Leon FR TFSI - Diverter Valve Guide!

Geordie_Paul

Active Member
Jan 19, 2012
138
2
Newcastle Upon Tyne
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...
SDC11002.jpg


3 - You should now have access to the diverter valve via the area shown by the arrows below (apologies for the poor drawing haha)...
SDC11003.jpg


SDC11004.jpg

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...

SDC11010.jpg

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.

SDC11011.jpg


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
 
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T0ma5

Guest
Thanks, I've been looking for a write-up on this. Did you upgrade the DV for a reason or just because you felt it was time to change it?

I ask because I think I'm having a few issues with my DV so was wondering if you experienced the same issues as me.
 

shnazzle

Glass-Half-Full Member
Sep 9, 2011
3,480
6
Northumberland
Good stuff!

Glad you got it sorted.

For future ref... Easier to loosen the wheel nuts when the car is on the ground, saves the whole putting it in 1st etc. ;)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Geordie_Paul

Active Member
Jan 19, 2012
138
2
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Hi t0ma,

Thanks I didn't have any symptoms as such but for what it costs I thought it was best to upgrade it when I did to avoid future problems!

Cheers shnazzle all handy little tips are welcome!

Haha rllmuk it did its job, got it up so axle stands could be put in place then loosened it but left it there for safety along with spare wheel under car for extra safety haha

Glad the guide is at least of some help!

Cheers,
Paul
 

robdf2

Yellow is the best
Feb 21, 2006
3,605
2
location , location
Hi t0ma,

Thanks I didn't have any symptoms as such but for what it costs I thought it was best to upgrade it when I did to avoid future problems!

Cheers shnazzle all handy little tips are welcome!

Haha rllmuk it did its job, got it up so axle stands could be put in place then loosened it but left it there for safety along with spare wheel under car for extra safety haha

Glad the guide is at least of some help!

Cheers,
Paul

Nice guide mate , but from your pictures it also looks like you have a boost leak
The turbo discharge pipe o ring looks like its leaking , reason i say this is because your undertray looks like it has oil on it.
When the o ring fails the air is forced out with oil which gathers on the undertray.
 

shnazzle

Glass-Half-Full Member
Sep 9, 2011
3,480
6
Northumberland
Nice guide mate , but from your pictures it also looks like you have a boost leak
The turbo discharge pipe o ring looks like its leaking , reason i say this is because your undertray looks like it has oil on it.
When the o ring fails the air is forced out with oil which gathers on the undertray.

this is where this (FREE!) forum really shines... diagnostics of a valid issue at no cost, by people who know what they're looking at. Good catch Rob!
I was thinking the same but then thought since the patch on the undertray looks dry-ish, it may have been a past issue. The area on the pipe around the discharge pipe kinda looks like it's been wiped. then decided I'd better shut up because I've only ever seen this once in real life.

Worth a check anyway.
 

robdf2

Yellow is the best
Feb 21, 2006
3,605
2
location , location
this is where this (FREE!) forum really shines... diagnostics of a valid issue at no cost, by people who know what they're looking at. Good catch Rob!
I was thinking the same but then thought since the patch on the undertray looks dry-ish, it may have been a past issue. The area on the pipe around the discharge pipe kinda looks like it's been wiped. then decided I'd better shut up because I've only ever seen this once in real life.

Worth a check anyway.

;) np mate only place to really learn about these issues.
 

Geordie_Paul

Active Member
Jan 19, 2012
138
2
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the feedback, I looked at this originally and thought it was possibly an old problem as like shnazzle said the tray was in fact dry, however, it never hurts to get these things checked over. Will get her back up on the stands when the weather perks up a bit and report back... having never had a problem of this sort before is it most likely the O-Ring has gone and is it just a simple fix?

Thanks again,
Paul
 

robdf2

Yellow is the best
Feb 21, 2006
3,605
2
location , location
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the feedback, I looked at this originally and thought it was possibly an old problem as like shnazzle said the tray was in fact dry, however, it never hurts to get these things checked over. Will get her back up on the stands when the weather perks up a bit and report back... having never had a problem of this sort before is it most likely the O-Ring has gone and is it just a simple fix?

