3b passat plenum chamber bungs and water leak info

[TIDYDUBS]

Plenum chamber bungs 3B Passat

I take it you mean the plenum chamber bungs??? This is usually covered by a workshop action to remove the bungs by a VW retailer for free action code 51B8 thats if you car falls into the chassis range! To be fair id do it myself cause they all bloody block up and i check em on a service and remove the BLEEDERS.......Well my good friend its a doddle. pull the cover off where the battery and brake master cylinder. You need to remove the wiper arm covers under which are 13 mm nuts. Then the fiddly trims by the bonnet hinges secured via a Torx 30 screw. You need to remove these or you will break the scuttle trim.Then you can carefully pull the scuttle trim (the bit attached the screen) from one end carefully as ive seen people damage the screen doing this and when they come to reinstall....ill tell you later how to put back on. There you have an exposed battery,master cylinder pollen filter and housing and the electrics box on drivers side (E-box to us techs). you need to remove the battery carefully easing the wiring loom off the lip first, followed by the alarm siren and battery tray to access the passenger side bung and REMOVE IT. The other side is a bit of a pain but an extra long pair of long nose pliers and a Stanley knife will sort that out,taking care not to chip the protective paint off the pipework as you dont want this corroding in the future.

Right thats the easy bit done now you need to remove the pollen filter housing carefully.... secured by 3 10mm nuts remove the crap foam seal and get 10 mm butyl cord and lay this in smoothing the 2 ends together. clean the whole plenum chamber free of any dirt leaves fag butts of rubbish like that and the sealing surfaces for the pollen filter housing. I then as a matter of course and prevent further ingress of water put a 5mm bead of sealer...clear stuff is good around the outside of the butyl cord and reinstall don't over tighten the nuts.Allow sealer to cure. You can do the same with the Ebox of which i do on customers cars and have done on my own car.++++++

You need to check your wiring on the passenger side A pillar behind the trim no2 phillips screwdriver...NOT a POZI please.Water invariably gets in these connectors and gives you all sorts of faults.Alarm going off bonnet open etc etc.YES it does go up as well as down trust me been dealing with these sodding water leaks and wiring issues for many years now!:mad: Pull em apart check they are all clean get some electrical cleaner and spray in to them if they are clean???No green fur or corrosion, or the they will have to be repaired. Convenience ecu is under the carpet in the passenger foot well generally full of water too, you have had a result if it is not:eek::D pull the connectors off and check as with A pillar connectors. Refit once you have dried all your carpets out of which i strongly advise.

Refitting the scuttle trim on the screen clean out the groove first and clean the trim then lube with silicone spray and carefully push in do not hit reassemble fully and get some friendly chap with a Vag-Com to sweep the fault memories for you and clear codes......function test fully after.

Just a polite note i cant accept responsibility for anything going wrong that i have explained here this is a mere guide, a very accurate one i might add, but i know not of you skill level not trying to insult im trying to help you. Hope this helps regards TidydubS

[rocketrollins]

Recently bought a 2000 passat estate and found that the back drivers side carpets is like a swimming pool, rest of the footwells seem fine and Ive checked the door seals etc. The only bung I could find is the one under the battery carrier could you please tell me were the other one is please.

Great write up on the water leak problem so when its daylight I'll be up and armed with the tool box

[TIDYDUBS]

No worries Rocket........thanks. The other bung is below/close to the brake master cylinder servo assembly. (the big black thing in laymans) Its a bit of a fiddle because the metal clutch pipe is on it as well. Arm yourself with a sharp razor blade and cut carefully as not to scrape off the protective coating on the pipe......it will rust through given time and you will lose you clutch pedal. I then made sure it was cleaned as best as possible in the plenum chamber removing leaves and any sediment

Id have a good look in the front foot well as described above id put a mince pie a turkey sandwich and a bottle of guiness on it you have some water in the foot well area too

