1999 A6 2.8 Timing belt assistance needed please - viscous fan assembly removal
 

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forums. A quick background: I have a 2005 Passat TDI and a 1999 A6 2.8 Quattro Tip in the garage.

I recently completed the complete timing belt/water pump/t-stat etc service on the TDI back in September. I bought the complete TB kit from Blauparts, with the rental tools. At first I thought I bit off more than I could chew with that task, but I got it all back together. It started on the first crank and the garage filled with a diesel cloud that never smelled so sweet. My wife enjoys commuting 100 miles a day with that car.

So, fast forward to this weekend, I have the Blauparts TB kit and tool rental for the 30V 2.8, and I feel I am competent and experienced, with the right tools for the job.

Everything was "so far, so good," as I got the bumper cover off, the core support off to the side, etc. Until I get down to the step where you remove the viscous fan assembly.

I am encountering extreme difficulty getting that thing off. The tool rental from Blau parts comes with a spanner wrench and a big 32mm crescent wrench to take the thing off. The bottom 2 tools in the picture at

http://www.blauparts.com/proddetail.asp?prod=N1A1009-C

It is left hand threaded so CLOCKWISE will loosen it. To me, that means hold the fan pulley steady with the spanner, and then turn the crescent clockwise (as viewed from the front of the car).

However, try as I might, with as much force as I can exert, I cannot budge that big 32mm nut. I feel like I am going to break the pins off the spanner wrench and piss off Blaufergnugen when I ship it back. The pins are even starting to show a slight bend.

Am I doing this wrong? Is it clockwise as viewed from the rear of the car?

Sorry for the long post, but this is frustrating like pinch bolt frustrating. Except this time I can't take my air hammer to it. :)

it is left hand thread, so you are going about it correctly. I use one of my own allen wrenches to pin the fan while loosening the nut, even though I have had the blau tool rental kit both times I've done the timing belt service on our 2.8(s).

Have you opened up the front end or only put it in "service position"? I'm not a professional that does this everyday, but I do all my own work on all cars in the family (6). Even though it takes more time, I prefer to swing the front open.

A6 Avant II this July 2009:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...091702_640.jpg

If you don't have a lift you can work comfortably seated.
A6 Avant I July 2005:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...G_0855_640.jpg

Thanks for your very quick response. I have not tried an allen wrench to pin the fan but I think that requires fan removal. The instructions say the 4 bolts that hold the fan on are 4mm hex but I don't have anything, metric or SAE that fits them (i tried 4mm through 6mm, SAE inclusive), so I was trying to just remove the fan assembly as one unit.

I will try heavy breathing and summon some chuck norris power to torque this damn thing off :)

Hmmm....well, as I'm sure you know, the whole car is metric!

I found it hard to remove as well but easy with an extra set of hands.

Goodluck!

Yes, the whole car is metric, however you can guess the perplexed look on my face when I went 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, hmmm they don't fit?

But I just learned that Harbor freight screwed me on my metric hex socket set. 4mm and 5mm are both 4mm. The bolts turned out to be 5mm. I used a 5mm hex wrench from a Sears set I forgot I had (top right drawer, remember that :) )



With the 4 bolts removed, I expected the fan to just come off, however, it's worse than a wheel stuck to the rotor with galvanic corrosion. Any good methods? Prying? I'm afraid to do anything drastic here.

If I can get the fan off, then I can use the hex key method of pinning the fan as mentioned by OOOOya.

Man I just went out there and tried again with the spanner & crescent wrenches but that nut is TIGHT. I'd bet I'm putting a few hundred ft-lbs of torque on that fastener.

Oh well, thanks for your tips. If I can't get past here I guess I have to just put everything back together with no new TB :(

UPDATE:

I AM VICTORIOUS!

I got it off. I think my face looked like the strain of one thousand poops.

A small victory, but at least I can move on and continue the maintenance on a great car.

Thanks to all who replied with their thoughts & wisdom.

Crankshaft Lock pin hole?
 

I can't find the crank lock pin hole. The instructions say it is under the driver's side motor mount bracket, and should come off with a 10mm socket. The picture isn't very clear.

You have the Bently?
 

Here's a pic from my EBahn:

[QUOTE=OOOOya;23937936]it is left hand thread, so you are going about it correctly. I use one of my own allen wrenches to pin the fan while loosening the nut, even though I have had the blau tool rental kit both times I've done the timing belt service on our 2.8(s).

Have you opened up the front end or only put it in "service position"? I'm not a professional that does this everyday, but I do all my own work on all cars in the family (6). Even though it takes more time, I prefer to swing the front open.

A6 Avant II this July 2009:
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w...091702_640.jpg



Is this your lift ? How do you like it ? is there enough room to get to transmission for servicing ? I have found seller for this lift for good price which would be perfect for my tide space in garage