Putting your passat in service position. A detailed guide fo

[1964johnr]

On Some versions of the Passat B5 such as the TDI SE it is easier to work on some of the components such as the Serpentine belt tensioner and alternator pulley by putting the car in to service position. There are various written descriptions on this site and videos on you tube showing you how to do this and these are the ones I followed. I am writing this to give more detailed information to anyone who will be doing this for the first time to make it just that little bit easier. It is not a difficult thing to do, but takes a couple of hours the first time you do it. Thereafter you will be able to do it in less than half that time.
Tips
You will be removing a number of different parts and screws/nuts/bolts from the front end. Label them so you don’t forget where and how they go back.
Buy some thin rubber throwaway mechanics gloves. They will stop you scraping your hands and keep the oil off.
Tools Required
Torx set and drive with extension bar. T20 T25 T35 T40 T 50
Spanner set with 8mm through to 16mm included
Socket set with socket sizes from 8mm through to 12mm
Adjustable spanner
WD40 (only necessary for stuck bolts on bumper if you have any)
Screwdrivers, flat head and Phillips
Set of Alan keys
M8 bolts x2 of at least 200mm in length or M8 threaded bolt. Wickes/B&Q etc.
Jack stands

Method

Flip the bonnet and remove the battery terminals. Cover them with a cloth for safety.
(You will need to reset the radio code when you are finished due to removing battery connections)
Remove the dipstick and engine cover using 10mm socket set to take out three retaining nuts.
Remove the front section of the under shield. This is held by three or four large screws at the front and three at the back where it meets the back half of the engine under shield. You will need to put the car on jack stands to do this.
Remove the radiator grill. It is held by two Torx screws, one each side of the top of the grill and three plastic inserts at the bottom as well as one each side. You will also need to unclip the plastic bonnet release part which can be a little tricky. The plastic part may be brittle and can snap on you. Look at one of the videos on you tube for this part.

Remove the front bumper by taking out the Torx screws which secure it to the front end. There are also four small Torx screws on the wheel arch of each wheel which prevent you from withdrawing the bumper if you don’t remove them. Look under the wheel arch and you will see three of them on the vertical. The fourth is a little difficult to find. It’s at the top on the horizontal. You will need to get your hand under there and feel for it. Once these have been removed you will be able to carefully pull out the bumper and place it somewhere safe where it won’t get scratched or trod on.

Remove the plastic cross member by taking out the five Torx screws which secure it to the bumper and chassis. Two of the screws are not visible. Get down low and you will see them.
Next, remove the metal bumper by taking out four bolts each side. These are located under each of the headlights and may well be a little tight if they have been in there for a number of years. Get the bar extension on to the Torx drive to crack them loose and then withdraw them. If any of these are difficult to remove due to lack of thread on the Torx head look at my earlier post on how to remove them. Basically, you cut a groove in the side of the torx head with a long screwdriver and hammer and belt the hell out of it in an anticlockwise direction until it cracks. Took me a couple of hours to work that one out and crack it off. A little WD40 may help you to remove them. There is also a small nut to remove on each side.
Now take the M8 threaded bolts and insert one each side in to one of the bolt holes that the bumper bolts were in. I used top left on the driver’s side and top right on the off side. These will support the front end when you pull it out. Screw them in by hand at least 300mm.

There is a plastic part which the bumper slides out from on each wheel arch that now needs to be removed. There are four small torx screws of different sizes on the off side; one is securing the plastic screen wash container. The driver’s side has fewer screws than the off side. Under the plastic bracket there is also a metal bracket secured by a couple of Torx screws which has to be removed as well. Remember to put the metal bracket back on first.

Next you need to look at the bottom of the radiator on to which you will find an elongated metal semi circlular shaped metal tube attached. There is an ambient temperature sensor attached to this metal tubing. No need to remove the sensor, but you do need to undo the two nuts to remove the metal part before you pull the front end out. Place it under the car and out of the way.

There are now two more large Torx screws to be removed to allow you to pull the front end out, one each side of the engine bay, above the headlights.
You are now ready to pull the front end out about 150mm or six inches. It should come out easily on the driver’s side. The top and bottom radiator hoses make it a little stiffer on the off side, but they will provide enough flexibility to move the front end out far enough to access to the Serpentine belt, tensioner, alternator pulley, power steering pump etc. once you have removed the fan.

Re-assembly is in reverse. Don’t forget to label those screws.


I did this job to remove the tensioner which had failed. One 13mm bolt at the bottom and an Alan key at the top which looks like it won’t come out because of its close position to the radiator fan drive, but it will. You need to remove the plastic fan to get to the tensioner. It’s held on by four Alan key bolts at 12 o’clock, 3, 6 and 9. Things are a little tight down there but it can be done. You will need to remove the drive belt first by putting a spanner on the large tensioner nut and pushing it down. This will release the tension of the belt and you can slip it off one of the rollers. Do a diagram of the belt routing if you have not done this before.
If you are removing the fan, be careful of the radiator. The back of it is close to the fan and it is easily scraped. If you need to check that the alternator pulley is working, place a thin screwdriver inside and down the front of the alternator on to the fan which is inside it to stop it moving. With the screwdriver inserted the roller should turn smoothly in a clockwise direction, but not turn in a clockwise direction. If it turns both ways, it’s busted. If it’s seized and won’t turn at all, it’s busted. If you need to replace the alternator pulley you will need a 33 spline tool which can be purchased from E-bay for £8 and a 12 point hex tool at least 75mm long which can be purchased from E-bay for £3. You might even have one of these in your Torx set. Good luck.