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Wed Mar 24, 2004 11:57 am

Okay I need a little help. My crossbar snapped so I am going to replace it. I live in an apartment complex and so I have limited resources. The engine is currently on jack stands still under the car. I probably will be unable to get the engine out from under the car.

I have taken off the exhaust so I can get to the area better. I was thinking that the crossbar could just come off by undoing some bolts, but it looks like I might have to take off the fan housing to get the crossbar off. Does the crossbar fit around some other piece so that it can't simply be pulled out without taking off the fan housing?

If I need to take off the fan housing, do I need to take every part off, one by one? (front housing, pulleys, fan, etc) If I have to take it all apart just to get the crossbar off, it seems like it may be a little difficult.

Thanks for your help, I need it.

Wed Mar 24, 2004 12:48 pm

Yes, you will need to take off the entire fan assembly to get to it. And you will need some sort of puller probably to get the fan off the end of the crank...but you could get lucky. Don't pry on the fan to remove it :!: There are two threaded holes in the fan hub for mounting a puller. A friend suggested that I find two long bolts with the proper thread pitch and run them into the hub until they bottom out and screw them in alternately to loosen the fan. Or make/find yourself a puller. I used the bolt method and my fan came off easily after just alittle tightening of the bolts. Go easy if you do it this way tho, fan shrouds for a type 3 can be hard to find.

Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:11 pm

I use a harmonic balancer remover for removing the fan. I got mine from my local Car Quest for 10.95 (I bought it to work on Chevys :shock: ), and it even came with some long metric bolts that fit the threaded holes in the fan. I think the biggest challenge will be getting the big 30mm bolt out since it's torqued to 90+ ft lbs (factory spec). I think the oil filler tube will also get in the way of just dropping it. I hope this helps.

Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:18 pm

Thanks to both of you for your advice. I've never done this before so I dont want to mess things up. I will take my time and hopefully get this done by this weekend. I'm not in a hurry because I got another car, but I defintiely dont want to pay to have it towed to a mechanic to do it, i don't got that much money.

Thanks again

Shaymus

Wed Mar 24, 2004 9:50 pm

Forgot to mention the big nut :oops: Nice catch Bob. With the engine in the car it might be tough to get the nut off. Probably need an air impact wrench for removal. Or???????

Sun Mar 28, 2004 12:54 pm

Okay so here's where I'm at:

I have everything removed up until the crankshaft pulley. So you were right about the 30 mm nut, that is the part I'm having trouble with. When I try to turn the nut to loosen it, the pulley turns along with it. It doesnt turn easily, but it nonetheless turns and so all my energy is going to moving the pulley, not the nut. In the manual I have it says "screwdriver can be used to jam pulley teeth so that you can remove nut." But I have been trying to do something to that effect for the past 25 minutes and I can't figure out a way to keep the pulley still.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Shaymus

Sun Mar 28, 2004 6:57 pm

Yeah, I normally use a flywheel lock, after pulling the engine out of the hole (trans). I don't drop it, just pull it out enough. I only say that, because I also use some loctite along with torquing the bolt to spec. If you have an MT car, this is possible, but if you have an AT car, then you need to try something else (to lock the flywheel/flexplate). There is room to get either a large ratchet or even a torque wrench in there with the engine moved back. I always plan for the worst, and hope for the best. This allows me to adjust for changing conditions that you normally run into with a 31+ year old car. I hope this helps.

Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:58 pm

With much work (im a newbie) I was able to get everything off now and I am down to the crossbar itself. I had to drop the engine out, use a flywheel lock to get the crankshaft pulley nut off, then used harmonic balancer to get off fan.

The crossbar that is on it has been modified, cut out larger in the middle where it mounts around the engine due to the addition of a full flow oil filter. So it seems that I will have to either 1)Have some metal shop cut out the used crossbar I got from a parts yard, or 2)Have them weld the old crossbar back together and just use it.

Any suggestions on which would last longer??

Thanks,

Shaymus

Sat Apr 03, 2004 8:04 pm

Im trying to take off the oil dip stick tube that connects to the engine so I can pull off the crossbar. It is a 13 mm nut on the bottom that is giving me trouble. I can't get my wrench around it enough to loosen it. Anyone have a suggestion on what kind of tool would work? I need to get this crossbar off tomorrow so I can get it to the metal shop. Thinking maybe a socket with a flex on it would work, let me know please.

shaymus

Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:51 pm

I got the broken crossbar off yesterday. Turns out the add on full flow oil filter requires that the crossbar be cut out larger in the middle where it connects to the engine. So off I went to try and find somewhere to alter the stock crossbar I got from InterstateVW. I got it cut at a muffler shop and hope to install it and start putting things back together over the next couple days. Then I can start assessing the damage that may have occurred when the engine fell out.