Here is a sketch of the latch to show how it works

Click image to enlarge

Thanks again Paul, very helpful again

I get the feeling though having seen your diagram that I won’t be able to get it off without damaging the splines, the filter housing is in a hard enough spot as it is... might have to go to plan B

Once again thanks for your helpful efforts

No worries.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

For me if I need a short term solution I would put the broken piece back and carefully install the filter and hope for the best.


The other solution that I was thinking of was to use a rubber stopper to plug the hole.

If you go down this route you will need a material that can withstand hot motor oil.

Let us know what you decide to do

Good Luck

Paul

Update :

I used gasket sealant to ‘glue’ the seal into the spring and screwed the filter back in, took it for a drive, light came on intermittently this time, got the sh**s and booked it into the dealer

Took it there this morning... and the light never came on !!!

Decided to just leave it with them as I suspect mine isn’t a long term fix

You shouldn’t really use any gasket sealant around the oil system - that could easily block an oilway. Past: FL2 TD4 HSE Auto
Evoque SD4 Dynamic Lux Auto
Present: Audi A3 S Line.

It was the only thing I could find that would withstand the temperature of the oil, I figure if a bit comes off (and I only used a very small bit) then the filter would trap it

Well I got it back from the dealers who basically took out the filter, had a nosey and said all good, leave it as is because it all looked ok (1/2 hour labour charged)

They said if the oil light comes back on they’d recommend changing the whole filter housing... $1500 !!!

So a total of 3 garages, 2 had no idea, I told the dealer what the problem was and that I’d had a go at fixing it... they’d said leave as is... so all in all it turned out to be an expensive home oil change but a lesson that given the time and the collective knowledge of the forum (thanks Paul particularly) a lot can be accomplished without garages

gsaps,

Thanks for the kind words

I agree with Steve, you need to be careful about blocking the oil system, nothing good will come from that.

If I was a bit closer I would help with the repair.

Unfortunately most mechanics these days don't repair anything they just replace parts you need someone like Yorky Bob or MRRover75.

Having said that it doesn't look like you have someone like that to help out.

I have been thinking about the problem and I have a suggestion that you might like to try.



Here is my recommended "Field Expedient Repair" for the broken drain disk.

Picture of the hole that needs to be plugged
Orange string shows where the path of the oil as it drains out of the housing






I looked for something that would fill the hole and I found that my T25 Torx key was perfect







Here is a picture off the torx key in the hole








Some Caveats to this solution

1. The oil may not drain into the sump when the filter cap is removed

2. The seal from the 4.5 mm shaft may not be as good as the rubbber disc

Good Luck

Paul

Very clever idea Paul, once I stop having nightmares about opening the filter housing over and over (and over) again, I think I’ll try this... although if my wife sees me sneaking into the garage again she might pull rank

its good to know that it had a happy ending, and I wouldn't disagree with the knowledge here. people here would know more than the guys supposedly be working on them day in day out!

I’ve ordered a filter housing as per your part number Paul, had to come from the US via an onward listing service but will be worth it I think
(Hopefully) last question Paul, how did you remove the spring from the mounted housing, access is very difficult so I assume you just grabbed with some pliers and pulled as damaging it won’t matter

Gsaps,

That’s great news.

I replaced mine about 2 years ago and it has worked flawlessly

To bend the fingers I used a small flat blade screw driver in the slot between the fingers and I rotated it slightly to bend the fingers.

You can use pliers to take out the old broken part but my recommendation is to use the old part as a practice piece to get a feel for the force needed to bend the finger

Good luck

Paul

Gsaps,

It may be easier to release the fingers by removing the heat exchanger

Here are a few pictures that should help

Heat exchanger removed




Close up of post that the fingers are gripping

Note: the visible line where the finger digs into the post




I wish I thought of this when mine broke it would have made the removal much easier.

Good Luck

Paul

Thanks and thanks again Paul, just have to wait now for the part to arrive and I’ll give it a go

One good thing that came out of it is the one garage noticed a cracked engine mount bracket that I’m getting sent across as well... look forward to trying that repair myself 😊

Which engine mount bracket is cracked?

I should check mine for cracking as well

Thanks for the tip

Paul

It’s the drivers side at the rear of the bracket