Plenum drains blocked - a helpfull guide.

[dave_1]

Hi
Just got another one
Drains blocked and brake servo full of water now needs to be changed!
New Servo and master cylinder now needed!!

Check the drains!

Dave

[stylin]

!!YOU CAN MOVE YOUR CCM TO SAFETY!!
have a look at this may be an idea?
viewtopic.php?f=33&t=9831

[trev8v]

some more pics that might help you get the pollen filter housing out without breaking it http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/show ... hp?t=12677

I now know that I should have used bitumen type tape rather that silicone (although it has worked !!)
Trevor

[caribsimon]

I have what I now understand is a quite common fault, literally a pond under my drivers seat. I'm just waiting for the ducks to move in and it will be complete.....!!!???

Would it be possible to check the link on the first post (http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit etc etc) and it doesn't seem to work.

I need all the help I can get....

[lee1]

I have what I now understand is a quite common fault, literally a pond under my drivers seat. I'm just waiting for the ducks to move in and it will be complete.....!!!???

Would it be possible to check the link on the first post (http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit etc etc) and it doesn't seem to work.

I need all the help I can get....

yep in don't work work me either

what do you want to know?

[water01]

This is the best link to use as it details all of the likely solutions to water getting in.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showt ... p?t=230249

[forde]

no cos the link to how to unblock the plenum drains on that page is broken

[lee1]

no cos the link to how to unblock the plenum drains on that page is broken

take the battery out then the holder to get to the one under there

then the other one is by the brake servo

but your right it don't work on passatworld (leaky passats)

[dp67bug]

lost all my central locking last week and electric windows and found that the ccu in the pasenger front floor was totally rotted out and the conections where rooted as well so found anther one in a breakers and cut the harness and fitted the new one and all windows , interior lamps , centrall locking all working as it should but do i need to syncronise the keys to the second hand ccu or have i done somthing wrong .

[lee1]

i wrote how to re syc the keys in the how to section on here

if that doesn't work then you may need to get it done by vag com or the dealers

vag com is the cheaper option

[caribsimon]

Thankyou very much for your advice. Today I removed the battery and its holder and there was a three inch puddle underneath. I cleaned out the plug and the water flowed away.

I've been wet vacuuming the foot wells out all day, but things seem to be improving.

Thanks again....

[lee1]

have a look to the right of the one you've cleared theres another one

i've taken both my grommits out and have no problems

[mycarsavw]

This is the best link to use as it details all of the likely solutions to water getting in.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/showt ... p?t=230249

Wow, he looks like such a helpful person - bet he's dashingly handsome too

[water01]

Well as your such a helpful person what happened to the http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit.com/passat/leak/index.htm link (Leaky Passat) as it no longer works. Looks like the website has closed down as if you just do http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit.com/ you get the Apache Server listing !!

[mycarsavw]

The bloke (Ethan I think his name was) sold his car and moved on to pastures new.

But like you said, I'm a helpful person.

Click here and love me long time

I'll mirror this tomorrow and get the pics hosted elsewhere, because I'm helpful

EDIT:

Got in touch with Ewan (not Ethan - sorry) and he wasn't aware the site was down.

Should be up and running again shortly.

[Silversnapper]

Really helpful this. When weather gets a little better it's on my to do list

Nice one guys.

[forde]

was looking at doing this today and had a bit of bother

- couldnt get the wipers off, i undid the bolts but couldnt get the arms off they wouldnt move an inch. this meant i couldnt remove the plastic panel under the wipers and as such couldnt get the battery out.

- the big plastic plenum/scuttle panel thing that covers the battery. when i removed it it was quite tight to pull out. now that i have refitted it it is not fitted as tightly. is this a problem? the big rubber seal thing that goes along the front edge of it wouldnt stick back on very well either.

- is the grommet near the brake servo just to the left of it, i could kinda see it but didnt poke it out just in case.

Even though i never got the batter out i looked under it as best i could and there was no water sitting from what i could see. ok it was a bit damp but it rained all last night and today so surely if the drain was blocked it would have had water sitting in it.

[showbiz]

- couldnt get the wipers off, i undid the bolts but couldnt get the arms off they wouldnt move an inch. this meant i couldnt remove the plastic panel under the wipers and as such couldnt get the battery out.

I had to use a small set of pullers to get my wipers off. Scratched the scuttle a bit but doesn't matter as part of the job was replacing it. I did, however, manage to get my battery out without removing the scuttle - it's tight and the scuttle needs to give a bit but it worked OK. Wouldn't recommend doing this in cold weather as the scuttle is brittle and would probably crack/break..

