Removing and installing oil cooler — VW
Removing and installing oil cooler on VW: 14 steps, engines BAR, BKS, BMK, BUN. What to remove, in what order, and what to check after.
Removing the engine oil cooler on the petrol engines listed below (BAR, BKS, BMK, BUN, CARA, CASA–CASC, CATA, CEXA, CEXB). It is a coolant-fed cooler bolted to the cylinder block, so the cooling system has to be drained before anything is disconnected. Access comes from above and below: the noise insulation, the engine cover with air cleaner, the air duct and the warm air collector plate come off, then the coolant hoses are clamped off with hose clamps 3094 and the coolant pipe brackets are unbolted. The alternator also has to be removed before the coolant pipes can be pulled forwards out of the cooler and the cooler unbolted. Renew the O-ring, and refill or renew the coolant afterwards rather than just topping up.
🧭 Before you start
Remove noise insulation, drain coolant, take off the engine cover with air cleaner, air duct and warm air collector plate. Clamp and disconnect the cooler hoses, unbolt the coolant pipe brackets and remove the alternator. With a drip tray underneath, pull the coolant pipes forwards out of the cooler and unbolt it from the block. Fit with a new O-ring, refit the alternator and refill the cooling system.
- Opens: coolant
- Renewed: o-ring
Don't miss
- Drain the coolant before disconnecting the cooler hoses or pipes.
- Clamp hoses with hose clamps 3094 to limit spillage.
- The alternator must come off before the coolant pipes can be withdrawn from the cooler.
- Always renew the O-ring between cooler and cylinder block.
- After refitting, add or renew coolant and check for leaks at the pipe joints.
Written for this job from the workshop steps below · TorqFix editorial.
📋 Procedure
- Remove noise insulation General body repairs, exterior50Noise insulation.
- Drain coolant .
- Remove engine cover with air cleaner .
- Disconnect rubber bellows (1) from air duct (2).
- Release both locking devices and take air duct (2) off.
- Remove warm air collector plate (arrows).
- Disconnect coolant hoses on oil cooler using hose clamps3094.
- Remove securing bolts (arrows) for coolant pipes on cylinder block and on oil cooler.
- Remove alternator Electrical system27Alternator; Alternator 1.6 l FSI engine.
- Place drip tray underneath.
- Pull coolant pipes out of oil cooler forwards.
- Remove bolts (1) and pull oil cooler (2) off cylinder block. [Note: Renew O-ring.]
- Add coolant or renew if the oil cooler has been removed .
- Install alternator Electrical system27Alternator; Alternator 1.6 l FSI engine.
Other VW procedures
- Removing and installing ignition coils – Audi A8 D3
- Removing and installing air filter element – Audi
- Removing and installing engine speed sender G28 – VW Polo 6R · 1 torque figures
- Checking current draw – VW Polo 6R
- Checking fuel gauge sender 2G169 – Audi Q7
- Removing engine · 41 torque figures
- Removing and installing camshaft – VW Golf Cabriolet · 47 torque figures
- Adjusting valve timing – VW Passat B5 · 83 torque figures
- Removing and installing camshafts – VW Passat B6 · 39 torque figures
- Removing and installing coolant pump · 53 torque figures
Who makes these pages, and how
TorqFix was built by a mechanic — after a 2,700 km drive with five roadside repairs that no diagnostic tool could explain.
The figures on this page come from manufacturer workshop documentation and are shown as they are. The page is assembled automatically from that data — it is not written by an AI. The AI works in the chat, where it answers for your specific car. It writes nothing here.
Variants of the same model differ. Cross-check torque against the factory manual for your engine before final tightening.
Seen a figure that does not match your manual? Write to us — we correct it and note when. support@torqfix.com
The story behind TorqFix →Workshop data on this page last updated 20 Sep 2026.