Which dmf 126 or 181

richieracket

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Hi Guys, My 2012 jetta tdi dsg is going to need a DMF....it has the rattling at idle at 92k. Our friends at ID Parts call for a Luk dmf126 but after checking with LUK (due to reading about a guy that installed a 126 and had starter/flywheel issues) Luk says its a dmf181. I called ID Parts and they maintain the 126 fits and no one has complained. Luk says nope, 181. I asked IDparts if they would give luk a call and they flatly said NO.
So, my question is....anybody used the dmf126 in 2012 jetta tdi or dmf 181?? problems, issues....HELLP! lol
All input is appreciated....much thanks
Rich
 

needsmoarturbo

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utah
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Can't comment on this from experience, but who are you going to buy it from?

If IDparts, I would go with what they advise. Then if it doesn't fit you can take it up with them. If you feel more comfortable believing LUK, ask them where to get the 181 from. I hate dealing with these type of inconsistencies myself, but that's what I would do if it were me. Just because you read about 1 problem doesn't mean that was more than a fluke.
 

BleachedBora

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I have access to LUK's internal database. Suffice it to say you need DMF126. I go through them by the pallet load.
Cheers!
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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I wonder what LUK used to come up with the erroneous DMF181. VIN? OE Part Number? Because either of those will get you to the DMF126. If they only used make, model, and year, they may have stumbled into a Euro application, which is where the DMF181 appears to be used.
 

richieracket

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Well, perhaps that is the explanation. I did speak with two different representatives and neither asked for the vin....just make, model , year etc.
Thank you all for your responses.....much appreciated
 

BleachedBora

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DMF181 / 4150744090 / 8483506000 = 03L105266CM
ETKA shows that as DSG flywheel for diesel vehicles with automatic start stop:
2011-2015 Touran TDI
2007-2010 SEAT Altea
2006-2010 SEAT Leon
2008-2013 Skoda Superb
2014-2015 Skoda Superb
2015 Skoda Yeti

03L105266CM Parts on Command shows as not a valid part for the US market.

Hope that clears everything up for now and the future, back to my suffice it to say DMF126 is correct for the US market. (It's also less expensive than DMF181)!

-BB
 

Jared427

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So I just ordered a dmf126 for my 2013 Jetta tdi. I did a tooth count and the dmf126 has 132 teeth and the one that I removed from the car has 129. Both flywheels are 11 1/4” in diameter. Will this cause problems? Also does anyone know the tooth count on the dmf181?
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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BleachedBora (Aaron from Cascade German) posted the correct answer above. DMF181 is for vehicles with auto stop/start. DMF126 is correct for TDIs.
 

RAHRAH

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Does that mean push button start or what is auto stop start? Im almost into a 2013 vw push button auto tdi premium
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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Auto stop/start. I don't think any 4 cylinder TDI in North America had this feature.
 

DivineChaos

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Does that mean push button start or what is auto stop start? Im almost into a 2013 vw push button auto tdi premium
Auto stop start, is when you come to a stop and the engine shuts down. As soon as you release the brake the engine starts back up. It's a gasoline thing. And is annoying af.
 

amd is the best

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So I just ordered a dmf126 for my 2013 Jetta tdi. I did a tooth count and the dmf126 has 132 teeth and the one that I removed from the car has 129. Both flywheels are 11 1/4” in diameter. Will this cause problems? Also does anyone know the tooth count on the dmf181?
Was this an issue?
 

amd is the best

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Going to reply here as I think there needs to be some clarity to this subject. I just replaced my flywheel last night and I ordered both the DMF126 and DMF181 just in case. ETKA/Partslink both confirm that my VIN needs the 181. As mentioned above, I can confirm that starter ring teeth is 129 on the DMF181 and 132 on the DMF126.

This thread has some pretty strong confidence that everyone needs a DMF126 and I just didn’t trust that which I why I ordered both and had them both on hand. I’ll return the DMF126.

I removed my old flywheel, counted the teeth and it was 129 teeth. I installed the DMF181. Good to go.

