Volkswagen Jetta VR6, Removal of Coolant Pipe, Oil Filter Canister Assy, Oil Cooler - Part 2

In this video, I'll be removing the coolant pipe, oil filter canister assembly and oil cooler on a 2001 VW Jetta with the VR6 engine. Enjoy and thanks for watching!

[@bernardaflores1720]

Having these series of videos as a reference for my car is a gold mine.

[@stuzman52]

Glad to hear Bernarda that they are helping you out!

[@michelle0489]

I know this videos old but it’s what I need! I just got finished putting the car back together. Replaced the oil filter housing. Ac compressor, starter and a whole wire harness. Now I have to take it back apart because this pipe is leaking!

[@stuzman52]

Glad to hear the video(s) helped out. Wishing you all the best in replacing the leaking pipe.

[@oscarrivera8660]

I have owned Toyos Honda Nissan Kia Ford Oldsmobile...love how VW/Audi makes everything quite complicated. Good vid.

[@stuzman52]

You are correct Oscar that the engineers do make the cars more complicated than necessary.

[@rolanddubber]

Hello Stuzman, I did a change out of my 2000 VR6 Jetta oil cooler. You were not kidding about it being a pain in the A**. Did my with the front in intact. Limited room for sure. But did remove the oil filter housing to get to them dang pinch clamps. I ended up changing them to regular hose clamps. But thanks for the information in your video.

[@stuzman52]

Thanks Roland for the comment and wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a successful New Year!

[@jrkaz6070]

Uncle Stutz saves the vw once again!!!This guy is the best!!He's the VR6 PROFESSOR

[@stuzman52]

Thank you very much Jr Kaz for the kind comment!

[@jrkaz6070]

I cant tell you how many times you saved me time,$$ and sanity.I have the 24v but you get me close enough without taking "all" the fun & frustration away.Thanks again,god bless you both.😁

[@spawnandbatman6975]

just got it off, stuzman52 you are the man!!! I was getting a little frustrated with this repair hahah. I like how detailed and simple your videos are. again thanks very much and for the wife helping you film. great team keep it up!!

[@stuzman52]

+Joey Tamayo I knew you could do it Joey. Just don't keep working on the vehicle when you get frustrated. Take a break...otherwise, you'll start breaking things as that's what happens to me.

[@spawnandbatman6975]

Yeah I broke the oil pressure sender connector and being frustrated. Learned my lesson though. You gotta walk away from it though it does help

[@gtigio5067]

Thank you so much!! ive ben looking for the three days to see how the oil filter housing is removed, it seems like a relatively simple process but I'm still new to mechanical jobs such as me still being in high school but i love these things, so thank you once again for this video!!

[@stuzman52]

You're quite welcomed!

[@RICKAFIX]

you guys sure make a good team....I enjoyed the struggle to take the coolant pipe off rarely to people show the real process and of coarse when you had to take a breather after the first attempt... lol great video Terry looking forward to part 3

[@stuzman52]

+RICKAFIX Hey Rick! Nothing like a little drama uh...Yeah, the wife and I always have fun when we work on these things. I think she gets a kick out of it too. Thanks for dropping in and leaving a comment. I bet you got some nice weather over there in Scottsdale. Over here in NC, we got blasted with the snowstorm.

[@AndyNolan]

Absolutely fantastic content & channel. Thank you very much

[@stuzman52]

Thank you Andy for dropping in and sharing a comment! Have a great day!

[@JesusRamirez-xi9ls]

Saludos desde México veo sus videos compré un Jetta A4 vr6 2000 lo estoy restaurando de varías cosas me an ayudado muchos sus videos desgraciadamente acá en México es muy difícil conseguir esas refacciones saludos

[@stuzman52]

Lamento escuchar que tienes problemas para conseguir piezas. En los Estados Unidos, estamos teniendo problemas para obtener piezas y no solo piezas de automóviles. Todo es escaso y los precios son muy caros. ¡Que tengas un gran día!

