# (Double) V-ribbed belt for W12, a forgotten regular maintenance issue?



## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Looking and searching through all threads and the FAQ, I could find very little information about the “Rib Belt”, or “actually “double ribbed V-belt” as it is called for a W12. The problem is that I quite frequently hear a squeaking noise, coming from the engine shortly after it is started. It is quite consistent now and does not disappear unless it has been driven for more than 100 km.
During my recent service visit at the dealer, during which the service manager was so kind to allow my presence, the technician visually inspected the ribbed belt. At first glance, it still looked good, i.e. no transverse cracks. But when he plied a section of the belt in both width and length direction, cracks where clearly visible in the length direction, i.e. in the corners of the grooves. These cracks were perhaps not so deep, but they all seemed to have developed over the entire length and in more than one groove.

Ad photo of a replacement part, as found on the web:










The technician believed that it could be replaced without removal of many components, such as the bumper and/or radiator, as he had done this job on Touaregs already several times.
The car was on the hoist and the centre engine cover removed, so we had a good view over the entire belt, but there seemed little space available to manipulate a new belt along all pulleys. I’m a little concerned now that this is going to be a very expensive repair when done by the dealer, because the service manager later told me that the belt replacement job would probably take a whole day.
When I consulted my Phaeton repair manual (of Bentley Publishers) I couldn’t find any useful reference about the ribbed belt (or serpentine belt as it is called on the forum) other than adjustment of the tensioner. No replacement interval is given nor a procedure. Very strange, because this belt is prone to wear just like tires and failure seems to be just a matter of time and very bad for one's temper when it happens.
Is there someone on the forum who has experience with the repair of this belt? Any suggestions on how it can be done faster and without taking apart half the car?

Willem


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

Willem:

You are correct, there is no VW maintenance schedule for the replacment of the drive belt on the W12 Phaeton. However, VW does "require" that it is inspected every 40k miles. Nevertheless, as you mention, a visual inspection while the belt is on the car is far from a perfect test. So the experience of this collective forum and common sense is about all we have to go on. I'd err on the safe side and say to replace serpentine belts every 4 to 6 years under normal conditions. If you drive alot or in extremely hot climates - maybe very 4 years would be best. The tensioner and idler pulleys that support and tension the belt often have "plastic" wheels that can be a problem as they age. So if the drive belt is replaced, I'd consider doing the idler/tensioner pulleys also or at least have the tech inspect them very closely. 

I may be wrong, but I doubt that replacing your belt is really a big deal for an experienced mechanic with a lift. I know the space is tight but these mechanics have become pretty adept in such circumstances. In most modern engines all that needs to be done is to loosen the tensioner and the belt can be lifted out of the pulleys. Generally in modern cars, the AC compressor, power steering pump, and alternator are fixed mounts and need not be touched. Rerouting the new belt may not be fun but should be readily doable. Please note, I have never done this on a W12 Phaeton but plan to do this soon on my V8 Touareg.

Good luck.

Jim X


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Willem:

As you and Jim both noted, the serpentine belt is an 'on-condition' item. The maintenance schedule calls for it to be periodically inspected, but does not mandate replacement unless evidence of deterioration is found.

It is a very simple task to replace the belt - that only takes about 10 minutes - however, it takes about 3 hours to disassemble the front end of the car sufficiently to get access to the belt, and it then takes another 3 hours to put everything back together again. 

The front bumper / radiator carrier has what is called a 'service position'. This means that once the front bumper cover is removed to gain access to the metal bumper, it is possible to slide the radiator carrier forward about 30 cm to get access to the front of the engine. The coolant hoses need to be disconnected, but I don't think that the air conditioning hoses need to be disconnected (don't take my word for this, though).

When I had my engine removed at about 40,000 km to replace an O-ring in the torque converter, I elected to replace this belt even though it was in perfect condition. This was because I could see how much dis-assembly was needed to get at it, and I figured that replacing it while the engine was out of the car (see the picture below) was a pretty inexpensive hedge against having to do the same job later on.

Have a look at the thread Retrofitting Dual Xenon Headlamps to get an idea of the preliminary work involved at getting access to the belt - by this I mean removal of the front bumper cover.

None of the disassembly required is particularly difficult or challenging, but there is a very high risk of the technician inadvertently causing collateral damage during the disassembly process if he or she has not done the job before. This can be completely avoided by reading the instructions very carefully before starting the work.