- the big plastic plenum/scuttle panel thing that covers the battery. when i removed it it was quite tight to pull out. now that i have refitted it it is not fitted as tightly. is this a problem? the big rubber seal thing that goes along the front edge of it wouldnt stick back on very well either.

Should fit snugly into the scuttle - there's not anything in slot, is there? If it doesn't fit well, you might make the problem worse and get water in directly through the pollen filter, and you really don't want that..

- is the grommet near the brake servo just to the left of it, i could kinda see it but didnt poke it out just in case.

Which side are you looking at it front? From the front of the car looking towards the back, the grommet is slightly on the right, is it not? It's almost directly underneath the servo but more accessible from the right, as per this picture (battery, tray and alarm sounder removed)

Even though i never got the batter out i looked under it as best i could and there was no water sitting from what i could see. ok it was a bit damp but it rained all last night and today so surely if the drain was blocked it would have had water sitting in it.

If there isn't a pool of water there then it's probably not a problem.. I would still whip the grommets out because the last thing you want to be doing is spending 30 minutes, after every heavy downpour, removing bits of plastic from your car!

The only instructions on this subject are here - http://www.weirdlittlebiscuit.com/passat/leak/index.htm - as mentioned in the first post

Hope that helps..
James

[dave_1]

Hi
You will need a puller to get the wiper arms off.

Dave

[forde]

hey showbiz, yeah the slot was fine. i slotted the big plastic panel back in but its now much much easier to pull back out again it takes very little effort whereas the first time i pulled it out it was in quite tight. also the big rubber seal doesnt really stay on it very well when you put it back on.

Mines a b5.5 maybe thats why the grommet near the brake servo is in a different place?

thats a balls about needing a puller for the wiper arms the haynes book says you can wiggle them off but i couldnt get them moving at all lol have no access to a puller either

Edit - Just want to point out that i noticed you said about making the problem worse, actually my car hasnt had water coming into it, i just thought id better get the grommets out and clean up a bit to stop it ever happening!

[water01]

What you need is one of these.

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp? ... &subCatID=

[showbiz]

hey showbiz, yeah the slot was fine. i slotted the big plastic panel back in but its now much much easier to pull back out again it takes very little effort whereas the first time i pulled it out it was in quite tight. also the big rubber seal doesnt really stay on it very well when you put it back on.

Maybe just had a bit of grime in it that was keeping it stuck in and you've loosened it.. Mine is snug but I wouldn't say tight.. When I refitted it, I used a bit of washing up liquid to get a decent seal - don't know if it'll help but it made me feel better!

Mines a b5.5 maybe thats why the grommet near the brake servo is in a different place?

Wish I could remember where mine was.. Maybe it was a little closer to the battery than it is in that picture.. I'm sure I had to dig around under the brake servo though.. Mine is also a 5.5 - 2003.

Edit - Just want to point out that i noticed you said about making the problem worse, actually my car hasnt had water coming into it, i just thought id better get the grommets out and clean up a bit to stop it ever happening!

Fair enough, if it hasn't been a problem then it should stay that way. I was in JCB VW in Ashford the other day for a free Visual Health Check (they talked me into it when I went to buy P/S fluid and it was free) and the girl in there said that all the B5/5.5s that come in now have the grommets removed as a matter of course, whether the owner has reported a problem or not..

James

[showbiz]

What you need is one of these.

http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp? ... &subCatID=

That's a handy looking tool! Just remember to mark where the wiper is before you take it off I only considered that after removing it and just put them back roughly where I thought they should go.. Unless there's a key on the arm\spindle that I couldn't see? They seem to work OK so I'm happy!

James

[forde]

how does the washing up liquid work showbiz? i would have thought that would make it slippier!

[showbiz]

I think it just helps with the initial seal before the plastics settle into each other.. I was using it to fit the new scuttle to the windscreen rubber which is new into old and as I was also fitting the old battery\plenum cover into a new scuttle, I used it there too.. It's a bit less permanent than silicone sealant and as it's not actually fixing anything, just helping the seal, it seemed ideal.. It might be that it makes no difference at all but I seem to remember reading it somewhere and it didn't do any harm!

I've used washing up liquid to fit tyres back on to trailer wheels - they'd been sitting a while and had gone so flat the tyres were off the rims.. We used plenty of liquid on the rims and tyres and stuck on an air compressor and pop - back on the rims! Almost as good as the pros