# Secondary Air Injection pump fix guide!



## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Thought it might help a few people on here so thought id put up a quick guide on how to repair the Secondary Air Pump when its noisy from Cold start. basically sounding like a diesel from cold, then cutting back to normal after 30/45 seconds.

after finding the guide link from here, thought id say a few things worth mentioning to save time money etc. you DO NOT need to take the power steering pipe off to remove the secondary air injection pump!! you DO NOT need a tiny fancy ratchet to get to the securing nuts, you DO NOT need to drill the holes bigger.

it took approx 1 hour from start to finish on this job, its simple, and probably saves a fair bit of cash too!!

heres what you need:

3/8 drive ratchet
short 10mm socket
short extension
13mm socket (short or deep)
medium/long extension
ratchet/breaker bar (depending how hard you can pull, or make life easy and get a snap on battery gun!!  
6 M4x40 bolts, 12 M4 flat washers, 6 M4 spring washers, 6 M4 Nuts.

Remove : Black unused intercooler type piping/bar from the front under the bumper. 3 13mm bolts each side. takes a bit of shimmying to get it out.
Disconnect : electrical connector
unclip :2 hoses going to the SAIP by squeezing the ribbed part and pushing away from pump.
remove : 3 10mm nuts holding the pump to the bracket. 2 you can get on without the extension, the top one you need the extension.
Then the fiddly bit. pull the pump away from the bracket, and at the same time pushing the back of it up. once the studs are out of the bracket and your pushing up, you need to twist the pump a little bit till you can slide the electrical connection out of the bracket.

DO NOT remove the power steering hose. to pull the pump down, you simply fold the rubber part of the pipe down a bit which is in the way, and the pump wobbles past it.

The old rivets literally popped out. Put a small punch on the broken head and gave it a tap through and it popped out the other side, then literally pulled it out by hand. The rivets where the head was still on, you can either just drill the head off (ONLY the head!! no need to drill right through) or simply get a hammer and chisel, put the chisel and an angle and knock the head off. the rivets are very soft so the head comes straight off with a tap!

Then, simply get the M4 bolt and a flat washer and slot it through the hole. On the other end of the bolt, in this order, fit : Flat washer, followed by Spring Washer, then the Nut. nip it up. fit all the other nuts and bolts, then tighten them up. You dont need to go crazy with how tight the are, just nip them, then a little bit more. a bit of common sense and a feel for the job is needed here.

you dont need to take all rivets out at once, unless you want to open it up, can do it one by one if you like replacing the rivets with the bolts, keeping the casing on and in place.

Notice there is no need to drill the holes bigger! i didnt want to drill as the bolt hole walls arent very thick so didnt want it breaking, or not having enough strength to hold the bolt in place, or even going too big making a hole for air to blow through. Plus this saves a bit of flaffing about.

Once your happy with all bolts being tight, refit in the reverse order. MAKE SURE when refitting the air pipes to it, you hear and feel it CLICK on back into place!! 
Start the car, and listen to the sound. Will sound normal, nice and quiet!!!  Wait 30/45 seconds or so to make sure its kicked in then cut out.

Heres a few pics i managed to take. only a few, but from the description, all will become clear and easy once under the car!

New Bolts fitted. forgot to take pics of old broken rivets still fitted.


























some of the old rivets removed.









refitted.


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## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Also, forgot to mention, i got the bolts, nuts and washers from work. If anyone needs any kits, i can send some out in the post!!!! 8)


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## New2AudiTT (May 7, 2011)

rm cya said:


> Also, forgot to mention, i got the bolts, nuts and washers from work. If anyone needs any kits, i can send some out in the post!!!! 8)


This write up is great mate. If you can still send some of the bolts/nuts/washers my way then I'll PM you.

I need to look at mine very soon as well , making some noise.

cheers


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## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Cheers! Pm coming your way mate.

If anyone needs the bolts etc, drop us a pm as in not online too often.

