Won't Start. post-DMF replacement problem.

[cuttyshark]

2012 TDI Jetta Sedan

I did the DMF flywheel replacement. Car was running fine other than the loud clacking from the flywheel. It was bad. Everything is back together. Now it wont start.

SchaefflerLuK DMF126 is what I used. (What IDParts sells)

Symptoms: press start button, interior lights dim and i hear the starter try and start. Wont start or turn over. SEEMED like a dead battery. Put it on charger overnight, was 100% this morning. Still would not start. Battery was working fine before. it is an Interstate.

Diagnosis steps:

1. I was not 100% i put the transmission lever back in "Park" when I connected the linkage. I have the linkage lever all the way toward BACK of the car. Is that right? That seemed the logical place to have it and that is what I have read on other forums about DSG
2. I took the starter and battery into Autozone to be tested. Battery test fine and correct Cranking Volts. Starter tested BAD and totally dead. It wouldnt even pop out the rotor. I am thinking it was on its last legs at 185,000 miles anyhow. So maybe the new tight flywheel was too stiff for it and it died? I do remember hearing a weird noise one morning a month ago. Maybe it used its last life, but that was not end of things.
3. I was able to take the linkage off and move the wheels freely with them off the ground. Is there a point on the lever that the wheels should LOCK? I could not find one.
4. I replaced the starter with a NEW one from Autozone. Plugged in, tightened down. Went to start up again. I hear the starter try and pop out and turn but its not making the connection.
5. Got under the car and checked my work, the transmission is snug to the engine. Peered into the flywheel inspection peepholes and it looks like it has clearance.

Questions
Is there any kind of reset I am supposed to do after the transmission is out of the car and any reason that putting in a new flywheel would cause the car to not want to start?

Is there a position that the transmission and engine flyweel is supposed to be in before snugging them together? I didnt turn the engine at all when replacing the flywheel. It moved maybe a little bit but i had a flywheel holder tool on it to keep it from spinning. I did rotate the axle flanges around as I torqued the bolts.

Thank you!

 

[cuttyshark]

I just checked my ground wire that goes from the stud on the top of the transmission mount bracket above the wheel well. Black cable, that goes to the fuse box on the driver side. It is between two RED cables. Did I miss some other wire that was supposed to attach to that stud? black is usually ground/negative.

I also checked my starter cable is TIGHT. the bolts are TIGHT. the battery cables are TIGHT.

Just for fun I connected a BIG Diesel battery up to the jetta battery and tried to start, still nothing.

Im leaning toward I have something connected wrong. But what can it be? Should I bite the bullet and replace the battery too? It is from 1/31/19. it is 4 years old. Could it have tested GOOD and actually been bad?

 

[cuttyshark]

AAA came last night. They connected up a heavy duty charger starter to the Battery and I tried to crank it. NOTHING. The lights inside all went dark when i Pressed the start. Smoke came off the battery cable connections.

The starter wire and starter solenoid are connected properly and tight. The black ground strap to the stud on the transmission mount is tight. The battery terminals are tight.

Could it be the alternator? The battery?

Worse case, is my new flywheel locked up on something and wont spin and engine is seized? would that make the starter go bad and battery smoke?

 

[Shoveltrev]

so you have to spin the engine a little so the splines on the tranny engage the center of the fly wheel , when thats all good that trans butts right up to the engine . there is no "snugging it up" . id get on the crank bolt with a breakover bar and socket and make sure your engine turns over. if its bound up you gotta rip it back apart and see whats ruined .

 

[Shoveltrev]

and yes that will seriously piss the starter and battery off. especially with pushbutton start

 

[cuttyshark]

Makes sense. none of the howto videos posted here and elsewhere talked about moving the engine around. I went back and forth between all the bolts to draw the transmission and engine closer together till they were snug.

What size socket on the crank do I need? I have a couple different size breaker bars.

Does moving the axels with the linkage in drive spin the transmission?
Is a breaker bar usually able to move the engine without taking out the plugs?

 

[Shoveltrev]

yesd it moves without removing the plugs . if memory servesits a 12 point 18 or 19.

 

[Shoveltrev]

axles do notspin the mainshaft

 

[cuttyshark]

Ok so when I take the 19mm 12 point with a breaker bar to the crank pulley bolt I am guessing I need to go Clockwise to turn it otherwise I will spin it lose and the bolt will come out? Is that the correct direction the crank is supposed to go as I am looking at the front (or i guess passenger side) of the engine? that seems logical.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Go clockwise. Going backwards -shouldn't- loosen the bolt, unless something is stuck and you have to force it. But it sounds like something may be stuck.

Also, you shouldn't need a breaker bar to spin the engine. A 1/2" ratchet should give you enough leverage.

 

[cuttyshark]

Go clockwise. Going backwards -shouldn't- loosen the bolt, unless something is stuck and you have to force it. But it sounds like something may be stuck.

Also, you shouldn't need a breaker bar to spin the engine. A 1/2" ratchet should give you enough leverage.

