mccp
So today I installed the Westfalia removable tow bar that I bought from PF Jones with the vehicle specific wiring loom (designed for vans with tow bar prep from the factory). I thought I would put some notes here to help others.
Tools - trim removal kit (you need this to get the bumper trim off), 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 18mm, 19mm sockets, medium pozi screwdriver, torque wrench (90Nm), breaker bar. Oh, yes, you also need a couple of small torx bits, sorry can't remember the size.
The Westfalia instructions show you what to do - remove lights, rear quarter trim, bumper, etc., but they don't say how to remove each bit. Mostly it's pretty self explanatory, but getting the bumper off is a bit of a trial. There are two torx head screws in each wheel arch, which is the easy bit. You then need to detach the bumper trim between the wheel arch and the lights. It is attached at the top with clips. With a spudger from the trim removal kit, find the rectangular slots and push the black plastic clip down as you try to lift the bumper trim over the black clips. This took me a while.
Once the bumper trim is free from the wheel arch to the lights on each side, it's relatively easy to unclip the clips at the back. If you have no clips at the back, you are missing the plastic support that you need. Westfalia give you the part number and it is cheap enough. You will need to unplug the parking sensors - push the white tab up and the press it in to unclip the plug.
Next you remove big chunk of pressed steel and bin it. I had the plastic bit preinstalled, so no more needed at the back.
Next drop the spare wheel and remove the undertray - all straightforward.
You can now bolt the tow bar in, and tighten the bolts. They say 90Nm +120. 90 Nm is easy, but getting another 120 degrees, even with a 50 cm breaker bar is pretty difficult. No doubt easier on a ramp.
Now for the fun bit.
The tow bar prep from the factory means that you have the towing loom pre-installed. The Westfalia loom has two plugs that simply plug into to it. However, first you need to find it.
Remove the mains inlet socket on the side of the van. It's screwed in with four self tappers. These have little plastic protectors on the back - presumably to prevent wires scuffing. You might be able to retrieve one or two from the back cupboard before unscrewing, but mine mostly fell off.
Poke a torch down and to the back of the van once the mains socket is out, and you will see the connectors.
In the photo, the top connector with wires, is the rear parking sensors. I've no idea what the bottom connector is, but just above it you can see a plug with no wires. This comes out and is thrown away.
The Westfalia loom has two connectors on it. The 8 pin one plugs into the socket with the empty plug. The second connector needs to be combined with the top connector. I guess if you don't have parking sensors, you could just plug in, but if you do, you need to laboriously remove the wires with their pins from the plug and push them into the Westfalia plug.
This proved to be the hardest part of the install. I'm sure its easy if you have the special tool for dismantling the plugs, but in the end, I used a stanley knife to carve the pins out.
Above, you can see the Westfalia plugs at the top and the van plug at the bottom. You need to carefully lift up the tab on either side of the plug at the wire end. I then cut it off and just carved away the plug until the pins were free.
Once I lifted the tabs on the Westfalia plug, the pins from the VW loom just clipped in.
If I were to do this again, I would dismantle the Westfalia plug in the comfort of the workshop, once I had ascertained that the van had it's own plug. They are identical, but obviously have complementary sets of wires.
After this, it's all plain sailing. I used a stiff bit of wire pushed through the grommet hole to pull the loom through and then you just need to put it all back together again.
It all works, but my observations are:
1. Don't specify tow bar prep - if you think you might need a tow bar, or you think it will be good for the resale value, just get the tow bar installed. It's not that much more than a DIY install.
2. If you don't already have the tools - get a tow bar installer to fit the Westfalia tow bar with the vehicle specific loom.
3. Only install this yourself if you are a skinflint. It took me about 4 hours, including tidying up and I still need to get someone to recode the computer so that the van knows I have the tow bar installed. I will have saved a couple of hundred quid on the install, but in the end it was a bit of a hassle.
If anyone knows a cheap way to get the coding done, please let me know.
Tools - trim removal kit (you need this to get the bumper trim off), 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 18mm, 19mm sockets, medium pozi screwdriver, torque wrench (90Nm), breaker bar. Oh, yes, you also need a couple of small torx bits, sorry can't remember the size.
The Westfalia instructions show you what to do - remove lights, rear quarter trim, bumper, etc., but they don't say how to remove each bit. Mostly it's pretty self explanatory, but getting the bumper off is a bit of a trial. There are two torx head screws in each wheel arch, which is the easy bit. You then need to detach the bumper trim between the wheel arch and the lights. It is attached at the top with clips. With a spudger from the trim removal kit, find the rectangular slots and push the black plastic clip down as you try to lift the bumper trim over the black clips. This took me a while.
Once the bumper trim is free from the wheel arch to the lights on each side, it's relatively easy to unclip the clips at the back. If you have no clips at the back, you are missing the plastic support that you need. Westfalia give you the part number and it is cheap enough. You will need to unplug the parking sensors - push the white tab up and the press it in to unclip the plug.
Next you remove big chunk of pressed steel and bin it. I had the plastic bit preinstalled, so no more needed at the back.
Next drop the spare wheel and remove the undertray - all straightforward.
You can now bolt the tow bar in, and tighten the bolts. They say 90Nm +120. 90 Nm is easy, but getting another 120 degrees, even with a 50 cm breaker bar is pretty difficult. No doubt easier on a ramp.
Now for the fun bit.
The tow bar prep from the factory means that you have the towing loom pre-installed. The Westfalia loom has two plugs that simply plug into to it. However, first you need to find it.
Remove the mains inlet socket on the side of the van. It's screwed in with four self tappers. These have little plastic protectors on the back - presumably to prevent wires scuffing. You might be able to retrieve one or two from the back cupboard before unscrewing, but mine mostly fell off.
Poke a torch down and to the back of the van once the mains socket is out, and you will see the connectors.
In the photo, the top connector with wires, is the rear parking sensors. I've no idea what the bottom connector is, but just above it you can see a plug with no wires. This comes out and is thrown away.
The Westfalia loom has two connectors on it. The 8 pin one plugs into the socket with the empty plug. The second connector needs to be combined with the top connector. I guess if you don't have parking sensors, you could just plug in, but if you do, you need to laboriously remove the wires with their pins from the plug and push them into the Westfalia plug.
This proved to be the hardest part of the install. I'm sure its easy if you have the special tool for dismantling the plugs, but in the end, I used a stanley knife to carve the pins out.
Above, you can see the Westfalia plugs at the top and the van plug at the bottom. You need to carefully lift up the tab on either side of the plug at the wire end. I then cut it off and just carved away the plug until the pins were free.
Once I lifted the tabs on the Westfalia plug, the pins from the VW loom just clipped in.
If I were to do this again, I would dismantle the Westfalia plug in the comfort of the workshop, once I had ascertained that the van had it's own plug. They are identical, but obviously have complementary sets of wires.
After this, it's all plain sailing. I used a stiff bit of wire pushed through the grommet hole to pull the loom through and then you just need to put it all back together again.
It all works, but my observations are:
1. Don't specify tow bar prep - if you think you might need a tow bar, or you think it will be good for the resale value, just get the tow bar installed. It's not that much more than a DIY install.
2. If you don't already have the tools - get a tow bar installer to fit the Westfalia tow bar with the vehicle specific loom.
3. Only install this yourself if you are a skinflint. It took me about 4 hours, including tidying up and I still need to get someone to recode the computer so that the van knows I have the tow bar installed. I will have saved a couple of hundred quid on the install, but in the end it was a bit of a hassle.
If anyone knows a cheap way to get the coding done, please let me know.
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