ECU Removal

[Dr Dad]

Hey everyone,

Need some help approaching removing my ECU since I need to ship it to IE for recovery.
Looks like it is riveted shut, so if anyone has a guide or tips on how to remove to covering and ECU itself that would be greatly appreciated (my googling efforts resulted in little help).
I attached some pictures of the case with rivets that I need some guidance on.

Thanks!

 

[IanCH]

That's wild... This is my '20 gti ecu housing

 

[aaronc7]

I have 2017 S3 and mine looks like the above reply.... I've never seen ECU cover like that....weird

 

[IanCH]

this thread will be of use, but might not be what you want to see...

https://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?9327477-ecu-steel-cage-removal-and-replacement

 

[IanCH]

I would drill them our with a 1/8" drill bit. If they are the size they look to be, then the head on the side you are drilling from will separate before you drill "through" the rivet.

 

[IanCH]

After more research and seeing this picture

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/...cage.png.b30696e4457a9902513873df527ca1b4.png

I think you might look at the horizontal oriented one and determine if it has threads on the opposite side your 3rd picture is taken from. If it does have threads its a snap off head bolt.

If it's a snap off head bolt then you have 2 options to remove - use a screw extractor set or cut a groove in the screw using a dremel cutoff wheel and then back it out with a flathead.

more info: https://forums.mwerks.com/showthrea...fd3f8ca4&p=102161953&viewfull=1#post102161953

 

[Dr Dad]

Thanks for the tips!
I ending up using a dremel. The rivets were screwed in, but I broke two screw drivers after cutting a slit for a flathead in the top. I ended up just dremeling off the tops of the rivets. I went ahead and uninstalled this unnecessarily secure ECU cover and ordered the new ECU mounting bracket (5Q0-906-507-F) for once I get my ECU back.

 

[MrTSI]

I know this is an old thread but I figured I’d reply here instead of starting a new one.

I replaced my transmission mount and I also had the metal-caged ECU. Other than being “headless”, the three fasteners holding the cage are basically just plain old M6 bolts with a LOT of thread-locker over the entire length of the threads.

As the previous poster mentioned, just cut slots with a Dremel and a fine cutting disc, then unscrew them with a flat head screwdriver.

BUT, before you unscrew, use a small butane torch to heat the bolt heads for a minute or so. It melts the thread-locker so they come out like butter after that. Took me all of 20 minutes, taking my time and breaking a cutting disc. Another tip is to use a flat head screwdriver bit on a 1/4 ratchet for better leverage and control.

It’s actually a pretty easy job. And you can just replace the screws with some regular M6 cap screws from Home Depot.

 

[Daks]

I just used man strength and bent the metal backwards until the rivets popped off. Not the best way to do it most likely, but it worked for me.

 

[Dr Dad]

I just used man strength and bent the metal backwards until the rivets popped off. Not the best way to do it most likely, but it worked for me.

That's what I ended up doing for the horizontal rivet.

Didn't feel comfortable trying to break stuff around the ECU, until I was lol