Hi,
A couple of weeks ago I asked if there was a guide for uprating the original diverter (re-circ) valve to the OEM rev D version. Now I found many for the k04 and cupra turbos whereby it is a relatively easy job that can be done under the bonnet. For us non-cupra drivers it is a bit more difficult and I found none. Therefore I attempted, and succeeded thankfully, in changing it today and will give this brief guide with a couple of photos of how to do it.
Firstly is a list of equipment you will need, I used axle-stands with the wheel off, however, if you have a set of ramps it should be possible from underneath as well...
Equipment
Jack (one supplied with car is fine)
Tools for removing wheel (in boot)
Axle Stands
Torque/Socket Wrench
T25 or T30 torq bits as well as smaller for the screws for the plastics (a set would be handy)
Lots of patience!
Guide
1 - First of all jack the car up as if you were removing the drivers side front wheel. The jacking point is located by finding a small triangle shaped recess in the sill about 10 inches (ish - you know what us blokes are like with inches haha) along from the wheel, directly behind this is a lip where the jack supplied fits. Now jack the car up to it's full height and remove the wheel with the tools provided in the boot. (Ensure the handbrake is engaged and car is in first gear to prevent the wheel from spinning when trying to take off)
2 - Now that the wheel is removed you will actually be able to see the diverter valve in the gap between the plastics behind the wheel, if you look in and up to the left a bit you will see it there. To get to it though we have to remove the surrounding plastics, take the smaller torq bit and undo all the screws that hold this in place there should be about 15 or so including 4 or 5 that attach it to the plastics underneath. Once it is loosened remove this in one piece... be careful not to snap or break any of the plastics as it can be quite tricky to remove! You should then have what looks similar to this...
3 - You should now have access to the diverter valve via the area shown by the arrows below (apologies for the poor drawing haha)...
It's a bit of a tight fit but you can get to two of the 3 bolts that hold the valve in place via the area above. If you have a reasonably small wrench with a longer attachment it would probably be easier, unfortunately I had just a standard socket set with torq bits so was a bit of a fanny on...
From the area above you should have a view similar to this, now the two bolts circled are the ones you need to undo and the one with the cross you must NOT! Use the T25 or T30 torq bit along with the wrench to get in to the two bolts and loosen them, have patience as this can be fiddly and there is not much room... eventually though they come loose and remove the bolts.
4 - (Sorry this is where the photos end, I was worried about the rain coming and didn't have time to photo the rest but it is pretty much plain sailing from here) Now go to the area with the left arrow and you should be able to see the final bolt that needs to be undone, with a bit of maneuvering you can access this with the wrench but if you have a thin screw driver with a bit attachment at the top then you can get to it without the wrench... undo this final bolt and the diverter valve should be free... using a small screwdriver clip off the electrical connection to the valve and bring it out.
Whilst here you might as well check the diaphragm for any tears but even if none are found I would recommend replacing with the uprated version anyway!! After a thorough inspection I found mine to have a very very slight tear in the rubber diaphragm!
Anyway the uprated valve fits in exactly the same way as the original did so it is essentially the same steps in reverse. I would recommend, however, that you finger tighten the three bolts before tightening them properly just to ensure there is no cross-threading!
Now, if you did have a leak, go for a drive and feel the difference
Also peace of mind knowing no splits will occur again!!
Once again apologies there are not more photos, and the guide is quite brief but once you can actually see the valve then the rest is kind of self-explanatory!
I hope this helps in some way... if you're stuck at all or have any questions then don't hesitate to send me a message and I'll try and answer it... as said there may be easier ways to do this but for me this was done in under and hour and now I know how it's done could probably only take 30 mins tops!!
Cheers,
Paul
A couple of weeks ago I asked if there was a guide for uprating the original diverter (re-circ) valve to the OEM rev D version. Now I found many for the k04 and cupra turbos whereby it is a relatively easy job that can be done under the bonnet. For us non-cupra drivers it is a bit more difficult and I found none. Therefore I attempted, and succeeded thankfully, in changing it today and will give this brief guide with a couple of photos of how to do it.
Firstly is a list of equipment you will need, I used axle-stands with the wheel off, however, if you have a set of ramps it should be possible from underneath as well...
Equipment
Jack (one supplied with car is fine)
Tools for removing wheel (in boot)
Axle Stands
Torque/Socket Wrench
T25 or T30 torq bits as well as smaller for the screws for the plastics (a set would be handy)
Lots of patience!
Guide
1 - First of all jack the car up as if you were removing the drivers side front wheel. The jacking point is located by finding a small triangle shaped recess in the sill about 10 inches (ish - you know what us blokes are like with inches haha) along from the wheel, directly behind this is a lip where the jack supplied fits. Now jack the car up to it's full height and remove the wheel with the tools provided in the boot. (Ensure the handbrake is engaged and car is in first gear to prevent the wheel from spinning when trying to take off)
2 - Now that the wheel is removed you will actually be able to see the diverter valve in the gap between the plastics behind the wheel, if you look in and up to the left a bit you will see it there. To get to it though we have to remove the surrounding plastics, take the smaller torq bit and undo all the screws that hold this in place there should be about 15 or so including 4 or 5 that attach it to the plastics underneath. Once it is loosened remove this in one piece... be careful not to snap or break any of the plastics as it can be quite tricky to remove! You should then have what looks similar to this...
3 - You should now have access to the diverter valve via the area shown by the arrows below (apologies for the poor drawing haha)...
It's a bit of a tight fit but you can get to two of the 3 bolts that hold the valve in place via the area above. If you have a reasonably small wrench with a longer attachment it would probably be easier, unfortunately I had just a standard socket set with torq bits so was a bit of a fanny on...
From the area above you should have a view similar to this, now the two bolts circled are the ones you need to undo and the one with the cross you must NOT! Use the T25 or T30 torq bit along with the wrench to get in to the two bolts and loosen them, have patience as this can be fiddly and there is not much room... eventually though they come loose and remove the bolts.
4 - (Sorry this is where the photos end, I was worried about the rain coming and didn't have time to photo the rest but it is pretty much plain sailing from here) Now go to the area with the left arrow and you should be able to see the final bolt that needs to be undone, with a bit of maneuvering you can access this with the wrench but if you have a thin screw driver with a bit attachment at the top then you can get to it without the wrench... undo this final bolt and the diverter valve should be free... using a small screwdriver clip off the electrical connection to the valve and bring it out.
Whilst here you might as well check the diaphragm for any tears but even if none are found I would recommend replacing with the uprated version anyway!! After a thorough inspection I found mine to have a very very slight tear in the rubber diaphragm!
Anyway the uprated valve fits in exactly the same way as the original did so it is essentially the same steps in reverse. I would recommend, however, that you finger tighten the three bolts before tightening them properly just to ensure there is no cross-threading!
Now, if you did have a leak, go for a drive and feel the difference
Also peace of mind knowing no splits will occur again!!Once again apologies there are not more photos, and the guide is quite brief but once you can actually see the valve then the rest is kind of self-explanatory!
I hope this helps in some way... if you're stuck at all or have any questions then don't hesitate to send me a message and I'll try and answer it... as said there may be easier ways to do this but for me this was done in under and hour and now I know how it's done could probably only take 30 mins tops!!
Cheers,
Paul