Edited December 28, 2010 by TIDYDUBS

[rocketrollins]

checked the footwells via pulling up the carpets and found the front passenger side to have a good few broken wires but after repairing them my central locking and remote locking all work

Although i was out on a 40-50 mile journey and just as i arrived home the seatbelt/airbag came on for some reason???? any ideas

cheers

[TIDYDUBS]

Take the trim off at the bottom of the Passenger side A pillar as described above the wiring on that coupling station has airbag wiring too. Check all for water and corrosion Any corrosion or water dry out then recheck for corrosion,which will happen and give you all sorts of problems alarm going off etc etc etc. repair using heat shrink connectors....the tube type Red/Pink in colour. this is the correct VAG method. NOT bullet/spade type ones or soldering.

[rocketrollins]

noob question what is the A pillar??? cheers tidydubs

[TIDYDUBS]

A pillar starts at the top of the screen and is the mounting for the front door/hinges and screen. and goes to the floor. B pillar is in the middle.......then it goes C pillar and depending on vehicle type and amount of glass you have if its an Estate or (Variant) as the Germans like to call it could go as far as E pillar. No worries have a happy new year see you on the other side+++

[rocketrollins]

Cheers for your replys TIDYDUBS I seem to be encountering even bigger prob than electrics Noticed tonight a small rattle from engine, Sounds kinda like a tappet rattle ( I work on sportsbikes etc an sounds similar to a bike tappet noise). Another prob is that the wee orange computer screen doesn't work and I have no idea were the wiring is for that as I have check the wiring on passenger side A pillar ( Thanks to you I know were it is lol). Hope you had a good new year and sorry to put these problems on you .

Cheers buddy

[TIDYDUBS]

No worries mate its been good surfs been up for last few days so having a ball at the mo.....yes its baltic and yea im feking nuts!!!!!!

Check make sure your servo has no water by pulling the pipe off it CAREFULLY as these break when cold. If it has you need to change it.......ive done a few in my time and more than likely your tandem pump.....(secondary fuel pump and brake vacuum pump) has sucked the water into the engine.

Check the oil but id change it if you have not already and use good quality oil like CASTROL long life or MOBIL ESP formula suitable for PD engines and get a genuine filter from a VW TPS it should only be about 3 to 4 quid.

It sounds like a wiring problem still cause you got Drivetrain CAN bus wiring there on A the pillar which is what the dash panel insert is connected to.

Any probs let me know.......good luck let me know how you get on. Happy new year

[rocketrollins]

Cheers for the help m8 Im going out now to change the oil, filter etc and then I'll let you know how i get on.

Ive been told by 2 mac'c that

1- It could have got dirt into the tappet bucket via a dirty oil track

2- It could be the cam follower's

Only had the car 3 weeks and not a happy chap so far Bring back those old push rod fiesta's lol

[rocketrollins]

I pulled the engine cover off and put a screwdriver to the engine and then the turbo and the rattle diff sounds like its from the turbo! Has anyone encountered this before???

[TIDYDUBS]

You get all sorts of noise there mate as the turbo is still spinning at a quite a speed. If its tapping its not uncommon for valve train to be worn due to people not using the correct grade of oil prior to you buying it. It sucks i know worth a check. The turbo's are pretty darn solid for some reason on the early passats, they rarely go......and ive worked on em since they first came out in 97+++

[rocketrollins]

Your a legend Tidydubs lets hope i get this fixed soon so I can start loving having a car again lol. Is there a cam chain tensioner on these 19 tdi's??

cheers buddy

[TIDYDUBS]

LOL your definitely a bike man.......Only get chains on the newer bigger TDI's. You have a timing belt and tensioner with an idler wheel too. Depending on the model a hydraulic plunger acting on the tensioner but should not give you any grief really but check the history see if the whole lot has been changed.......you can get a complete kit approx 85 quid upwards. What is your BHP or your engine code???

Are you in contact with the guy who sold it you?

