Any pointers or pitfalls I should watch out for,

Is it difficult ??

its very simple you will not struggle;-)

IIRC it just goes straight on, no special methods or anything. You probably want a torque wrench to make sure the cover is tight enough when you put it back on.

Got a wrench, reading the haynes its to seal the passenger side end. Did you do this ?

I did mine when I sprayed the rocker. Found it mas a bit difficult getting it up from the TIP corner but nothing that you can't get over.

The nuts need to be tightened to 10Nm.

The only 'gotcha' is not putting sealant at the four points required. You should be able to see the existing sealant.

The nuts need to be tightened to 10Nm.

The only 'gotcha' is not putting sealant at the four points required. You should be able to see the existing sealant.

The same sealant for the sump job ??

Is it worth cleaning anything else whilst it's off ??

Cheers guys it looks easy enough tbh.

i will be doing this when my Kawasaki stuff turns up, can the old gasket be reused?

I took mine off to paint and just re-fitted it

Haven't had any issues.

Better check and make sure

The same sealant for the sump job ??...

No - it should be D 454 300 A2 but it's VERY expensive

A lot of people do use the same sealant as the sump (including some VAG mechanics). A mate asked a dealer for the sealant and got D 176 404 A2 (used for the sump).

Other options are Wurth DP300, which is the same as OEM.

The Golf boys use RTV black

i will be doing this when my Kawasaki stuff turns up, can the old gasket be reused?

The official line is 'replace if damaged', so yes it can be reused.

I didn't realise you needed to put sealant on it? I thought that is what a rubber gasket did in the first place! I've had mine on for many miles now with no issues

I didn't realise you needed to put sealant on it? I thought that is what a rubber gasket did in the first place! I've had mine on for many miles now with no issues

The sealant doesn't go on the the gasket. You literally need 4 small blobs of sealant - 2 where the camshaft adjuster meets the CH and 2 at the other end where the dual bearing cap meets the CH.

The sealant doesn't go on the the gasket. You literally need 4 small blobs of sealant - 2 where the camshaft adjuster meets the CH and 2 at the other end where the dual bearing cap meets the CH.

Well I didn't do that at all. So what issues am I expected to get?

Oil leaks if you are unlucky. If you are lucky, you may get away with it.

Well I didn't do that at all. So what issues am I expected to get?

I assume that you didn't know it was there, so you didn't intentionally remove the old sealant. The OEM sealant never fully cures, so if you are lucky, you didn't disturb it too much or get oil between the sealant and the mating surfaces.

may let someone else do mine as may **** it up