Thanks again,
Paul

The only reason I know about this is it happened to me lol

It's a really simple job , just follow your guide as above you don't need to take the wheel arch liner off though , there is a sliding clip on the joint between the rubber and the aluminium discharge pipe , pop this out a little , the rubber pipe can pull away now.

Inside the front edge of the discharge pipe you will see a square section o ring , remove it , give the discharge pipe and rubber pipe a good clean remove all the grit and oil.

Lightly oil new o ring and put into diss charge pipe , gently put rubber hose back in , make sure it goes fully home , then push the clip back in , and it's all done.

The reason it happens is the boost goes from a solid pipe into a rubber pipe which expands and contracts making the o ring go square then it starts to leak.

Any probs give me a shout
 

Geordie_Paul

Active Member
Jan 19, 2012
138
2
Newcastle Upon Tyne
The only reason I know about this is it happened to me lol

It's a really simple job , just follow your guide as above you don't need to take the wheel arch liner off though , there is a sliding clip on the joint between the rubber and the aluminium discharge pipe , pop this out a little , the rubber pipe can pull away now.

Inside the front edge of the discharge pipe you will see a square section o ring , remove it , give the discharge pipe and rubber pipe a good clean remove all the grit and oil.

Lightly oil new o ring and put into diss charge pipe , gently put rubber hose back in , make sure it goes fully home , then push the clip back in , and it's all done.

The reason it happens is the boost goes from a solid pipe into a rubber pipe which expands and contracts making the o ring go square then it starts to leak.

Any probs give me a shout

Thanks a lot Rob, sounds like a very easy job :) Would a silicone replacement hose help prevent this in the future to avoid the expansion of the pipe or would it not make a lot of difference?

Also do you reckon I'd be able to pick one up from Dave at Seremotors... no harm in asking I suppose!!

Thanks again mate, as Shnazzle said this is why I love this forum :)
 

robdf2

Yellow is the best
Feb 21, 2006
3,605
2
location , location
Thanks a lot Rob, sounds like a very easy job :) Would a silicone replacement hose help prevent this in the future to avoid the expansion of the pipe or would it not make a lot of difference?

Also do you reckon I'd be able to pick one up from Dave at Seremotors... no harm in asking I suppose!!

Thanks again mate, as Shnazzle said this is why I love this forum :)

Never thought about a silicone hose mate , it can't hurt !
I got my o rings from Dave at Sere top bloke !
 

Nick G

Full Member
Just found this thread having carried out the same job on my Skoda Octy VRS last week! It is a lot easier if you can get under the car but great write-up all the same!

I just wanted to ask if anyone has the part code for the replacement O-Ring? I'm sure mine has gone as I had a bit of oil on the under tray and it looks like there's a leaky pipe there.
 

josephj22

Guest
I recently bought seat leon FR, and i found this forum and specifically a thread showing the first steps to be done to tune this car:
i started by buying H&R lowering springs which by the way made a huge difference while cornering
i bought the forge FMFSITAT blow off valve and this is the main reason why i'm posting here is that i didn't find any guide how to fit the blow off valve, only this thread where the pictures are deleted :s
also i'm waiting to receive the first stage ecu tuning kit and brembo brakes :D
 

shnazzle

Glass-Half-Full Member
Sep 9, 2011
3,480
6
Northumberland
It's a gimmick no matter how you look at it. A latest revision stock DV is absolutely grand and won't rupture. Even Graeme's 396hp beast runs a stock one. Although I think he tried some other one at some point for shits and giggles.

The noise will drive you potty
 

Thafussa

Active Member
Jul 7, 2013
168
0
Willemstad, Curacao
It's a gimmick no matter how you look at it. A latest revision stock DV is absolutely grand and won't rupture. Even Graeme's 396hp beast runs a stock one. Although I think he tried some other one at some point for shits and giggles.

The noise will drive you potty

dammit, thats very disappointing, I do have the Rev D or whats it called.
Sucks that its possible for other brand cars and now these. :cry:
 
Lecatona HPFP (High-pressure Fuel Pump Upgrades)