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Engine Specific Info and Questions => IDI Engine => Topic started by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 19, 2009, 03:28:21 pm

Title: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 19, 2009, 03:28:21 pm
The Bently says remove the water pump pulley and 2 botls one nut securing the lower cover and remove cover. However, the crankshaft pulley and vibration damper is preventing that from happening.  The Bently did not say it is necessary to remove  the crankshaft vibration damper and pulley in order to remove the lower cover. What am I misssing? Does undoing the 4 socket head bolts remove both the vibration damper and pulley? Or do I have to remove the 12 point crankshaft bolt also?
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 19, 2009, 05:15:56 pm
Do I need a puller to get it off? Is there a woodruff key?
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: burn_your_money on June 19, 2009, 05:31:54 pm
There is no key on the dampener. Take out the 4 bolts and wiggle it back and forth and it will come off. You may need to lightly persuade it with a rubber mallet
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 19, 2009, 05:45:17 pm
The dampener is smaller in diameter than the pulley behind it. The pulley is bigger in diameter than the hole in the lower cover. How can the cover come out after removing the dampener? Confused.
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: theman53 on June 19, 2009, 06:12:09 pm
I don't think that you see it correctly. The v belt pulley will come off without the crank sproket comming off.  Here is a picture of the pulley and the cover off, but the crank sproket still on there.
(http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a269/libbybapa/Imag0339.jpg)

Can you see it now? At least I think I know what you are saying.
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: burn_your_money on June 19, 2009, 06:55:57 pm
The V belt pulley(s) and the damper are 1 piece.

The timing gear as seen above is behind the v-belt pulley/dampener and should be left alone. It's held on by the 12pt 19mm bolt.
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: Smokey Eddy on June 19, 2009, 09:26:11 pm
man, that picture makes taking that bolt out look easy. I broke two sockets, bent 1/4 inch flat bar steel, and lifted my car off the ground trying to undo mine... i guess mine was still in the car... perhaps that makes the difference...
anyways, ditto! no need to undo the bolt-of-death to fire that sucker off!
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 20, 2009, 08:08:59 am
Well, I wiggled it hard and it didn't budge. I hit it a bunch of times with a rubber mallet and it didn't want to come out either. I just sprayed lot's of penetrating oil in the sprocket bolt area and will try again in a short while. Any other tricks to get it out? Pry it out? I don't really want to damage the plastic cover.
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: theman53 on June 20, 2009, 08:13:37 am
there are 3 fasteners holding the cover on, I don't know if you got them all. It will bend a lot, also the water pump pulley is a pain and I usually take mine off to get the cover.
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 20, 2009, 08:46:19 am
all 3 cover fasteners are off. you are correct that the water pump pulley has to come off to get to one of the fasteners. The problem I have now is getting the vibration damper off. It just will not budge from wiggling and beating from a mallet! What kind of a fit is the dampener? Is it a bushing? A taper? I see a hole in the dampener with what looks like a pin. Is that just a key to line up the marks?
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 20, 2009, 11:26:41 am
It was corrosion on the approx 3/16" thick damper hole where it goes over the 12 point bolt. Why did they make the tolerance so tight for corrosion to set it, unless it's load bearing? Why didn't VW use a timing chain instead of a belt?  ??? And you have to do this PITA job every 60k miles?  :o  I would have gladly pay more for a chain.  I am beginning to really appreciate the timing chain in my Mercedes 300D turbo.  ;)
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 8v-of-fury on June 20, 2009, 11:51:02 am
Quote
And you have to do this PITA job every 60k miles?  Shocked  I would have gladly pay more for a chain.  I am beginning to really appreciate the timing chain in my Mercedes 300D turbo.

The first time I did this I was cussing the whole way through.... Just have some beer handy, it helps. always does. lol
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: Vincent Waldon on June 20, 2009, 12:59:56 pm
Quote from: 92EcoDiesel Jetta
Why did they make the tolerance so tight for corrosion to set it, unless it's load bearing?

It has to be centered exactly, since it's a pulley.

Quote from: 92EcoDiesel Jetta
Why didn't VW use a timing chain instead of a belt?  ???

Lots of good reasons... if you're interested "search" will turn up quite a few threads.

Quote from: 92EcoDiesel Jetta
And you have to do this PITA job every 60k miles?

Use antiseize on all threads and surfaces, like the last guy that did the job could have done, and you'll be able to do a belt in less than an hour.



Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 20, 2009, 02:04:15 pm
Andrew, that's a good reason for using a belt. My next question is: Why is such tight tolerance between valve and piston ineeded?
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: lovinthedeez on June 20, 2009, 07:43:03 pm
you need to have a high compression (23:1) for one simple reason, as found out by (should be your god) Dr. N. A. Otto in 1876.  He found out that once you compress air in a cylinder so tightly (23:1), an extremely high temperature is produced.  squirt just a little bit of that diesel goodness into that cylinder, and BAM......it burns almost immediately.  This tiny amount of diesel is what makes our idi's get 40-50 mpg consistently.   ;D
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: 92EcoDiesel Jetta on June 20, 2009, 08:13:35 pm
Actually many diesels have significantly lower compression ratios 16-17:1.  The 23:1 compression ratio was prescribed by the VW engineers to alleviate hard cold starting due to the heat loss of the pre-combustion chamber design.  My mercedes diesels start just fine in the cold with significantly lower compression.

The Mercedes diesels (80's era) also has pre combustion chambers. What's so different in their (pre combustion chamber) design where one needs high combustion to start (in the cold) and the other does not?
Title: Re: lower timing cover removal
Post by: lovinthedeez on June 20, 2009, 08:42:56 pm
i wasn't trying to say that the original diesel founder detemined the 70's and 80's vw idi technology.  just saying that any diesel motor is going to have a close tolerance between the pistons and valves.  a little knowledge never killed anyone  ::)