Some of the areas of concern (for potential inadvertent damage) are as follows:

*1)* Breaking off the bracket that holds the two electrical connectors that provide power to components embedded in the bumper cover (park distance control, fog lights).

*2) *Failing to put 100% of the fasteners back in place when re-installing the bumper cover.

*3) *Failing to have two people lift and install the bumper cover (i.e. trying to lift it and install it alone).

*4)* Not following the correct sequence for installing and tightening the fasteners that hold the bumper cover in place. Failing to follow the correct sequence will likely lead to the bumper cover cracking a few months later.

I'll try to dig up the instructions for disassembly needed to replace this belt. If you have a good relationship with your VW technician, such that you can brief him or her about all the potential pitfalls prior to starting work, then I would not have any hesitation about getting the job done. But, otherwise, I would either plan to do it yourself (it would make an interesting weekend project), or just leave the darn belt alone.

Michael

*PS:* More info to follow shortly...

*Serpentine Belt*


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Willem:

As promised, further information -

You can find the instructions that explain how to move the entire front bumper and radiator assembly forward (to the 'service position') in the Bentley Repair Manual. The information is kind of hidden, you will find it in this hierarchy: Repair Manuals / Body / Body Exterior / 50-Body Front / Lock Carrier.

I note that the whole radiator assembly only moves forward 10 cm, not 30 cm as I noted above. The good news is that there is no reference made to disconnecting any hoses (coolant, refrigeration, or otherwise), so, this might be a much simpler job that we think.

Two special tools (they are identical) are needed. The special tools are nothing more than steel pins that have a thread on one end, and a hard round plastic ball on the other end. These are used to slide the front bumper / radiator carrier assembly forward, rather than dropping the whole thing onto the ground. You could probably borrow these from your VW dealer for use over the weekend, or at worst, create your own set by getting a machine shop to simply turn a thread into the end of some round steel rod and bend a right angle into the other end. Once you see these two tools at the VW dealer, you will realize that there is not much to them.

I've also posted the instructions for changing the serpentine belt. These are hidden in Repair Group 13 (only God understands the logic of the DIN standard used to classify repair procedures). The process appears simple enough - move the radiator carrier forward to the service position, then replace the belt.

Personally, I think you could do the whole job yourself (bumper cover removal, sliding the radiator carrier forward to the service position, replacing the belt) on a sunny weekend day without any difficulty. You might need to procure a rather large socket wrench handle to apply sufficient leverage to the bolts that hold the front bumper assembly onto the frame, but other than that, the work is not strenuous. The only nuisance associated with the job is that you will have to remove some of the fasteners that hold the underbody cover (the sound cover at the bottom of the engine), and that can be a bit of a pain to do unless the vehicle is lifted up. Put the suspension system in the highest possible position before beginning work, to lift the front end up as much as possible. This also makes it a lot easier to get access to the fasteners in the forward part of the front wheel well perimeter (fasteners that attach the wheel well liner to the bumper cover).

Based on my past experience, I suggest that you purchase some replacement fasteners ahead of time, this because the existing (original) fasteners will be quite worn about the heads and it is difficult to re-install them. Identify the fasteners that you need to remove from the underbody cover (not many, perhaps just half a dozen or less at the front) and buy new ones. Also, buy about 20 of the fasteners that are used inside the front wheel well to hold the fender liner to the trailing edge of the front bumper (part number N 103 546 01, description "5X16Z2". Those fasteners erode (and corrode) as a result of road debris. They are also a very common fastener on the Phaeton.

Have a look at the post entitled TB: 00-06-02 and 37-07-08 - W12 (only!) Underbody Cover Attachment Modification, it has some excellent pictures showing you the fasteners that you will need to remove from the underbody cover - in other words, the fasteners that hold the front edge of the underbody cover to the lower perimeter of the bumper cover.

If I haven't tempted you sufficiently into doing this yourself yet, here are some additional good reasons to do this job yourself:

*1)* If you need to replace a park distance sensor, you will have easy access to them, it will be a 5 minute job.

*2)* You will be able to thoroughly clean all the radiators, because you will have complete access to all surfaces, both front and back.

*3)* If you need to change any light bulbs in the front end of the car, once again, you will have really easy access to them.