[@pushnfords]

FWIW I'm finishing up the same job after watching your video to get an idea of what I'd need to do. I went about it a little different...removed the 3 bolts to drop down the oil filter housing then disconnected the sensor on top. Once it was out of the way I moved the solenoid, vacuum lines, etc off to the side & unscrewed the big oil cooler bolt. With that removed there was enough room to move the oil cooler around to remove the old seals & clean the sealing surfaces. I put the cooler back on, plugged the oil filter housing holes in the block, then cleaned everything up with brake cleaner & a brush. Then cleaned the filter housing & reinstalled. I've been taking breaks to warm up but still under a 2 hour job. It is a lot easier without unhooking the cooler hoses & messing with that coolant tube.

[@stuzman52]

Good information to know and thanks for sharing your experience as I'm sure it will help others out there. ))

[@monomille1]

Admire your perseverance Terry. Your struggles brought back memories of laying under cars in the cold with various fluids dripping on me. For an under 35 year old that is survivable but as an over 65 year old I just change oil and bulbs and even for those I pick the weather carefully. It helps that I switched over to Toyotas in midlife. Whatever they lack in excitement they more than make up in reliability. I always enjoy your videos especially the research you do and info you provide in addition to just the how to wrench turning. Yours are the epitome of KZbin citizen mechanic sharing. Thanks

[@stuzman52]

+monomille1 Oh, how I remember those days also! I can remember pulling out an automatic transmission in a '70 Torino while lying on the ground as it was snowing. I must have been out of my mind as I wouldn't even think about such a thing today. Even being inside a garage, it's not the most enjoyable thing lying on your back under a car. Glad to hear that you like the videos and thank you very much for dropping in and sharing your thoughts.

[@wtbm123]

Good video

[@stuzman52]

+wtbm123 Thanks Terry for dropping in!

[@spawnandbatman6975]

that's what I was thinking and yeah wanted your advice before I tried prying it off. if it wasn't for your videos I would be shitting myself I really appreciate the help !!

[@stuzman52]

+Joey Tamayo Glad to help and good to hear the videos are helping.

[@Scouty208]

Did you have to drain the oil before taking the oil filter canister assembly off?

[@spawnandbatman6975]

see how you pulled the oil cooler off so easily? mines stuck on there. I took the front cap off and the seal is good but I can't just simply pull the oil cooler off? I wonder if mine is stuck from being there overtime or if there is something else holding it. I didn't wanna wedge it off. but do you know what it might be?

[@stuzman52]

+Joey Tamayo Once you remove the bolt, there's nothing else holding. It's got to be stuck on there because of the age of an old gasket. A little prying will break it loose, but be careful that you don't damage it as it's aluminum.

[@kwmiked]

Where did u buy the coolant pipe and Tstat housing from when u did This? I see better deal on line from ECS tuning or ECS Something, about 200$ less them my local 'VE dealer for the parts. thanks

[@stuzman52]

kwmiked germansutopsrts.com as for when, check date of upload on video

[@kwmiked]

stuzman ok thanks

[@kwmiked]

stuzman nothing really came up when I tried that link

[@stuzman52]

Sorry, I misspelled it...here's the link www.germanautoparts.com/

[@kwmiked]

stuzman ok Thanks! No problems with parts? Everything sealed as it should

[@MrWoowootila]

I just bought the parts, because my thermostat housing has a very slow leak. Bought a aluminum crack pipe to replace the plastic one, also all the hoses. I feel for you with this struggle. Looks like this is not going to be a fun job. I thought since everything is torn apart I would also replace the water pump, check the alternator brushes and replace the bearings, and check the starter brushes and relube (makes noises in cold weather). The DIYs I have been reading is that you have to either lift or drop the motor to have enough access to get the water pump out. I like the VR6 but the access to the motor stinks. One question in another video you replace the vacuum lines with silicone. What size lines do I need to order. I do not want tear everything apart again an would rather spend a few bucks now than a headache in the future.

