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Head Removal

2877 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  MR GT TDI, 
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Quick question; Does the engine of a 2002 Beetle TDi have to be removed to take the head off? We currently have our 02 Beetle in the shop and they claim that the head has to be removed and they have to take the engine out for this.:BS ?
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chittychittybangbang
Post moved to the mk4 forum.

No, 100%.

If there is no clearance then you just have to remove the fenders. Because you also have to drain the coolant, it would make it easier to remove the bumper and radiator support. Without disconnecting the AC lines, release the AC condensor from the radiator support and swing it to the side. Then remove the radiator support. Then remove the fenders. There will be plenty of room to remove the head.

Removing the radiator support may have to be done if they want to pull the engine anyways so the only additional step is fender removal.

If they don't want to it's because clearance is kind of tight in the back. I don't think they should charge you more to remove the fenders vs. pull the engine because removing all the wiring, etc. for the engine is a lot of work.

Make sure they use a new 100k mile timing belt kit, new head bolts, new motor mount bolts (they are single use only).
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do you know if there is a guide that tells you the man hours required for the various tasks?
Thanks!
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No, the head can come off in the car. You'd have to have access to Alldata to know the man hours. They might be charging you more because they don't want to do it due to clearance. Removing the engine will make it an easy job but it's more work than necessary. Why are you removing the head?
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Reason why the head needs to be remnoved is to check if the valves are damaged. The timing belt broke:panic:
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chittychittybangbang
Look through this article:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/1000q_how_to/a4/head_removal.htm

The beetle is a little different due to clearance.

First, did you try to crank it after the timing belt broke? What were the symptoms?

If the camshaft and crankshaft are in time then there is probably no valve damage. It's possible although unusual that the timing belt slips at the injection pump. This will stall the engine and if the camshaft and crank are in time then there was no engine damage. Use the timing belt camshaft lock and flywheel stamp to check for time.

Follow up with a compression check. If they are all good then you got lucky.

If they are not in time you don't even have to check - the valves are damaged. When the camshaft valve cover is off to check for time, look at the lifters. If they look like the pics you need a rebuilt or new head. All valves and lifters must be replaced, and almost certainly the camshaft. I would replace the camshaft since it's relatively cheap compared to another failure. Do not attempt to reuse any valves since sometimes they get bent, get bent back into position, and then fall off later due to being weakened at the bend.
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T
Did you see this:
http://www.myturbodiesel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1167&highlight=beetle+engine
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635CSi said:
Quick question; Does the engine of a 2002 Beetle TDi have to be removed to take the head off? We currently have our 02 Beetle in the shop and they claim that the head has to be removed and they have to take the engine out for this.:BS ?
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No necessarily, why are they taking the head off on the first place? To renew gasket?
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MR GT TDI said:
No necessarily, why are they taking the head off on the first place? To renew gasket?
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Just read the response from earlier... They only have to take the top part off. Most mechanics want an easy life, so they over charge in the hope you'll refuse and go elsewhere and if you agree it'll be worth their while..

Mechanics are the oily handed version of lawyers, sadly.

It should take about 1.5 hours to get into the job and the same again to replace... plus the time they spend looking at the valves, including their tea break, chat on the phone to a friend etc etc. Shop around and fin yourself a good reliable mechanic and stick with him
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