Thank you and i really appreciate the advices. I will change the rings.

My only worry now is the logistics of fillling with clean diesel.

1. Do people normally have clean diesel lying around?

2. Which hole is the correct one? The one where the Tee fits? Thats the only one I can think of?

(ps what does that Tee part actually do? Would have thought, 'fuel in/fuel out' is all that is necessary?)

Thanks again.

Kam

Thank you and i really appreciate the advices. I will change the rings.

My only worry now is the logistics of fillling with clean diesel.

1. Do people normally have clean diesel lying around?

2. Which hole is the correct one? The one where the Tee fits? Thats the only one I can think of?

(ps what does that Tee part actually do? Would have thought, 'fuel in/fuel out' is all that is necessary?)

Thanks again.

Kam

HI

The best way to have clean diesel is to have a new plastic fuel can (black for diesel / green for unleaded).

Put diesel into it at the filling station. Most fuel filters I have seen have an arrow marking the inlet and another marking the outlet, If you have only two pipes, the pipe heading toward the engine is the outlet, the one heading back down the bulkhead toward the rear of the car is the inlet. If you have three, it might be more complicated, as one could be the return to the tank.

To fill the filter, it is done most cleanly using a syringe. A 100 ml syringe can be easily purchased on eBay, if you don't know someone in health care able to get you one. (ebay ones are sometimes sold for measuring hydroponic nutrients - wonder what they might be cultivating :think: )

Filling a filter is messy and risks contamination. You have gallons of fuel at the back, so why not use it?

Just use a vac pump or a big oil gun in reverse to pull the fuel into the filter.

rotodiesel.

Thanks Rotodiesel and others,

(finally managed to get my Oil cap off and used my mannesmann to suck the old oil out. Must have done an ok job as I've used nearly all of the 4ltrs of teh new oil.)

Anyway, back to the Fuel pump! Sorry for the questions, but I do want to do it right - which by the looks of it is more than most dealers!

1. I have an Inlet pipe and an outlet pipe - fairly obvious what happens there. Arrows also point in the directions, so I can figure that out. however, What does this 'Tee' hole/pipe do??, I have Inlet, Outlet and a big hole where the Tee sits.

2. Subject to the answer to the above, can I not put the clean fuel in there?

3. Can I use my mannesmann to suck the clean fuel from the outlet pipe? (using a clean see through hose, obviously) - it sucks at a rate of about 0.2litres/minute

4. Rotodiesel, thanks for the advice about the O rings. Can you please explain the significance of the proper blue/black ones? Are they just easier to fit (compared to the black ones I've got) or are they those colours because they differ from each other in another way.

Hope you don't mind the questions. I just want to do it right. Have squeezed nearly 19k miles on before this service and the fuel filter is the only thing left.

Ta muchly.

syanide

Edited 19 November, 201213 yr by syanide

The plastic Tee contains a bimetallic disk valve which flips inside out at about 50 deg C. Its purpose is to change the route for the return fuel - when everything is cold, the fuel return from the tandem pump is routed back to the filter can. This prevents fuel waxing in cold weather (return fuel warms up quickly). When the return fuel becomes hot, the valve in the Tee operates and the hot fuel is routed back to the tank to keep it cool.

You can put clean fuel into the big hole for the Tee - it's on the dirty side of the element.

If you have a vac pump, just connect it to the fuel outlet at the filter with everything else in place. Using a clear hose, apply moderate suction until fuel flows from the outlet, devoid of large bubbles. Reconnect and start engine, leaving at fast idle to purge the air.

The "O" rings are different and are of differing hardness to aid fitting and to improve the seal between the sections of the valve. I have fitted a Mahle filter with 2 black rings, but it was not a good fit and I wouldn't use it on my car. Oil the rings before you fit the tee and make sure they are not twisted in the grooves.

rotodiesel.

Thanks. Im just a bit confused about the vac pump bit. You mention it as thoigh i might have one? Is it something im likely to have but know as something else?

The Mannesmann thing i mentioned is what i used to suck the old oil out of the sump through the dipstick. At 0.2l/min, i cant imagine it doing any damage by using that.

(ps, using motor oil for the 'O' rings.... Won't thatcontaminate the diesel?)

Thanks again. Think I'm nearly there...

