Secondary Air Injection Pump Fix
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AudiWorld Newcomer
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3
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Secondary Air Injection Pump Fix
Want to share a quick fix for a common 1.8L problem; my 2002 TT, 180hp, had the CEL on and VAG-COM showed "Code P0411, SEC AIR INJECT SYSTEM INCORRECT FLOW”. The car seemed to run fine but MD emission inspection was due and it won’t pass with a CEL.
A review of forum posts showed loose rivets on the pump as a common problem, I jacked the car up and sure enough, five of the six rivets had their heads sheared off allowing a considerable gap between the pump shells. What a flimsy design, the rivets are just thin aluminum tubes with flared ends. I jumped a wire across the solenoid contacts (located in the plastic enclosure high on the firewall near the driver's strut tower, marked "100") and the pump still worked but made some knarly sounds. Replacing the rivets was the next step.
Most forum posters went thru some pain to remove the pump, either dropping the crossmember & PS hose or following Bentley and removing the mounting bracket screws & hoses to remove the pump. Not feeling that ambitious, I tried replacing the rivets with the pump in place. The sheared rivets were pretty easy to remove, I didn’t want to hammer on the old plastic housing so I sprayed each end with WD-40 (supposed to be catalytic converter friendly) then threaded a ½” #6 sheet metal screw into the sheared end of each rivet. Access was a challenge on some but I was able to remove five rivets by either squeezing with Channel-locks or turning & pushing the screw. The rivets really are junk, I was able to squeeze one flat with needlenose pliers. The last rivet on the top was still intact and looked like I’d skin more than a few knuckles trying to dig it out so it stayed.
I replaced the rivets with 1½” #8 screws & Nylock nuts, this grip length is close, the nylock feature is fully engaged but no threads extend out. It took a bunch of universals & flex extensions to get the screws snug but I’m confident they’re clamping the shells together better than the six flimsy OEM rivets. When powered up the pump now sounds new, no ugly noises. I reset the OBD codes with the VAG-COM and the CEL has stayed off thru several start cycles so far – all I need now is it to stay healthy thru MD’s emission inspection in two days.
I hope this might help others with a similar problem,
RealiTTY
A review of forum posts showed loose rivets on the pump as a common problem, I jacked the car up and sure enough, five of the six rivets had their heads sheared off allowing a considerable gap between the pump shells. What a flimsy design, the rivets are just thin aluminum tubes with flared ends. I jumped a wire across the solenoid contacts (located in the plastic enclosure high on the firewall near the driver's strut tower, marked "100") and the pump still worked but made some knarly sounds. Replacing the rivets was the next step.
Most forum posters went thru some pain to remove the pump, either dropping the crossmember & PS hose or following Bentley and removing the mounting bracket screws & hoses to remove the pump. Not feeling that ambitious, I tried replacing the rivets with the pump in place. The sheared rivets were pretty easy to remove, I didn’t want to hammer on the old plastic housing so I sprayed each end with WD-40 (supposed to be catalytic converter friendly) then threaded a ½” #6 sheet metal screw into the sheared end of each rivet. Access was a challenge on some but I was able to remove five rivets by either squeezing with Channel-locks or turning & pushing the screw. The rivets really are junk, I was able to squeeze one flat with needlenose pliers. The last rivet on the top was still intact and looked like I’d skin more than a few knuckles trying to dig it out so it stayed.
I replaced the rivets with 1½” #8 screws & Nylock nuts, this grip length is close, the nylock feature is fully engaged but no threads extend out. It took a bunch of universals & flex extensions to get the screws snug but I’m confident they’re clamping the shells together better than the six flimsy OEM rivets. When powered up the pump now sounds new, no ugly noises. I reset the OBD codes with the VAG-COM and the CEL has stayed off thru several start cycles so far – all I need now is it to stay healthy thru MD’s emission inspection in two days.
I hope this might help others with a similar problem,
RealiTTY
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 779
Likes: 1
Want to share a quick fix for a common 1.8L problem; my 2002 TT, 180hp, had the CEL on and VAG-COM showed "Code P0411, SEC AIR INJECT SYSTEM INCORRECT FLOW”. The car seemed to run fine but MD emission inspection was due and it won’t pass with a CEL.
A review of forum posts showed loose rivets on the pump as a common problem, I jacked the car up and sure enough, five of the six rivets had their heads sheared off allowing a considerable gap between the pump shells. What a flimsy design, the rivets are just thin aluminum tubes with flared ends. I jumped a wire across the solenoid contacts (located in the plastic enclosure high on the firewall near the driver's strut tower, marked "100") and the pump still worked but made some knarly sounds. Replacing the rivets was the next step.
Most forum posters went thru some pain to remove the pump, either dropping the crossmember & PS hose or following Bentley and removing the mounting bracket screws & hoses to remove the pump. Not feeling that ambitious, I tried replacing the rivets with the pump in place. The sheared rivets were pretty easy to remove, I didn’t want to hammer on the old plastic housing so I sprayed each end with WD-40 (supposed to be catalytic converter friendly) then threaded a ½” #6 sheet metal screw into the sheared end of each rivet. Access was a challenge on some but I was able to remove five rivets by either squeezing with Channel-locks or turning & pushing the screw. The rivets really are junk, I was able to squeeze one flat with needlenose pliers. The last rivet on the top was still intact and looked like I’d skin more than a few knuckles trying to dig it out so it stayed.
I replaced the rivets with 1½” #8 screws & Nylock nuts, this grip length is close, the nylock feature is fully engaged but no threads extend out. It took a bunch of universals & flex extensions to get the screws snug but I’m confident they’re clamping the shells together better than the six flimsy OEM rivets. When powered up the pump now sounds new, no ugly noises. I reset the OBD codes with the VAG-COM and the CEL has stayed off thru several start cycles so far – all I need now is it to stay healthy thru MD’s emission inspection in two days.
I hope this might help others with a similar problem,
RealiTTY
A review of forum posts showed loose rivets on the pump as a common problem, I jacked the car up and sure enough, five of the six rivets had their heads sheared off allowing a considerable gap between the pump shells. What a flimsy design, the rivets are just thin aluminum tubes with flared ends. I jumped a wire across the solenoid contacts (located in the plastic enclosure high on the firewall near the driver's strut tower, marked "100") and the pump still worked but made some knarly sounds. Replacing the rivets was the next step.
Most forum posters went thru some pain to remove the pump, either dropping the crossmember & PS hose or following Bentley and removing the mounting bracket screws & hoses to remove the pump. Not feeling that ambitious, I tried replacing the rivets with the pump in place. The sheared rivets were pretty easy to remove, I didn’t want to hammer on the old plastic housing so I sprayed each end with WD-40 (supposed to be catalytic converter friendly) then threaded a ½” #6 sheet metal screw into the sheared end of each rivet. Access was a challenge on some but I was able to remove five rivets by either squeezing with Channel-locks or turning & pushing the screw. The rivets really are junk, I was able to squeeze one flat with needlenose pliers. The last rivet on the top was still intact and looked like I’d skin more than a few knuckles trying to dig it out so it stayed.
I replaced the rivets with 1½” #8 screws & Nylock nuts, this grip length is close, the nylock feature is fully engaged but no threads extend out. It took a bunch of universals & flex extensions to get the screws snug but I’m confident they’re clamping the shells together better than the six flimsy OEM rivets. When powered up the pump now sounds new, no ugly noises. I reset the OBD codes with the VAG-COM and the CEL has stayed off thru several start cycles so far – all I need now is it to stay healthy thru MD’s emission inspection in two days.
I hope this might help others with a similar problem,
RealiTTY
cheers.
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