*4)* You will be able to inspect the whole front of the engine, and see if there is any deterioration (binding, etc.) in any of the components that are operated by this belt.

*5)* You will be able to see an amazing number of parts in the front of the engine area (air conditioning components, horns, headlight washers, secondary air system components, etc.) and inspect these for security and condition of hoses, mounts, wiring, etc.

I might be able to grab a few week's holidays riding my moto in Europe towards the end of September - I won't know until about September 7th, though. That means if you are interested in doing this job together... well, I will work for food.  If I can't get the September vacation time, I have to ferry a new aircraft to Europe in the spring of 2012 - let me know the airport that is closest to you, I'll drop in for a day or two and we can do it then.

Michael

*Instructions for 'Service Position' (to get access to the front of the engine)*









*Instructions for Serpentine Belt Replacement*


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Jim,
Thanks for your very useful information. I indeed forgot that the ribbed belt is part of a routine inspection. So when it does show significant signs of wear, a dealer would notify me to have it replaced soon, as he did during the last service visit. I wish I had known what you wrote earlier, because just half a year ago, the bumper was removed too for replacement of the Xenon bulbs. I would then have asked to inspect the belt as well. Anyway, this is very useful information for me and other forum members who are having their bulbs replaced, as it just requires a little further digging (I hope ) to get to the belt. That said, I must say that the clearance between radiator and the W12 engine is very small, perhaps smaller than in a V8. At the top side, under the hood, there are 4 fasteners visible which hold the top of the radiator in place. When you remove them, you can move the radiator a little further to the front. Not that it helps much, because approaching the belt then is still more difficult from the top than from the bottom of the engine. 

Michael,
Wow, this is very good information. I could find the information in the repair manual thanks to your excellent pictures. When I look though your both posts, I understand that you are really tempting me to do it myself. Well, that is not so difficult, because I think that the journey towards the belt is on itself already target of the whole trip. Heck, I already ripped apart half the interior to remove a dead fly from the third brake light at the rear of the hat shelf. Which reminds me… I still need to finish the write up I promised to make some time ago.

So for a start, I will go through the manual and make a list of components which possibly may need replacement, such as the parking sensors, the pulleys, fasteners and perhaps some damaged under body covers too. 



PanEuropean said:


> I might be able to grab a few week's holidays riding my moto in Europe towards the end of September - I won't know until about September 7th, though. That means if you are interested in doing this job together... well, I will work for food.


It would be great fun to do this together, when you can have your holiday as you planned. I’ll return from my holiday in France on the 18th, so the last two weeks of September would be perfect to dive into this adventure and of course to enjoy some good food too. During your spring 2012 trip, you might want to choose Teuge International Airport or Lelystad Airport. Teuge is just 25 minutes driving from here.

Willem


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## Jxander (Aug 5, 2008)

Willem/Michael:

Wow i was certainly wrong on the work necessary to get to the belt! Thanks Michael for providing the correct info. However, once you have room by putting the vehicle in the service position, it's downhill with regard to replacing the belt. 

The good news is that if you master the process of getting the frontend in the service position, that skill will have great value for many other tasks that might become necessary. I often avoid tasks that have a steep learning curve for me and a low likelihood of being repeated. It looks like changing the belt on a W12 is like so many Phaeton tasks - doable but quite time-consuming.

Best of luck.

Jim X


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

PanEuropean said:


> Two special tools (they are identical) are needed. The special tools are nothing more than steel pins that have a thread on one end.....Once you see these two tools at the VW dealer, you will realize that there is not much to them.
> 
> If I haven't tempted you sufficiently into doing this yourself yet, here are some additional good reasons to do this job yourself:
> 
> ...


Hi Michael,

I'm (slowly) preparing for this big event. Recently I found another "issue" which we might be worth checking. During the last couple of days, the instrument cluster reports a "Dirty Distance Sensor" - this is the one which is located somewhere behind the front bumper. It is a vital part of the ACC and although it is working fine on nice days, last week we had not so nice days and probably that was the reason that it frequently gave this alert. So hopefully a good cleaning job can fix this problem.

I think that these special tools you mentioned won't be a problem, either to make by myself or to obtain from a dealer. A friend of mine, obsessed by building his own racing cars, is glad to offer his fully equipped workshop for a couple of days.