[rocketrollins]

hey m8 not sure of bhp or code I still have contact with the owner although im beginning to think ive been told some porkies before buying lol

[rocketrollins]

Hi Tidy

I just changed my flushed my engine with oil treatment then replaced the oil and filter, I put 3.5 litres in as i beleive thats what it takes problem is that the oil is near up to the orange ball on the dip stick but it was in the we grove about an inch from the end of the dip stick before the oil change.

The engine does sound queiter or maybe Ive been listening for to long, What is the correct mark and is 3.5 litres of oil correct amount.

Cheers m8

[rocketrollins]

No more worrie guys found the problem tonight in a very very scary way.

Changed the oil and filter etc and hey presto the engine sounded normal

Now the fun part, I decided to take it a short drive to make sure everything was fine and boooom the car locked solid with the smell of the clutch burning and the gearbox sounding as if someone had dropped a bag of nuts into it, Lucky enough no one was behind us and it wasn't my pregnant girlfriend doing 70 on the motorway on her way to work.

Think I'll give Passat a miss for a while!

Cheers for the comments guys.

Funny enough the guy from reefrange.co.uk (A reef aquarium site) said to be careful it could be a duel mass fly wheel problem.

I would like to thank TIDYDUBS for all the time he spend trying to help me out, A true gent .

[TIDYDUBS]

Oh bugger!!! Hope all is not too bad? The dip stick level correctly should be where the dots or your cross hatchings are or where the top kink is on the dipstick is the maximum you can go.

Sounds like that noise you did have was the dual mass flywheel which unfortunately can go at any time. They generally give a warning but possibly your clutch has just given up the ghost. Id replace the whole lot if you are interested flywheel and clutch. Would be interested on your BHP or Engine code you can find em on the white sticker in boot.....thats your PR codes (cars DNA)

You can get them on a good deal, job lot from GSF (2 types LUK or SACHS) which wont hurt the wallet too much given the missus is with child:D. Not a job for on your back on the driveway.

[sammy snake]

to remove the bung - jack up n/side front wheel so that wheel is off road turn steering to r/h side, if you look in behind wheel and along the line of steering rack and bulk head you can see this bung. simply push bung side ways and it pop out of its hole . bingo job done.

now ring vw uk and ask "WHO WAS THE MUPPET THAT DESIGNED THIS " .

I'm on my second passat ,i also own a golf and an Seat ibza .i've just ordered a new leon WITH STOP/START to replace golf. i'll not be buying another vw. Seat best car at our house.

[TIDYDUBS]

to remove the bung - jack up n/side front wheel so that wheel is off road turn steering to r/h side, if you look in behind wheel and along the line of steering rack and bulk head you can see this bung. simply push bung side ways and it pop out of its hole . bingo job done.

now ring vw uk and ask "WHO WAS THE MUPPET THAT DESIGNED THIS " .

I'm on my second passat ,i also own a golf and an Seat ibza .i've just ordered a new leon WITH STOP/START to replace golf. i'll not be buying another vw. Seat best car at our house.

Thank you for your well educated findings there my friend......i merely wrote this thread as a guide for people not in the know unlike myself being VW for many years.

This is the correct way to do it and yes that is another way to do it but you need to pull the other one out too or when the water freezes in your plenum chamber cause the other bung is full up of leaves and dirt, it will continue to rise and freeze until, like i have had this year and other years servos freezing up sometimes engines failing.Costing money.

Its people that think they know it all and do half a job gives manufacturers a bad name.Skoda have the same design as do Audi, BMW Mercedes the list is endless. All cars have issues that is a fact. What Seat have you got?

Its not the best car in the VAG group its just shared technology (STOP/START) from VW and Audi. SO, my friend please refrain from bitching about an issue which has been addressed by the manufacturers via a workshop action years ago, and my detailed thread on how to deal with such issues for those less fortunate than yourself who want to keep their car mint.

Seems that owning 3 nearly 4 cars (the forth being a nice looking car in the right colour i might add!) you have too much time and money? Why dont you write them a letter on your new findings im sure they would be astounded? Best regards Tidy.