Cheers, Rich :mrgreen:


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## TT-TOM (Feb 15, 2012)

Nice timing on the thread resurrection btw. :lol:


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## mk1quatro (Feb 25, 2012)

Wat does this air pump exactly do to the engine


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## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Helps with/aids cold start. But if you disconnect it, it throws up the EML.


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## New2AudiTT (May 7, 2011)

rm cya said:


> Helps with/aids cold start. But if you disconnect it, it throws up the EML.


and what's EML pls?? :roll:


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## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Engine Management Light.


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## Grahamstt (Jul 22, 2008)

Is there a resistor that can be fitted to stop the light coming on
My SAI is here;








Together with all the other stuff thats not going back on


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## rm cya (May 9, 2010)

Yeah there probably is tbh. Not sure what the resistance is though. How many wires go to the connector?


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## mk1quatro (Feb 25, 2012)

Grahamstt said:


> Is there a resistor that can be fitted to stop the light coming on
> My SAI is here;
> 
> Together with all the other stuff thats not going back on


How can u take all this of? Surely the pipes fit onto breather pipes etc?
Any how 2 info mate.
Id lice remove stuff of my tt make it lighter & look less cluttered I guess


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## Grahamstt (Jul 22, 2008)

There's a lot of other things to be fitted to enable taking off all the stuff in the pic
eg; Front Mount intercooler, oil catch can, Forge boost pipe with the dv feed delete and the intercooler joining pipe is to be replaced with a V6 chassis rail brace. The SAI pump and pipe work will be deleted completely by fitting a blanking plate and a resistor. 
That's the theory anyway :wink:


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## toy4two (Jan 29, 2012)

I'm having a hell of a time removing my SAI.

I have an AMU 225.

I've gotten the electrical connector off and all three nuts holding the SAI to the bracket.

Its this part that I can't figure out, I don't see 3 per side 13mm nuts:

"Remove : Black unused intercooler type piping/bar from the front under the bumper. 3 13mm bolts each side. takes a bit of shimmying to get it out."

I don't understand what you mean by unused intercooler pipe. I have a very much in use black intercooler pipe blocking the sai but I can't remove it no matter how many nuts/bolts I remove [smiley=bomb.gif]

What is the trick to get the SAI out of the bracket?


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## mstew (Mar 17, 2012)

Grahamstt said:


> delete and the intercooler joining pipe is to be replaced with a V6 chassis rail brace


I get what you mean, but what's the difference? Got a pic of a V6 one?


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## TheVarix (Apr 3, 2013)

You need to remove the 3 bolts that attach the bracket itself. If you don't do that the SAI pump won't slide as the pipe joining the 2 intercoolers (talking about APX engine) is in the way but if you detach the brace you can then let it drop through the gap. At least that's how I did it on my car.
Alternatively, you could remove the bottom 2 bolts from the bracket and leave the top one loosened but in place , then swing the bracket to let the pump slide out (but I am not 100% sure if this way would work)


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## toy4two (Jan 29, 2012)

mstew said:


> Grahamstt said:
> 
> 
> > delete and the intercooler joining pipe is to be replaced with a V6 chassis rail brace
> ...


beh, I just gave up and took out my Dremel and cut the bracket in half. Made the job take under an hour. You def do need those microsize ratchets to do this job on the AMU anyway. Pump is back together and good as new.


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## Grahamstt (Jul 22, 2008)

Sorry matey.............didn't see this reply

Here is a pic of the intercooler balance pipe (which is structural) and a V6 one which is also structural but is just a brace bar so is less obtrusive and lighter.








If you fit a fmic you can fit the V6 strut/bar.
I don't know whether the 150/180 has the same bar


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## Rpineau (Apr 6, 2018)

I realize this is an old thread but I have to thank everyone for posting this very helpful information.
While my 2001 TT Quattro isn't exactly the same it was close enough to save me hundreds of $!
Thanks again. DP

(I had a leaking pump but was able to remove it and replace the rivets with screws. I needed to remove the power steering suction hose and two of the rubber mounts then fiddle with it to finally get it out. I was never able to loosen the bracket-to-engine block bolts. My fat hands or just enough difference in this car I suppose.)


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