Passat 2012 B7 1.6 tdi water / coolant leak at oil cooler housing

Hi Folks,

my Passat has had an on going leak which I thought was the egr (now replaced under VW goodwill) however it is still leaking now about 300ml (guess) per 50 miles.

It appears to be coming from the oil cooler housing and a bit of a google shows this is a know issue. (part numbers below FYI)

I have 2 options one is to just replace the seals or the other is a new full unit (circa £300 ish oem / tps or £100 non oem - my preferred route as the car is now at 196k miles!) or just do the seals back and front - assuming its not cracked.

What I am wondering is the amount of oil loss during this job, I would prefer not to have to drop the oil - is this possible? Coolant I'm not worried about as its pretty dilluted just now anyway with water from topping up.

Also what is access like to do this job - it doesn't look great!?

Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated!


Oil filter housing
03L 115 389G
Oil filter to car gasket set
03L 198 441
Oil cooler seals
03L 198 070