[@stuzman52]

+Johnny Woo Sounds like you're going to do a fair amount of work to your VR6 there. As for the water pump, the service manual mentions about taking the pulley off, then the three mounting bolts and off she comes. From what I've read, that's a major job too. Sounds like people are taking engine mounts a loose and jacking the engine up enough for the water pump to clear the frame rail. I believe the silicone hoses had an inner diameter of 3mm. But to be sure you can check out the video series of where I'm diagnosing the secondary air injection system. Sounds like a good idea while you're there. Replace what you can since it's not that expensive.

[@MrWoowootila]

I have not looked in the service manual yet. I am hoping I will not have to jack the engine. If I can remove the pulley and then the water pump that would be great. Very little room to work in. I am from aviation background and parts are replace prior to failure and inspections are performed. I carry that mindset over to my cars. That gasket on the oil cooler looked pretty hard so I might have to order one of those. I always think water pumps are cheap insurance. If they do not fail by 120k miles I always replace. $70 is a lot cheaper than thousands of dollars from a overheated engine. I buy new, maintain, and drive till they die. From some of the other forums I have read the VR6 also has some problems with the timing chain tensioner. Later models have a improved design, but the early ones were failing at around 140k-200k. The Transaxle has to be removed to do it, so if a clutch fails first or the tensioner, might not be a bad idea to do both. Hopefully get 250k out of this vehicle. Last VW I got over 300k, sold it and saw it on the road 5 years later.

[@stuzman52]

+Johnny Woo Yeah Johnny, preventive measures are always good when you can do it. At work we do the same in replacing cell and filter pumps because of their high failure rate when pumping chemicals. As for the timing chain on the VR6, yes, the older models had high failure rates. And on the newer models, they improved the guides, but still a weak link with this engine. But doing that job is a lot of work, but unless you let the chain break and do valve or worst engine damage, might as well go for that too, if you're going to keep the car. Sounds like you might can put some videos up to show us some of your experiences with the repairs on your VR6.

[@Scouty208]

@@MrWoowootila Yeah I just had my water pumped changed recently. I didn't have any overheating issues, but mine started leaking so it had to go. I couldn't find any way to do it without lifting the engine so I ended up going to the shop for this one.

[@n0ncha7ant72]

Me and my future wife🙌

[@SteveRobReviews]

Wow - Im getting a good chuckle watching this but man that's too much. All from a busted nipple. I think I'm going to buy a VW just for the entertainment. LOL. Great vid buddy.

[@stuzman52]

+Steve Rob HaHa Steve! Please buy a VW and you'll never be bored. Like you said, you'll always have some entertainment with them. Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts. Take care bro...

[@TheWwong]

+Steve Rob Not only do you get the "entertainment" from owning a VW, you get to buy LOTS of special tools to work on it.

[@SteveRobReviews]

ICU2 Ha what more could you ask for , never hurts to dream. LOL

[@normansmith7806]

Thomas must be really entertained and never bored working on VWs every day 😋

[@SteveRobReviews]

+N Smith I bet he'd work on VW's just for the fun of it, look at Terry's vid man he's having a blast. LOL

[@Scouty208]

Should you really have to take the oil filter canister assembly off to remove the coolant pipe? I'm hoping I can avoid having to do that.

[@stuzman52]

You might be able to do the job without taking the canister off, but you'll find that it's going to be a tight fit to get up in there. Once you start to get into it, you'll know for sure if it has to come off.

[@Scouty208]

stuzman Okay, thanks. I might give it 15 minutes or so of just yanking at the pipe as is and if that doesn’t get me anywhere I’ll probably take that off. Btw, you didn’t have to drain the oil before you took that off did you?

[@tony4metallicaify]

Just when I thought it was a up grade to go from the 1.8t to the vr6 nope because you can actually work on a 1.8t this thing looks like a all day job

[@stuzman52]

HaHa Tony! Welcome to the VR6 engine world! You're right that just about anything that you work on with this car is going to be a bear :) On the bright side, you did upgrade in performance though :)