replacing the intermediate shaft bearings

[dyoungen]

Well, I"m going to do what needs done and replace the intermediate shaft bearings. What would anybody suggest I do before I start? Turn over the engine till I"m at top dead center or??   I figure I"ll replace the belt while I"m into the engine and just wondering if there's anything else I should look at.

[dyoungen]

Ok, that part I understand. I'm asking about what do I need to do to get to the intermediate shaft out of the engine, tilting the engine, removing the motor mounts etc. I"ve read where some times it's easier to tilt the engine forward or backwards, stuff like that. Sorry I didn't explain it better what I"m looking for.

[R.O.R-2.0]

is it a mk1 or mk2?

either way, its a dirty B_tch to get those things out when there still in the engine, still in the car.

[theman53]

Smoking eddy got his out, you may want to try a different approach though.

[Quantum TD]

I did it in-car on a 1981 Rabbit truck. I removed all the mounts except the driver's side trans mount. I also had to completely remove the injection pump/motor mount bracket from the pass side. Once I did that, I tilted the motor down (with the car already on jack-stands), and did the repair. However, I only did the outer bearing. I did not replace the inner. I'm not sure you could do both in the car. That would be a real PITA.

[Quantum TD]

Well, that would have been the hard part for me. The engine was supported by a jack. If you had a rig to support it from above, then sure.

[dyoungen]

Sorry, I guess it would help if I told what kind of VW I have. It is a 1985 Jetta n/a Diesel with a 5 speed. MK2 from what I understand. I already have the 2 bearings and have the tools to install the new bearings.

[Quantum TD]

You might be able to undo the rear mount on the pass side near the exhaust manifold, and then maybe the front mount. You might be able to jack up the car enough to get it over the inner fender. The Rabbit's don't have enough room to jack it up and get it over the inner fender. But I think on a MK2, you could be able to do it. That way, you don't have to have the think on floor jacks. 

Do a search. I think someone else did it on a 1985 Golf.

[rs899]

I did the outer on my '91 Jetta.  Seems like I removed the front and rear mounts , tilted , and pulled the I-shaft out through the wheel well.  I had the oil pan off as I was re-ringing the engine as well.

[Smokey Eddy]

i haven't seen my bearings yet but i just found a pile of bearing bits in my oil pan and im gettign low oil pressure.
Im going to see if i cant remove the majority of the engine, if its those bearings, (or the rear one as i recall it was damaged on install) and get a shop to do it...
even then i dont know how they do it... it seems like a near impossible job to do. I had to mcgiver some crap together and i still didn't do it right.
I know some folks on here had bits machined that did it but i still dont see how they pulled the bearing in straight.
that was my biggest issue.

[rs899]

I don't recall that keeping it straight was too hard.  IIRC I tapped it in lightly first to start it.

[rabbitman]

With the oil pan off I don't think it's too hard to do the inner IM bearing. I did just the outer bearing on my buddies '85 TD very easily without removing the oil pan.

[nathan_b]

finding bearings means removing more than the intermediate shaft. ex: check rod bearings/cam caps ect..

or am I crazy?

[rabbitman]

If the IM shaft bearings are indeed gone then I wouldn't bother checking the other bearings. What's the chances that more than one bearing fell apart at once?

EDIT: If it was low on oil pressure then it would make sense to lose all or most of the bearings at once, but a pre-damaged bearing won't hurt the rest provided there's still pressure.

[nathan_b]

seriously? because bearing bits in the oil run through the other bearings/oil pump...

are you saying if you spun a rod bearing, you would not even check the crank bearings?

because:"What's the chances that more than one bearing fell apart at once?"

that is short sighted logic right there.