An oil suction pump will be fine for priming the filter. Diesel fuel is completely miscible with lubricating oil and will not cause any problems. The top half of a PD unit injector runs in lubricating oil - that's why it's such a good system with a long life.

rotodiesel.

Thank you very very much! I will attempt this in the next few days...

Edited 19 November, 201213 yr by syanide

Just a quick one. If, on the worst case scenario I end up knackering the 'Tee' whilst changing the crap 'O' rings I've got - is it easy to replace? What is the part called?

Also, is it not just easy to replace that with a new one?

Thanks

You won't knacker the Tee if you're careful. The mistake many people make is to try to take the hoses off it. They stick on hard and cannot be removed easily. There is absolutely no need to take them off anyway.

Just go carefully with your "O" rings and fit them square in the grooves with plenty of engine oil. Press it down firmly in the filter bore, possibly twisting a little until the Mickey Mouse clip fits.

I fitted a Hengst filter to my son's Audi (kids never take your advice) without any great problems but the fit was less good (too tight) than is given by the correct blue and black rings. There have been no running problems.

I've always called this part a "Thermostatic Tee" but the dealers know all about these - I suspect they break loads of them. The part number is in EKTA.

rotodiesel.

OK, after all the nice comments, I've looked up the part numbers for you. If you buy any bits, do a final check against your chassis number but I'm not aware of any changes.

1J0 127 247J valve (what I called the thermostatic Tee).

1J0 198 247 set of round seals ("O" rings).

The rings are evidently available separately, so you could buy the correct ones for peanuts. Go to VW - don't waste your time with "Skoda". My local agent has nothing for the Superb - but the VW dealer has the lot. The VW spares availability is excellent.

rotodiesel.

Edited 22 November, 201213 yr by rotodiesel

Sweet. Thank you again. A beer is on hold for when you are in the Leicester area. Much appreciated again.

Edited 23 November, 201213 yr by syanide

£2.10 from my local. Pick them up tomorrow and will attempt tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

Ok here we go!

Picked up the rings and the guy was brilliant at the VW garage. I never knew they were TPS! Learn something everyday. The guy even took my number to let me know when the longlife oil is on offer again. It was going for £21 for 4ltr until Friday!

Everything is as described by the good guys on here, however I thought it might help if i explained how I got on.

1. Moved the spring clips out of the way on the inlet and outlet pipes. Twisted the pipes a bit to loosen them, so they could come off easy later on.

2. The O rings on the Tee came off easy with a thin screwdriver (i used the small electrical tester which has a narrow flat head). Old ones came off easy and new ones went on easy too. HINT - as there isn't much slack in the hoses, put a flat sheet under the Tee as you work as those O rings can get fiddly and if you drop it/them, you'll be stuffed!

3. Removed the outlet pipe and move it to one side, pointing upwards. Leave the inlet attached for now.

4. Now the tricky bit. The thing holding my filter in place is not like a 'cup' where the filter sits. Mine is an open ended 'sleeve' which fits around the waist of the filter. (Picture those plastic clips that hold the hoses in place, but a bit bigger!!). Also, mine had a long thin bolt with a philips head. And the bolt was pointing downwards. This bolt was attached to two 'butterfly' type clips (top and bottom). These clips connect to the open end of the sleeve and as the bolt is tightened, the two clips come closer together and tighten the grip on the sleeve. HINT - If you undo the bolt completely, then the bottom clip will drop to the bottom of the car! I learnt that the hard way. So, only loosen it until the filter is free. You'll know as it will drop a few cms when it is loose. ANOTHER HINT - before you loosen it, make a note of how far up/down the sleeve fits around the filter so you can put the new one in at the same level.

5. lift the filter out, still attached to the inlet pipe. Keep it pointing upwards as the diesel will spill otherwise. Put the new one in and quickly detach the inlet pipe from the old filter and attach it to the new one immediately. Be careful where you put the old filter as it still has diesel in it!

6. fit the Tee and press hard and attach the monkey clip. Monkey clip will only fit if the Tee is in properly.

7. Now for the fun part...Experts, I mean no disrespect here, but I honestly did try to do it properly. I attached the oil suction pump and sucked from the outlet pipe for a few good minutes, but nothing came through and I was worried about running the pump whilst dry for so long. So, I poured some the diesel from the old filter into the big Tee hole. I know it probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I was desperate. Sorry. However, I also gave it another suck for a minute for good measure. Still no Diesel showing though. Anyway, I attached the outlet pipe and gave the car a start.....Started first time and i kept it revving for a few seconds. No issues! PHEW....

