TT.Mk1 SAI pump rebuild
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Back to 2000-2005 (Mk1)
Submitted by: Andrew.TT and jhoeppel
Entered by: MarTT and JohnLZ7W
My secondary air pump has been leaking air for years now. It makes start-up (especially during the winter months) smelly, loud and erratic. I decided to fix it rather then buy new or used cause the prices are so high - and it's for emissions.
First I pulled the unused intercooler pipe. Air ratchet really helped here.
The air pump is in a really awkward position. I needed to remove the steering pump fluid line and drain the fluid to make room to pull the air pump out.
After struggling too long trying to get the darned thing out i finally was able to pop the tired old rivets out (most of the ends were collapsed and not holding the part together) . . .
...and put nuts and bolts in.
Now the seal is nice and tight, no more air leaking - no more loud noise.
Alternative route without having to remove the pump (leaves the upper rivet in place):
PSA: check that secondary air injection pump!
You might be able to fix it in place, before it gets bad enough to require removing it.
While changing the oil today, I noticed that several of the rivets that hold the 2 halves of the air pump body together were in the process of disintegrating.
The heads had separated from the rivet body, probably from vibration when the pump runs, allowing the halves of the air pump to begin to separate. Three were shot. Here's a closeup:
I pushed the rivets out of the housing by inserting a sheet metal screw from the broken side and pushing a bit - the rivets emerged from the other side enabling me to pry them out. The rivets are the same diameter as #8 screws. I found 1.5" stainless steel replacements at Home Depot - they fit perfectly.
I was able to replace the 2 lower rivets - using a bit of Loc-tite. There's still a broken one but it's too hard to reach. Hopefully this will keep the pump body together, reducing stress on the other rivets. Here's a pic, once repaired.
Stupid cost-cutting measure - the screw & nut option would only cost a few cents more than the rivets during manufacture, but if the rivets fail, it costs like $400-600 in labor and parts to replace the air pump.
Did my SAI rebuild yesterday, should have referenced the Wiki, but I "winged it" instead. Did a few things a little differently. Main thing was the way I removed the pump - hope this helps some other unfortunate souls.
There does not appear to be enough room to remove the pump, but I found an easy way to slide it in and out. You do need to remove the cross-pipe. This is held on by 6 bolts (three on each end) as well as two bolts holding on to the power steering lines. Once the cross member is out, remove the power steering hose at the bottom of the pump - the nipple at the bottom center of this photo shows where that hose went. You will lose over a cup of power steering fluid, so have bucket ready, and buy some new fluid before you do this repair so you can refill the system once you are done.
OK, with those parts out of the way, you need to remove the electrical connection at the rear of the pump, and the two air connections on the top side.. The air connections are a bit of a PITA, but I have some photos later that should help you.
Next are the three nuts that hold the pump in to the bracket. You can see the mount studs in this photo, with the rubber mount on the left side and the stud to the right.
With everything removed, you are ready to remove (or replace) the pump. There IS room to move it in an out easily, but it may not be what you think. You need to slide the large end of the pump toward the radiator, and then push it UP towards the top of the engine bay. If you try to drop it down, you will NOT have room. Once you push it up, you will get enough room for the rear of the pump to pull out through the mounting bracket. Once the rear end slides out, the pump has room to drop straight out.
Putting the pump in is the reverse, and is what is shown here. Start by pushing the large end of the pump in to the engine bay. Swing the rear end of the pump in to the bracket, then slide the pump in to position. Done.
I used #10-24 brass screws. These "bite" in to the plastic a little bit, so they firmly squeeze the pump housing together, even without a nut holding it in. I finished off the screws with some Loctite, a lock washer, and an acorn nut for a clean look.
Here it is all put back together:
More pix here if you are interested:
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