SteveJ_in_TX

I was trying to pull the old idler pulley off today and the sucker is being stubborn - refuses to come off. Bolt is out, but the thing refuses to budge.

Is it just stuck in there? It is just a press fit, right? Any hints or suggestions?

Would try to use a gear puller but wanted to check with the Audi Borg collective first.

Jim Bush

...throw the new one in the freezer overnight before you put it in.

Jim Bush
Holland, MI

aerohr

Ahh! the old pulley popsicle! my favorite.

RussB

Yes, it is a tight press fit.

I've used an arm (maybe 7" long) from a standard puller, with a hole in its midpoint. (Any sturdy bar about this length with a hole in it would work.) Through this hole I insert a bolt that screws into the idler pulley. Then I use a pair of sockets, positioned just outside the pulley's perimeter, to space the arm away from the engine block/oil pump housing. I use a washer or three beneath the bolt head.

Using this kludge, by tightening the bolt, the arm presses against the sockets, which press against the block/oil pump housing, and the pulley is easily withdrawn by the bolt.

BTW, carefully press the new pulley in -- don't use the bolt to pull it in, or the bolt will break. Chill the pulley assembly first, to shrink it a bit. Maybe heat the oil pump housing a little with a heat gun, to grow it.

SteveJ_in_TX

Hit it with some PB Blaster last night. Read Russ' post and found a bolt that would thread into the outer portion of the idler, then threaded it thru the arm from a gear puller.

Proceed to pull on it, both hands, with all my 215 lbs. and...

<insert image of idler pulling out suddenly and Steve flying backwards crashing into the freezer, the shop light comes unplugged, tools flying everywhere, Steve's shoulder slamming into a hard injector line that was on the cat carrier in the carport>

Ow.