For what it’s worth, my car is a 2012 MK6 Golf with KESSY and push button start, not just a standard key. Maybe that’s the deciding factor in some of this debate. Not positive but plausible.
 

Tdi/gti kid

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Damn I just ordered mine from Parts Geek and they sent me the DMF181!! I told them it was a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2.0 CJAA 6speed DSG Automatic.. I’m worried now that I’ll have to send it back for the right one. However on eBay it says it’s good for both applications. They have a Luk DMF and has both those numbers in the description. The big question is am I screwed?!? Guess I’ll have to get ahold of someone first thing Monday and pray the one they sent me will work…..
 

15sgmichals

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Damn I just ordered mine from Parts Geek and they sent me the DMF181!! I told them it was a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI 2.0 CJAA 6speed DSG Automatic.. I’m worried now that I’ll have to send it back for the right one. However on eBay it says it’s good for both applications. They have a Luk DMF and has both those numbers in the description. The big question is am I screwed?!? Guess I’ll have to get ahold of someone first thing Monday and pray the one they sent me will work…..
Not sure what happened to my passat but I replaced it originally with a 126 and it went bad after just a few weeks and my dsg has blown apart its syncros so I've got a new dsg on order and a 181 as I believe this was the problem the 126 came on the brm making 90hp my ckra with bigger turbo and tune is pushing 200 which I think is my problem as to why it didn't make it
I'll keep yell updated as it'll get put back together in the next few weeks
 

Tdi/gti kid

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So I called sever better know parts people and they told me I needed Luk DMF126 and that cross referenced with the oem one from the Dealership. Dang man sorry to hear that and definitely keep us informed!
 

Tdi/gti kid

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Not sure what happened to my passat but I replaced it originally with a 126 and it went bad after just a few weeks and my dsg has blown apart its syncros so I've got a new dsg on order and a 181 as I believe this was the problem the 126 came on the brm making 90hp my ckra with bigger turbo and tune is pushing 200 which I think is my problem as to why it didn't make it
I'll keep yell updated as it'll get put back together in the next few weeks
So you needed the DMF181 and put on the DMF126? What Year and model did you put it on?
 

15sgmichals

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So you needed the DMF181 and put on the DMF126? What Year and model did you put it on?
I replaced it with a 126 originally but then it went out almost immediately and now that I've got the car back together it's working goof with the 181
The car is a 13 nms passat ckra motor dsg trans
 

Tuheeden

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Ok all, I have a 2014 JSW TDI and I have the transmission out and my original flywheel has 129 teeth and I have the Luk DMF126 with 132 teeth. Do I install it or return it and get the DMF181? This is a normal USA CJAA TDI.

This thread never settled if the 132 tooth flywheel is interchangeable when the OEM is 129 teeth.

Can anyone confirm??
 

IndigoBlueWagon

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I'm not sure where the idea of counting teeth on flywheels (and starters, for that matter) came from. Can someone explain why this is important?

DMF126 is the correct flywheel for your car. I doubt it will give you and problems.
 

turbobrick240

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Kerma says the part changed between years/models and you need to check by VIN. I suggest calling a dealership, giving them your VIN, and getting a part # from them. Or you could just get it off of the OE flywheel. If your ring gear has 129 teeth, that's the dmf181. 132 teeth is the dmf126. Seems like something the vendors should be on top of.


 
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IndigoBlueWagon

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The part did change. There are basically two for TDIs: DMF092 and DMF126. The 092 is for early model years. You don't need a VIN to determine the correct flywheel, although it never hurts.
 

turbobrick240

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If the OE part # is 03L105266DE , that corresponds to the DMF181. If the OE part # is 03L105266DC or EH, that corresponds to the DMF126. At least according to VW, ETKA, and about a dozen vendors. I assume the difference is somewhat akin to that of flywheel/clutch differences between the 6mt/02Q cars that came equipped with either LUK or Sachs setup from the factory.
 
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cevans

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What's old is new again!