[Kenspassat]

If you find that the water still comes in even after clearing the drain holes and fixing the pollen filter seals, and you have a factory fitted sunroof then check your drain tubes. Yes I found on my 1999 Passat saloon that water was getting in behind the multi connect housing which is located at the bottom of the front passenger door pillar, behind the plastic cover. (The same could happen the drivers side too) I presume one of the previous owners, did as instructed online, to put a wire down the drain tube to keep it clear of leaves and seeds etc, and promptly poked a hole through he tube somewhere down the far end. I have also notice water getting in through he drivers door inner panel. Again some pervious owner must of taken this panel off and not ensure the seal was good before reinstalling.

I was able to prove this without taking the car to bits, by testing with the garden water hose, and a jug of water.

To fixed the problem I aim to: Place a wire cable down the tube from the sunroof end, so as I have a cable running out both ends. The idea is to aid reassembly. I then aim to remove the nipple, which exits inside the door shut, just above and behind the main rubber grommet that carries the cables for the door. The cable I put down the sunroof drain tube exit here, and I aim to have about half a metre of excess cable to slide the nipple down and off. I then aim to try and measure the inner tube diameter; (if anyone knows this then please respond to this post) I will then purchase a tube bigger than this to slide over the old tube inside. This will save on a massive bill to remove the sunroof and replace the tubes. I aim to slide the second tube up and over the old one all the way to the top, just in case, and will trim off the lower end and glue or fix in some way the new tube to the old nipple. I hope to do this without removing the door, but it is tight, and I am not going to struggle for hours trying. If I have to I will remove the door.

I then aim to check the drives side making sure no water has entered, and if so I will make good the drives side if necessary.

[TIDYDUBS]

If you find that the water still comes in even after clearing the drain holes and fixing the pollen filter seals, and you have a factory fitted sunroof then check your drain tubes. Yes I found on my 1999 Passat saloon that water was getting in behind the multi connect housing which is located at the bottom of the front passenger door pillar, behind the plastic cover. (The same could happen the drivers side too) I presume one of the previous owners, did as instructed online, to put a wire down the drain tube to keep it clear of leaves and seeds etc, and promptly poked a hole through he tube somewhere down the far end. I have also notice water getting in through he drivers door inner panel. Again some pervious owner must of taken this panel off and not ensure the seal was good before reinstalling.

I was able to prove this without taking the car to bits, by testing with the garden water hose, and a jug of water.

To fixed the problem I aim to: Place a wire cable down the tube from the sunroof end, so as I have a cable running out both ends. The idea is to aid reassembly. I then aim to remove the nipple, which exits inside the door shut, just above and behind the main rubber grommet that carries the cables for the door. The cable I put down the sunroof drain tube exit here, and I aim to have about half a metre of excess cable to slide the nipple down and off. I then aim to try and measure the inner tube diameter; (if anyone knows this then please respond to this post) I will then purchase a tube bigger than this to slide over the old tube inside. This will save on a massive bill to remove the sunroof and replace the tubes. I aim to slide the second tube up and over the old one all the way to the top, just in case, and will trim off the lower end and glue or fix in some way the new tube to the old nipple. I hope to do this without removing the door, but it is tight, and I am not going to struggle for hours trying. If I have to I will remove the door.

I then aim to check the drives side making sure no water has entered, and if so I will make good the drives side if necessary.

Hello there.......just to let you know if you buy the new grommets that go into the A pillar there is a wee cross of rubber. Do me a favour, cut the cross off so it leaves a hole with a tidy pair of scissors as thats what i do with the new ones.This helps prevent bulid up of sediment in that part.

As for the water in your connector it is possibly as you described.

best regards Tidy............sorry people not been around been working heaps!!!!

[jmr301984]

Hi TIDYDUBS, i was wondering would it be possible for me to pay you to fix this problem on my car? I'm not getting any electrical faults as of yet, just a wet drivers side footwell. But of course i would like to resolve the problem before it gets any worse!! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, John.