Auxiliary heater and dirt in the engine compartment

Hello,

After a lot of driving in the past few days on the salt-covered highway (with the resulting spray), I noticed that the engine compartment on the left side of my Golf IV TDI (AXR, 7-2003) was heavily soiled. Dirt and salt deposits are visible from the engine cover to the air filter and the battery. Apparently, the dirt/saltwater originated from spray emitted by vehicles traveling ahead.

'I didn't notice this effect BEFORE the installation of the auxiliary heater in January 2005 (Webasto TTE). The engine compartment was always clean. Therefore, it's likely that something went wrong during the installation (e.g., the trim wasn't properly mounted).'

Before I file a complaint, I'd like to ask everyone who also has a Webasto TTE installed: Can you also observe such contamination in your units?

Thank you for your help!

Peter.

Hi,

The trim panel between the wheel arch and the engine compartment is cut during installation to allow the water hoses to pass through. If this cut is too large, it's obvious that dirt can easily find its way into the engine compartment. A properly sized trim panel, cut to fit, should easily solve this problem. But be careful that the coolant hoses don't rub against the fairing.

Regards,
Sure, here is the translation of the text from German to English:

'Micha'

Actually, not the best location for the auxiliary heater, is it? Being in the fender well.
Pollution is just one problem. The expensive auxiliary heater, being located in the fender, is also much more likely to be damaged (e.g., by minor parking accidents). And I'm sure the water pipes aren't the shortest either.

Has anyone relocated the auxiliary heater in a Volkswagen Golf IV?

Okay, the engine compartment isn't exactly spacious... I was thinking about the space in front of the fender liner on the passenger side. Has anyone perhaps done something like this before?