We went through this maybe 10 years ago when the first batch of flywheels were failing. Some cars were specified for the 181 number, others the 126. Here's the thing though - all the other equipment was identical & no difference in starter version.

The only difference we discovered is that the 181 flywheel is specified for vehicles with start/stop, and NO 4-cylinder transmission TDIs in the USA were ever equipped with start stop.

If you REALLY dig into vins, you'll find that its plant location not equipment that matters. The Mk6 GOLF was made in Germany, where a lot of TDIs WITH start stop were made, too. Meanwhile other models not made in Germany may not have been made alongside start/stop equipped vehicles. Accordingly we find more Mk6 Golfs specifying the 181 than the other models. So, this might have been a choice of convenience for supply chain rather than a technical difference. The 181 *could work* so why not just use it on everything if the plant was using it for other vehicles, basically.

All in all we use and recommend the 126 for all TDIs since there is no fitment/performance difference. If anything the 181 is 'less correct' for a US market TDI.

Edit: Bora reached the same conclusion, independently, above, too.
Edit: Corrected text to say no 4-cylinder TDIs had start stop, many of the later model 3.0L TDIs did, however.
 
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Tuheeden

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IDPARTS replied with the same confirmation. I think for the sake of CONFIRMING this, I will install the DMF126 even though my flywheel on my JSW has 129 and I will report back.

Just for grins, here is the reply from IDPARTS:
Thanks for reaching out. I'm in charge of all fitment and listing information. You've done your research so I'll join you down the rabbit hole to give you all the information we have:

Years ago we found that VW listed *two* flywheels for the common rail TDIs. They were the same diameter, so we set out to find out what was different about them. We took a collection of cars and matched the VINs to the flywheels to see what the difference was. Importantly, different vehicles from the same year/model/transmission configuration will show in the VW database as using different flywheels, even though all the other equipment is identical.

We contacted LUK and found out about the different number of teeth. The only function of the teeth on the flywheel is to interface with the sprocket on the starter, so we researched the starter versions. Again, regardless of what flywheel was noted in the VW database, they all used the same exact starter with the same number of teeth. This meant that, to VW, the same starter could be used for both the 129 and the 132 tooth flywheel. Over the full circumference adding three teeth makes a miniscule difference in the tooth spacing, so this makes sense.

If the flywheels were physically identical other than the tooth count, and the tooth count didn't matter to the starter, what was the reason for the two flywheels? We researched further...

After further digging we discovered ONE very important difference - the DMF181 flywheel is specified for vehicles equipped with Auto Start/Stop, while the DMF 126 is NOT specified for vehicles with start/stop...this was especially interesting because no manual transmission TDIs were ever equipped with start stop, so the 181 *sort of* isn't correct.

Since we've seen this with other parts, our working assumption is that VW put whatever flywheel they had available in inventory at the plant at that time in. Since the 181 would work, if they ran out of 126s then they would put in 181s. We've also seen literally *HUNDREDS* of places where VW parts listing by VIN is incorrect - just ask anyone with a 2006 Jetta!

We also took into account failure rate and, anecdotally, it seemed that the vehicles with the 181 flywheels were failing sooner than the 126 vehicles. We concluded that, since no TDIs had start stop, the 126 flywheel was the *more correct* version, and if when we went to install a new flywheel in one of our cars here, we opted for the 126 flywheel.

All in all we recommend the 126 OVER the 181, regardless of what the VIN states, so that is why we stock and sell the 126 for all TDI applications. We've sold this version for over a decade without one instance of fitment or performance problem, so we're 100% confident that you'll have the same experience and I'd recommend you install the 126.

Sorry for being so wordy and I hope this addresses your concerns and gives you a little window into how we do things. We don't just 'sell parts' - we own these cars, work on them, and know what works and what are the best possible options for repair.
 

turbobrick240

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I would just use whichever one that corresponds to the part # on the factory flywheel that is being replaced, personally. That takes all of the guesswork out of the interchangeability question.
 
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