Put a 1/2 breaker bar with a 19mm 12 star. Tried to move crank puller clockwise. I can’t move it. I can hear something straining on the other side of the engine. Not good. :-/

I guess my weekend project is to drop the transmission again!

 

[Vince Waldon]

Water under the bridge, but if everything's lined up the engine and tranny pretty much fall together seamlessly, and then one adds the bolts to hold it in place.

Going around with the bolts to pull everything together is often a sign that everything was not lined up... will be interesting to see what you learn when you pull it apart and have a look.

 

[turbodieseldyke]

Put a 1/2 breaker bar with a 19mm 12 star. Tried to move crank puller clockwise. I can’t move it. I can hear something straining on the other side of the engine. Not good. :-/

I guess my weekend project is to drop the transmission again!

If you're lucky, the starter is jamming it. Pull the starter out and try again.

 

[cuttyshark]

OK! So I figured out the problem. I messed up the splines on the DMF.

dropped transmission again UHG.
Took off the DMF.
Found a file and a Sawzall metal blade. I used an ancient Chinese secret that worked on Axel slip yokes which this seems to be almost exactly like.

filed the messed up parts down. Then used a wire wheel to polish the tips and get rid of a burrs. Test fit the DMF back onto the Transmission. I got it to slip in effortlessly. Took it off and rotated it and tried several different ways. It always slipped back onto the transmission. I still had the old DMF and it goes on and off the same way. I’m pretty proud of how good it looks and I can’t tell it was ever messed up. There is no play and the teeth firmly seat all the way into the transmission. The transmission spines effortlessly with the DMF seated all the way on the splines.

put the DMF back on crank and tightened and torqued it down to spec in a star sequence. Twice over. To get an extra 15 degrees or so of stretch.

Raise the trans back up.

Now it I have it ready to install but I am going to use a Buddy to rotate the Crank while I get it lined up.
Is there a tip or trick of way others have lined it up before pressing from Driver side to get it on?

I am using a Cherry picker that is hooked to the Eyelet on top of the transmission. It’s fairly balanced but not easy to line up the bolt holes.
If I were to go to Lowe’s and get some grade8 bolts LONG ones and put them in from engine side toward transmission all around the bell housing would that help square up the transmission away from the engine far enough that the Splines on the transmission can point dead on at the DMF? Then push from driver side while a friend spins the crank?

How will I know it’s safe to tighten the bolts?

 

[Shoveltrev]

i use 2 6" long bolts as guides . its right when the bell housing butts up to the trans by itself . with a gentle push.

 

[cuttyshark]

I have FIVE guide studs all around the bell housing and balanced on those while pulled away from engine. I’m waiting on a buddy to come who will work the Crank side while I push to try and mate the transmission to engine.

The videos made this look so simple!

 

[cuttyshark]

Update!!!

tranmission is mated to the engine. Bolts went in super easy.

IT SPINS from crank side! I can see DMF spin through the starter hole while buddy turns crank by hand!

 

[Shoveltrev]

i started doing them on a lift and i bought thw alignment tools for the subframe so i can drop it. makes it a one man job. i set the lift down till the engine and trans are sitting on a 2 foot tall bench . separate em . lift the car and the engine off the bench. with the engine support bar installed of course lol. . going back i use my alighn ment pins to line it up, push it together . it usually lacks around a half inch till its flush then i run around the front and turn the crankpully clock wise a half a turn or so then i go back and it usually goes right together. . done about 10 of them.

 

[Shoveltrev]

thats awesome man!!!!

 

[cuttyshark]

Miracle of miracles. IT STARTED!!!!!!!!!
Note to future generations that all the videos left out. Buy 4 3/8th 7 inch long carriage bolts with smooth for 5 or so of the inches and just a few inches of thread. Use those for most the bolt holes. They are thinner than the bolts that go in there so the slide nice in and out and the lack of threads the transmission doesn’t get stuck in them. I used two thicker Allen keys for a few of the more awkward ones. These also holds the stupid Tin gasket in place that moves on you.

The look closely at the long bolts. They need to be aligned with the transmission and into the engine at a perfect angle. I used the Casting ridges of the top and sides of the transmission to make sure they were all aligned. Then my buddy turned the crank around as I pushed the transmission. Toward the engine.

 

[cuttyshark]

Well.... put on a few days of miles and trips back and forth to work. It is MUCH quieter. no more Gargling Rocks sounds at idle and rough starting. The old DMF was very much on its last legs. I also notice it shifts smoother and the RPMS seem different when it shifts.

While taking things apart I did find that VW Dealer broke the heat riser pipe somehow. There is a little plastic press in tab and a screw. The screw is missing and so the hot air tube is laying ON the exhaust on cabin side and rattling around there. Only thing holding it is the soft tube that connects to the air box. How do I know it was VW? Because three years ago they replaced my Manifold gasket and would have had to take that part off. I think I can fix it with the right screw but no idea what size that screw is. Once i fix that there wont be anymore weird noises coming from my engine.