When you're installing the new pump, put the union in the pump and slide it into the oil cooler, lower the drivers side and the belt slides right the gear then put the pump up into place. There are dowels to align the pump to block, it's idiot proof. Make sure to lube ALL of the o-rings before you you reinstall connections. I personally have used Sil-Glyde on every single coolant related o-ring for years, it's technically "brake lube" but it's versatile, it's awesome, and it works.
Once the pump is bolted in place, get the hose connected so the coolant system is sealed and then use a vacuum filler to fill the system. It uses compressed air suck down the cooling system and put it all in a vacuum, while the system is in a vacuum you put the fill hose into a bottle of mixed coolant and open the valve on the filler, the vacuum will suck coolant out of the bottle and fill the system on it's own.
***** These steps are important *****
Volkswagen has released a couple "Tech Tips" over the years that are not listed in the repair procedures but are important to follow.
After you have vacuum filled the system, suck it down again a second time while it's filled and let it sit holding a vacuum for at least 10 minutes. Personally I leave it under vacuum until I've put everything else back together and I'm done, then I release the vacuum and top off the coolant.
When the car is completely done, everything is back together and you're ready to go for a drive.... don't. On the initial startup with the new pump fire it up and let it sit there at IDLE until it's reached full operating temperature, don't rev it, don't drive it, just let it sit and idle. It will take 15-20 minutes.
It takes 40-45 minutes to get the car back together and ready to start. I was feeling extra generous today so I took a picture of the tools I had out to do the job. There's a couple more things not shown in the picture... long flat head, coolant drain pan, the vacuum filler, and a drill with the torx bit for taking the belly pan off. As you can see it's not a very involved job.
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