How To: R/R B5.5 BHW Alternator Pulley

sleze

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2005
Location
Philadelphia, PA
TDI
Passat Wagon, 2005, Shadow Blue - DECEASED
What are symptoms that would require me to do this service (or have Gene's do it for me)?
 

Julian

Member
Joined
May 6, 2010
Location
Chesterfield, United Kingdom
TDI
Passat B5 Estate 130 ( 2003 )
Alternator removal ( an easier way )

Not having any of the tools mentioned i devised an easier route to Alternator removal, as we all know the top bolt comes out easily enough, the bottom bolt however is another story, all i did was to get the bottom bolt out as far as i could then with an angle grinder just chop the bolt in two, i then replaced this bolt with another bolt 13mm longer with the same thread, this is screwed in from the rear till it protrudes out of the front & then a washer, split washer & nut are put on & tightened. This now means i can remove my alternator if needed from starting to having it free & in my hands in less than 10 minutes:)

Julian.
 

WYTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2004
Location
Jackson, WY
TDI
2004 Passat TDI wagon
Is there a test you can do with the alternator belt removed to determine if you need a new pulley? I have removed the belt and can spin the pulley with my hand and notice "free wheel" of the alternator fins. Any noise indications or resistance? I don't have squealing but I do have some ticking.
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Use a nonmetallic device to hold the alternator internals from moving. Then try turning the pulley in a counterclockwise direction. It should freewheel. Turn in a clockwise direction and it should want to turn the alternator internals.
 

wncav8er

Well-known member
Joined
May 15, 2008
Location
Astoria, OR
TDI
2001 Jetta Sedan TDI GLS
A good experience at the Dealer

Well I started to get the noise from the wives passat today. I called the dealers right away to see if anyone had the part in stock (my wife has to have the car tomorrow) and to my suprise David Maus in Orlando had the upgraded pulley. I have never taken my car to a dealer, and today was not an exception. I pulled the alternator and took it up them. When I bought the part I asked if they had the tool, and to my suprise the part guy asked on of the Technicians if he could mount it for me. I followed the guy and in 5 minutes walked out only paying for the part at $137.:)
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
I guess I did it a different way. I modified the serated alt tool to make it shorter, slipped the torx socket through a 10mm very long box wrench, then into the alt, with the other end of the torx in between fan blades. in essence, fan removal not necessary, but the splines on the tool were reduced to length just necessary.
 

aje28

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Location
Grand Prairie, TX
TDI
2009 TDI JSW
Finally! After waiting nearly two weeks for a spanner wrench that is the correct one....the alternator pully beating is replaced and no more noise! Now I just have to wait an dsee if my MPG goes back up now that my EGR is unclogged....may need to clean out more than that if I don't gain back the full 7 MPG I lost. Thanks to everyone for their help!
 

abctdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 31, 2004
Location
ABQ, NM, USA
TDI
2005 Passat GLS
Use a nonmetallic device to hold the alternator internals from moving. Then try turning the pulley in a counterclockwise direction. It should freewheel. Turn in a clockwise direction and it should want to turn the alternator internals.
So if it free wheels, it needs replacing or not?
My impression was that it was normal to freewheel CCW, but was just told otherwise by an alternator repair specialist. I handed him the alternator to bench test and within a second he said no, because the pulley is bad and it will fail a bench test.
So I pressed him and he said there should be some resistance, and not freewheel in the CCW direction. Of course CW should be very stiff as described above.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
Chances are, when it fails, as it will, it may take out the tb as has been described by Brian.
 

abctdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 31, 2004
Location
ABQ, NM, USA
TDI
2005 Passat GLS
With the new short metalnerd tools, probably no need to remove the alternator, just the fan. This could shorten the process a lot...
 

leobg

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2004
Location
Toronto, ON
TDI
passat 2004 black
I wonder if it would it be possible to remove the pulley without taking the alternator out of the car?
 

johnboy00

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2000
Location
Bridgewater,Ma.,USA
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon, 2004 Jetta, 2003 Jetta wagon
Short answer is yes, if you have the newer metalnerd tool, but in the time you take to think about it, you can pull the alternator (it only takes 10 min).
 

VWWF

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Location
Stony Creek, Michigan
TDI
2005 VW Passat - GLS - TDI - Reflex Silver
for step 8 in MrGolf's procedure
where it is suggested to use the
3212 pin wrench

I am able to have favorable results breaking
the bolt loose and making the final torque
adjustment using one of the generic pin wrenches
like you would use to change the grinding wheel
on a 4 1/2 " angle grinder ( e.g. HFT 36554 )

just leave the belt on when breaking the bolt loose
&
when reassembling, tighten the bolt up as best you can
re-install the belt and then torque it to spec.

--between the belt and the cheapie HFT pin wrench
there is plenty "holding power" to break the bolt loose
or torque it down.

......................................................................................

also, if you need to get the fan out of the way,
( like if you are also replacing the fan clutch bearing in the arm )
( or just would like more room to work if you are replacing the tensioner )
as long as you are careful not to bend all of the
radiator cooling fins, it is not too difficult to
disassemble the fan / clutch from the pulley
once you have removed the mounting bolt through
the bearing / arm,
&&&
then you can finaggle each piece out individually.

-- might save you some sweat where you otherwise
would be thinking you may need to put the lock
carrier in the service position....

cheers to all
 

sarkie83

New member
Joined
Sep 11, 2016
Location
UK
TDI
Passat B5.5
I ended up undoing the top alternator mounting bolt, then cutting through the bottom one.

I bought a slightly longer new bolt for the bottom, and fitted the other way around with a nut on the end to secure. Should make it easier to remove next time as well :)
 

2nd_tdi_4me

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Location
Kansas, USA
TDI
Passat GLS TDI, 2005, Stonehenge Gray/Anthracite leaterette
AC compressor belt replacement how-to

The alternator on my 2005 Passat TDI wagon decided it was time to fail. It did so, but not before shreading the serpentine belt for the alternator & power steering.

It appears the AC compressor belt must come off before installing the new serpentine belt...I searched for a "how to" to get the compressor belt off & (the new one I bought back) on. All I could find is that it has to be changed from under the car.

Is there a 'how to' to changing the compressor belt?

Thank you.
 

Scubanero

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2007
Location
Calgary AB
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
The tensioner is on the bottom span of the belt, 5 or 6 mm hex bolts in a slot and for the pivot. No spring.
 

jbh110tdi

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2015
Location
scotland
TDI
1997 A4 110TDi quattro avant
Ive always replaced this pulley when I do the timing belt just as a precaution Ive had one fail on my old passat so after that Ive always done it to be on the safe side.
 

96cali

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Location
Saint Paul, MN
TDI
Passat
Two thumbs up for PassatWorld and its contributors. I did order the tool from Metalnerd and with a 12mm angle end wrench, was able to remove the pulley without any more disassembly than removing the belt. I just had to rotate the fan blades to allow the 12mm to lock onto the inner shaft of the Metalnerd bits. Took all my strength and body weight but she broke loose!
 
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