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Waterpump/Thermostat DIY - Who has done it?

H

Hyperlite

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Vancouver
2015 GTI, 83,000 kms (Canadian eh), coolant leak has become more noticeable, looks like I’m looking at a waterpump/ thermo housing replacement soon.

Just looking for feedback from anyone that has tackled this repair on their own…pain in the ass? Not too bad?

I’ve done pretty much everything myself on this car so far, fluids, brake replacement, suspension, but this one seems more invasive and has me a bit worried.

Getting quotes from shops right now to see how much I would save by doing it myself. Any and all input is appreciated!
 
DSC808

DSC808

Autocross Champion
Location
HI State
Car(s)
2016 GTI SE MT
Watch some videos and you'll be ok. Did mine at 46601 miles. Did it again the same day after putting everything back together. Make sure the union piece is on straight or it will dump coolant straight out. Also double check the 2 or 3 coolant lines that are on the front are clipped in all the way, give it a couple tugs. Mine popped off about a week later. Dumping coolant straight out. The Humble Mechanic takes off the intake manifold and then does the water pump/thermostat housing; you can do a carbon clean at the same time. I did that last month with his video and its pretty easy. I would recommend walnut/media blasting though as half the total time spent was scraping sh!t with picks. Would've be so much faster just to blast it.
 
YamR1rider

YamR1rider

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Tampa, FL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport DSG
Did pump and a bunch of other stuff just recently, take a look at this post. As poster above says.... watch that fiddly bloody union and hoses. Fill your system back up prior to putting intake manifold back on and check for leaks (I assume you will be taking it off....the job would be miserable without). Having a vacuum coolant filler can help a lot (if your system doesn't hold the vacuum.... there's a leak somewhere).

Just take your time on everything and you'll be OK. Id be interested to know how much you get quoted....I bet it's quite pricey. But if you can remove shocks and springs, you can defo DIY this.
 
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YamR1rider

YamR1rider

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Tampa, FL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport DSG
ITGUY said:
I had an issue with that union.. FCP sent me one that didn't fit the INA pump. it wasn't a good day to basically replace the pump twice.
Click to expand...

Plain didn't fit, or was just on the tight side so when you seated it in, it wouldn't sit flat and would annoyingly keep sliding out one side or the other? If so....mine was the same, made a fiddly lining up job even fiddlier.
 
ITGUY

ITGUY

Autocross Newbie
Location
PA
YamR1rider said:
Plain didn't fit, or was just on the tight side so when you seated it in, it wouldn't sit flat and would annoyingly keep sliding out one side or the other? If so....mine was the same, made a fiddly lining up job even fiddlier.
Click to expand...
Mine seemed to lose.. FCP send me a new one and it was fine... I double checked the part number and it was correct. So I just threw it away and chalked it up to the world hating me.
 
H

Hyperlite

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Vancouver
Thanks guys. These replies are encouraging.

For replacement parts, am I good with the newest revision of the OEM part? Or should I go aftermarket? I’ve heard of people having to do this job several times and I’m trying to avoid that…
 
Daks

Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
I went with INA, around 15K KM ago. No issues thus far. Make sure you have an extension for your extensions extension. Getting the Throttle body bolts off was a pain for me, I had to go from the bottom hence the multiple extensions. Took me around 6 hours to complete, but I'm not a mechanic. Make sure that you have a 17MM stubby for the fuel line.
 
YamR1rider

YamR1rider

Drag Racing Champion
Location
Tampa, FL
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport DSG
Same, INA part - they are oem anyway, just the vw/audi branding is scrubbed off and less than half the price.

Didn't take my throttle body off the manifold though? Just loosened the pipe and took it out with it attached to the manifold.
 
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anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Not too bad, but i did it during intercooler swap, so it was probably a bit easier with all the crap out of the way.
Disclaimer: this is the first car I've ever worked on, and it's not that bad at all. Use the service manual for reference.

I used INA. Same stuff as OEM.
 
anotero

anotero

Autocross Champion
Location
Hither and thither
Car(s)
Mk7 GTI
Daks said:
I went with INA, around 15K KM ago. No issues thus far. Make sure you have an extension for your extensions extension. Getting the Throttle body bolts off was a pain for me, I had to go from the bottom hence the multiple extensions. Took me around 6 hours to complete, but I'm not a mechanic. Make sure that you have a 17MM stubby for the fuel line.
Click to expand...
Bro, those fucking TB bolts... Sometimes i want dresden fire bomb the VW engineering headquarters.
 
DSC808

DSC808

Autocross Champion
Location
HI State
Car(s)
2016 GTI SE MT
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