Meanwhile, I have one other question. In another thread, I noticed that there is some relationship between the replacement of the water pump and the service interval of the serpentine belt of a V8. The question is, whether this also applies for a W12? I.e. is it worth replacing the water pump too?
The other question is about the service interval of the serpentine belt as reported in an earlier post in this thread. In post 2, Jim indicated that this item is subject of a regular maintenance & inspection schedule - so that implies that there is no service interval. Do I misunderstood something or could it be that there is a general consensus about intervals for replacing the serpentine belt and the water pump? (W12 in this particular case)  

Willem


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Willem:

Just a quick answer this time, because I have to leave the hotel for a marathon flight (Male - Singapore - Zurich - Toronto) in a few minutes:

*1)* Cleaning the ACC sensor is very easy, a 15 minute job. See the post entitled There's fog in my foglight... for instructions explaining how to take the trim bezel off the foglight. Then just remove the cover from the side that has the ACC sensor (I believe it is the passenger side), wash both sides of the trim bezel, then wash the very large (about 8 cm) lens on the front of the ACC sensor assembly. The ACC sensor assembly is waterproof.

*2)* As for the water pump... I honestly don't know what to say. If I recall correctly, your car is fairly low mileage, so, the serpentine belt is probably suffering more from being 'time expired' (reaching calender age limits) rather than from wearing out. I don't think that the water pump degrades in the same way. I'm also not sure what is involved in water pump replacement on the W12 engine, meaning, I don't know if it is as simple to replace as the water pump on the V8.

Personally, I would be inclined to leave the water pump alone, especially if you find that it is not extraordinarily difficult to move the front bumper into the service position. The V8 crowd replaces the water pump at (I believe) around 120,000 km because they believe it is not probable that it will last for 240,000 km (next scheduled belt change)... I don't think you are anywhere near 120K km, and not likely to exceed that mileage in the near future. But, these are just "off the top of my head" thoughts, not really carefully considered thoughts. 

Michael


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## Itzmann (Jan 16, 2006)

Great thread and thank you very much to Michael and all for highlighting the need to inspect and replace the belt. Because the W12 is timing belt-free and the alternator is supposed to be a lifetime item, I had assumed I didn't have to worry about the front of the engine, including the water pump. 

Had I realized it earlier, I would have asked that this belt be replaced either when the engine was lowered on warranty or when the front was disassembled on warranty (twice), not too long ago. :facepalm:

About a year ago, I had the timing belt replaced on the Touareg V8 (same engine as V8 Phaeton) at 130K Kms. When one does that, one also replaces the water pump, the thermostat, and the serpentine belt, regardless of condition, because those items add less than 20% to the job but leave you with peace of mind for the next 130K.


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Just a quick word of warning to anyone planning to take the bumper cover off, mine was removed by the dealer at the beginning of May for replacement of the belt (V8). As I type, it's back there for the fourth attempt to get the bumper back on correctly. So far they've broken the bumper in two places (both sides of the piece under the bonnet where the bolts are, the left corner they broke off completely and glued back on, and the right is cracked right through due to over-torquing of the bolt on that side), failed to reconnect the parking sensors and temperature sensor (twice), broken both brackets for the headlamp squirters (on separate occasions, second one was broken when they did the job to repair the first), and during the original job, whatever they did also screwed up the front cam chain tensioner, which I suspect was something to do with the actual changing of the serpentine belt. The last attempt, they were repairing the driver's side headlamp squirter, which they did, however they failed to refit the bumper and headlamp correctly, at the joint on one side you can see that the bumper cover assembly isn't correctly located, and there's a large gap between the headlamp and the bonnet along the vertical edge of the headlamp nearest the centre of the car. The reflective trim under that headlamp is also loose at one end. I don't know how many stories I've heard from them now about how difficult it is to refit the bumper, this time they've sent it to the bodyshop to repair the damage and presumably refit it correctly (at this point, my skepticism will remain until I pick it up and check it myself). I'm sure if I'd done the job myself, I would have been significantly more careful than the dealer, however if "trained techs" (something else I'm deeply skeptical about) with the right tools, space, help and lift have such difficulty getting it right, I'd be hesitant to attempt it. 

Having said all that, if I had the time, patience, room and tools, I'd prefer to do the job myself rather than have this particular dealer do it again. Good luck to you Willem, I look forward to hearing how it goes!


