Starter and flywheel turn, but nothing else.

[8v-of-fury]

Please everyone with me-- "let it be broken flywheel bolts, let it be broken flywheel bolts..."

I'll check all the other suggestions tomorrow. Thanks!

All 6 (or 9) of them? I dunno man... I'll pray .

[745 turbogreasel]

That's what happens  If the tech is too cheap for locktite.

[TylerDurden]

Too many conflicting symptoms... flywheel spins, but belts don't move, then belts move when bus is pushed in gear? 

Jerking and stalling on Seattle hills could really do a number on loose flywheel bolts, no doubt.

[8v-of-fury]

Update?

[annieneff]

Haven't had time to even glance it's direction. Maybe middle of next week?

[Smokey Eddy]

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with this one. I'm hoping flywheel bolts too brah. Least damaging. Cheapest parts to replace. ... medium on the difficulty/energy needed of the job to do.

[annieneff]

Thanks for suggestions and well wishes. No update to report yet, and it's going to be awhile until I dig into it. I have an AFN that's chipped to 140hp coming in on Friday for my b4v passat glx vr6 (soon to be tdi) . I'm kind of mad at the van after all the work I've put into it so it gets sloppy seconds here (giles pump, new injectors, new turbo, new water pump, new radiator, rebuilt head after catastrophic tb failure... should I go on, I could...! common, what more could it want/need!?).
As curious as I am about what went wrong, if it's a big huge cry me to sleep every night for a week bummer-- I'm not all that eager to find that out. Plus (correct me if I'm wrong here), I have to take the whole transmission off to see if it's the (Hopefully!!!) sheared bolts, or whatever's going on in there. Not the most exciting project in and of itself. Right now I'm sticking to walking by the van every day and giving it the evil eye. I'm tempted to kick it sometimes, but I'm afraid I'll break something else if I do.
Anyway, I promise 100 I'll update as soon as I do something with it. My initial reaction of thinking this was gonzo bizarro seems to be justified and I'd like to try and be educational with this, just in case anyone out there is ever unfortunate enough to be in a similar situation. Thanks again for checking in. Look for an update from me in about June when I come out from under this wiring harness I'm weaving my way through these days and nights.

[nwcali6]

If it turns the motor when in gear and the starter engages but doesn't turn the motor, but turns the flywheel, then it sounds like the flywheel is broken between the teeth and surface...  Are the ring gears replaceable on these flywheels?  Welded on?  I don't remember them being like that..

  I'd put my effort on the starter, how do you know its engaging?  Should be a simple fix if it is indeed turning while pushing.

[bajacalal]

OK, our Volkswagens... doesn't the backwards flywheel not actually bolt to the crank, like it does on most cars? The clutch pressure plate is bolted to the crank... And that's bolted to the flywheel with a few pathetic little bolts. So your clutch is most likely not connected to your flywheel. That's a whole lot better than broken bolts at the crank or a crank that moves without turning the cam.

[8v-of-fury]

The clutch pressure plate is bolted to the crank... And that's bolted to the flywheel with a few pathetic little bolts.

6 or 9 heavy grade bolts, BUT I guess they could shear if you are trying to lurch 2.756 tons around in San Francisco lol.

[bajacalal]

6 or 9 heavy grade bolts, BUT I guess they could shear if you are trying to lurch 2.756 tons around in San Francisco lol.

Aren't they only like 8 mm bolts though... And, who knows what's in there, just because VW used a grade 12.9 bolt and recommended locktite, doesn't mean that's what's in there now.

[8v-of-fury]

So very true, could be just a hardware bolt.. haha.

[theman53]

If I recall they are supposed to be one time use bolts and are 7mm-1.0 thread. They maybe not TTY bolts one time use, but that is what I have in my head. I would consider them a weak link in the deal, but I still think something is going on I cannot see and would love to.

[burn_your_money]

Based on the symptoms that you were bringing it into the shop for, unfortunately I'm going to say that your crank gear has spun. You could pull the valve cover and see if any of the valves/lifters are mangled.

It probably is able to turn the belts when it is rolling because it's going slow enough that it can't break the friction but when it is cranking fast it just spins.

A quick check of your timing will let you know what's up, or at least give you some solid clues.

[CRSMP5]

sadly i said that last page... but ignored i am..

all he has to do is turn the crank bolt ccw.. if it moves at all.. thats it.. ive seen it.. 30 sec test with boxwrench..

but ill agree with him.. to walk out there do that and find that.. id have some hotdogs and sticks with me.. as the road flair i store beside my spare 2 gal of fuel just somehow lit its self..