(Just out of interest, how much diesel does the filter hold? the oil pump sucks at 0.2 ltrs/minute so maybe i didn't run it long enough?)

Put everything back and all is hunky dorey!

I reset the service light through the key/dashboard method. I understand this puts my schedule as a fixed interval (1 year/10,000 miles). is this correct?

Guys - thank you very much for your help!!

(ps- I realised that the only thing I didn't change in my quest of self servicing is the radiator coolant. How drastic is this? Will it last til the next service, or should I change it?)

Edited 25 November, 201213 yr by syanide

If the coolant is pink it's sealed for life I think. Never needs changing.

But I got a fresh 7 litres of genuine vag pink coolant when I got my head changed so that's it for us.

Edited 25 November, 201213 yr by oh_superb

Yes pink and changed last year when the pump was changed .

7. Now for the fun part...Experts, I mean no disrespect here, but I honestly did try to do it properly. I attached the oil suction pump and sucked from the outlet pipe for a few good minutes, but nothing came through and I was worried about running the pump whilst dry for so long. So, I poured some the diesel from the old filter into the big Tee hole. I know it probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I was desperate. Sorry. However, I also gave it another suck for a minute for good measure. Still no Diesel showing though. Anyway, I attached the outlet pipe and gave the car a start.....Started first time and i kept it revving for a few seconds. No issues! PHEW....

(Just out of interest, how much diesel does the filter hold? the oil pump sucks at 0.2 ltrs/minute so maybe i didn't run it long enough?)

Did you attach pump to fuel pump return line or fuel filter outlet line (the one that goes to engine)? If the latter, you should get fuel eventually, it takes under a minute using Sealey TP69 extractor.

Perhaps there was not enough vacuum, as you report 0.2ll/min oil removal rate, it's more like 1l - 1.5l / min with TP69, on warm oil of course.

Fuel filter takes as much fuel as it looks like, probably 0.5l - 0.8l

Did you attach pump to fuel pump return line or fuel filter outlet line (the one that goes to engine)? If the latter, you should get fuel eventually, it takes under a minute using Sealey TP69 extractor.

I think the Fuel Filter Outlet line. On top of the filter, there are 2 thin pipes, I attached it to the one with the arrow pointing out. I don't know what the "Fuel Pump Return Line" is? Maybe I do, but don't know that I do.

I want to get this right for next time, so more suggestions on priming for virgins welcome!

(ps - will i have the same issue on the boss's Golf Mk5 1.6 FSI '04' plate?)

Thanks

It seems correct outlet was used, perhaps all was needed was to wait longer / better vacuum pump.

Ok, Will be a bit braver next time! Out of interest, Is there any harm with pouring the 'old' diesel into the Tee hole? Also, that plastic tap thing at the bottom, is that safe to use as the 'pouring' route as opposed to pouring from the Tee hole? I thought it was used to drain the water, but is there diesle in there too? As I opened it and it just poured out contently! Surely that couldn't all be water could it?

Do not use tap at the bottom, at least for initial 50ml-100ml, diesel fuel has a lot of water in that part of the filter (tap is for draining water). After some diesel+water went out, you can use the rest. But it's best to pour from the "tee" opening as that is clean filtered fuel, then there is no harm done.

Still, by far the simplest cleanest and least trouble prone method is to vacuum fuel from the tank through the filter.

Noted, ta muchly

The Tee hole is on the dirty side of the filter. If you take fuel from here to prime a replacement, you stand to tip in dirt from the old filter.

Were the VW replacement "O" rings to the above part number black and blue, and were black and blue rings fitted originally?

rotodiesel.

Noted Rotodiesel. Like i said, i was desperate! Ill try something else next time as i want to do it properly.

Yes, the O rings were black and blue as were the old ones. Came off easy and went on easy.

The butterfly clips gave me a scare though. Luckily i had a long magnetic/led thingy.

You mentioned that the height of the filter was significant. How can i tell if mine is correct now?

There should be a plastic collar fitted around the filter can between the rolled top joint of the can and the top of the clamp. This sets the height.

Dealers sometimes lose them...

rotodiesel.