Diff service
- Thread starter perryqhill
- Start date
Did you find and clean out any "stuff" that was at the "rear" of the "pocket" that the pump fits into.
Also, did you need to clean up the surface of the "pocket" that the pump fits into to get rid of any surface corrosion that would damage the O-rings when you fitted the pump back in.
I'm just asking now as this job will still be fresh in your mind - really just checking out for possible issues that you found and did not mention.
I know from removing air trunking where one part fits inside the other using the same method of sealing, ie O-rings, that I've always found the need to clean/polish the outer end of the part that has the larger diameter as typically rock salt/brine used in winter time will have got into these exposed area and cause surface corrosion that will always damage new O-rings as they pass through that initial "rough" section.
Yes, I’ve cleaned the pump pocket well before reinstalling and I used a bit of oil to lubricate the O-rings before inserting the pump. I think these light green O-rings are great since you can inspect their condition way better than with regular black O-rings. Hope I’ll find them somewhere.
It’s a maintenance which I would probably do every 10.000km together with the engine oil.
Fortunately or (unfortunately since I love proper winters with snow), here in this part of Germany it’s extremely unlikely to snow, and if does snow, it will melt away in 1-2 days. This means the roads are pretty clean, but mainly wet during winter because of the constant rain.
If dealers don't clean the pump, and I'm sure you're right about that, can it really be that important? I know it would be better to clean it but if not doing so was a fatal mistake you'd see haldex units failing all over the place and I'm not seeing evidence of that.
I'm getting mine done next week and I'd like to be sure on this. I know that the garage are not planning to clean the filter, as they asked a Seat dealer if they should ;0)
Hi. First of all the pump is one of the first parts to fail in a Haldex, fortunately it’s also one of the least expensive component
It depends a lot on how you drove, how many kms the car has and weather conditions.
It’s always better to do the full maintenance, even preventive than only doing half of the maintenance job.
Agree.Hi. First of all the pump is one of the first parts to fail in a Haldex, fortunately it’s also one of the least expensive component
It depends a lot on how you drove, how many kms the car has and weather conditions.
It’s always better to do the full maintenance, even preventive than only doing half of the maintenance job.
Cleaning / not cleaning the Haldex strainer / filter is something that crops up fairly regularly on the VW Golf R forum. Cleaning it doesn’t form part VW‘s Haldex maintenance schedule, but R owners on that forum who are enthusiastic / passionate about their cars always ask the dealer to clean it. Some will do it, but there are also those VW dealers who insist it isn’t necessary - when that happens, owners have tended use a good independent VW specialist who will do it.
The thing is, the pump strainer is there to collect or stop the debris travelling round the system, in @dan.cupra's first picture, you can clearly see the debris collected on the lower areas of the strainer and starting to collect on the remaining upper area, when the fluid get changed, that debris stays on that strainer, and so the pump's inlet is getting blocked as it continues to collect more debris after that fluid change.
So, one of two things can then happen, the user detects a drop in the effectiveness of the VAQ and runs, or gets the "pump relearn" routine run for them and that finishes off the pump right then, or they just live with the reduced effectiveness of the VAQ and the continuing build up of debris on that pump inlet causes pump failure.
It should be remembered that when this system was first launched, VW Group declared it "sealed for life" and workshops seemed to get annoyed/confused when diligent owners requested a fluid change, then as time went on they added this fluid change into the "service requirements".
Just one other question for @dan.cupra, when you drained the old fluid out of your VAQ did you find any "bits" in the drained fluid?
The reason why I'm asking this is, when I drained the fluid out of my older daughter's May 2019 Leon Cupra at 21682 miles on 5th October this year - okay that car was a pre-reg in May 2019 and not sold/used until October 2019, the drained VAQ fluid was clean and just slightly darker yellow than the new fluid - so none of the debris was removed from the system. Unfortunately or fortunately due to the design of the Haldex casing, the inner end of the drain hole is maybe 4mm > 8mm or more, above the "floor" of the casing area that forms the sump for this fluid - so until the debris build up has risen above the drain hole entry level, the debris will mainly just drop out of suspension in the fluid and stay in that area, the remainder hopefully getting collected by the pump strainer.
So, one of two things can then happen, the user detects a drop in the effectiveness of the VAQ and runs, or gets the "pump relearn" routine run for them and that finishes off the pump right then, or they just live with the reduced effectiveness of the VAQ and the continuing build up of debris on that pump inlet causes pump failure.
It should be remembered that when this system was first launched, VW Group declared it "sealed for life" and workshops seemed to get annoyed/confused when diligent owners requested a fluid change, then as time went on they added this fluid change into the "service requirements".
Just one other question for @dan.cupra, when you drained the old fluid out of your VAQ did you find any "bits" in the drained fluid?
The reason why I'm asking this is, when I drained the fluid out of my older daughter's May 2019 Leon Cupra at 21682 miles on 5th October this year - okay that car was a pre-reg in May 2019 and not sold/used until October 2019, the drained VAQ fluid was clean and just slightly darker yellow than the new fluid - so none of the debris was removed from the system. Unfortunately or fortunately due to the design of the Haldex casing, the inner end of the drain hole is maybe 4mm > 8mm or more, above the "floor" of the casing area that forms the sump for this fluid - so until the debris build up has risen above the drain hole entry level, the debris will mainly just drop out of suspension in the fluid and stay in that area, the remainder hopefully getting collected by the pump strainer.
I haven't seen any debris but the oil was quite dark almost black, after 60k km and driving quite sporty occasionally, I was not surprised at all. I would recommend this maintenance once every maximum 15.000km especially if you're using all wheels often.
Like every other component, engineers are asked to build the parts with a limited life expectancy, so that new parts can be ordered constantly, for obvious business reasons. So again, it's up to everyone to decide if they listen to the dealer or take action and diy or at another workshop.
I personally risked my warranty (car is almost 3 years old) and did a lot of maintenance myself since this year, rather than paying the dealer (sometimes 10times more) for an incomplete or incorrect job !
Just changed my summer wheels with winter wheels today and I was surprised to see that the rear wheels tires were way more worn out than the front tires, which it’s an indication that the rear wheels were “activated” quite often.
Other than that Continental SportContact 7 bought brand new in March this year and this is how the rear tires look like after around 16.600km or less (1-1.5mm left to wear indicator), definitely last time using Continental, also I’m loosing a lot of grip now and I was blaming the Haldex that probably doesn’t work properly.
Price for these 4 was 800€ size 245/35/20.
Other than that Continental SportContact 7 bought brand new in March this year and this is how the rear tires look like after around 16.600km or less (1-1.5mm left to wear indicator), definitely last time using Continental, also I’m loosing a lot of grip now and I was blaming the Haldex that probably doesn’t work properly.
Price for these 4 was 800€ size 245/35/20.
Attachments
-
IMG_3551.jpeg -
IMG_3550.jpeg
Last edited:
Similar threads