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## TX170754 (Jun 5, 2010)

It is not really a very difficult job. I have removed mine, following Michael instructions, in my garage in order to fix the headlamp washer covers and everything went well without breaking nothing. Maybe the "trained techs" at your dealer need to do the same, follow Michael procedure


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Very interesting to hear! It adds to my already astronomical skepticism about their technical abilities!


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## TX170754 (Jun 5, 2010)

Now is a little bit to late but in the future you may want to consider taking your car to a Phaeton dealership which have Phaeton certified techs, when I have bought my car ( 2004W12 with 35,000 miles) I took it to the closest VW dealership, a quite big one, for an oil change. They did it, but mentioned to me that they don't have Phaeton certified techs ( for an oil change !) and the car was leaking oil ! After three not so suscessful attempts I took it to a different one with certified techs, problem solved !


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Hi TX170754,
Not all Phaeton authorised dealers and technicians were created equal. 
And the problem is that they do not always take the time to read through all available literature. And they unfortunately most of them think they are too good to be member of this forum.
I had to inform my authorised dealer that it was not necessary to replace the entire steering column as a result of a "Steering Fault - Defective" error, and instructed him how to get to the broken wire that caused it, aided with the documented instructions from this forum. Much to the embarrassment of the service manager.
On another occasion, I was present while a technician was going to make a diagnostic scan and just connected his battery charger to the *starter* battery. When I asked him why he was doing that, he told me that he always did so  to prevent discharging of the battery while making a scan. When I told him that this wasn't the way it should be done with a Phaeton, he said that he always did so - on Touareg's. What was leading me to the unavoidable conclusion that he always was making the same mistake with previous Phaetons he serviced.

I guess they are all human and they made these mistakes as a result of too little experience. Without doubt, there are very good techs as well. After all, not all techs were created equal.
But this particular job looks too much fun to me to let it be done by a dealer. 

Willem


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## Zaphh (Jul 5, 2008)

invisiblewave said:


> ...however if "trained techs" (something else I'm deeply skeptical about) with the right tools, space, help and lift have such difficulty getting it right, I'd be hesitant to attempt it. ...


Err... Did it cross your mind to ask your techs what they have been trained for ? :laugh:


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

Willem, I did the same thing with the steering column wires. They wanted to replace the entire loom at a cost of $800, and since it was a "repair", the warranty declined to pay. I gave them the instructions and had them just splice the wires.

As far as training goes, this particular dealer originally had two techs who were supposedly Phaeton trained. One of them was transferred to another branch shortly after he lost the key to my car (before he'd even started working on it) then screwed something else up while he was doing the job (I forget which particular screw-up that was). They're now down to one, and I believe he was the one who screwed up the timing belt job that's now been going on for nearly six months. A big part of the problem is them saying they're going to do things a certain way, then just not following through. I know for a fact that they techs at another branch who are experienced on Phaetons, so I asked about the possibility of getting them up there to do it, the service manager made all the right noises, saying he could get them etc, but the car still ended up going to the bodyshop instead. When it was in there for a month in August, I complained to a more senior director, he sat down, looked over the service bill, apologized profusely, promised he'd conduct "training sessions", and also promised me that whenever I took the car there in future, he'd have a Touareg or Passat available for me to drive. The next time I called to arrange for them to fix the second squirter they'd broken, I mentioned this to the service manager. He said he'd get back to me, I eventually called him 3 weeks later...... I just want them to finally get the bumper back on properly so I can go back the dealer I used to use!


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

TX170754 said:


> Now is a little bit to late but in the future you may want to consider taking your car to a Phaeton dealership which have Phaeton certified techs, when I have bought my car ( 2004W12 with 35,000 miles) I took it to the closest VW dealership, a quite big one, for an oil change. They did it, but mentioned to me that they don't have Phaeton certified techs ( for an oil change !) and the car was leaking oil ! After three not so suscessful attempts I took it to a different one with certified techs, problem solved !


This dealer had two Phaeton certified techs, they now have one.


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

So I'm planning to do the serpentine belt replacement sometime in May/June and checking the components to be replaced. One important component to inspect, dismantle and 'see how it works and what's wrong with it' is the alternator. Has anyone experience with it and has some knowledge whether it can be removed or replaced without actually lowering the engine? 

I'm prepared for a big job, but I don't fancy dropping the engine.  

Willem


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Willem: 

I believe that the alternator is embedded in the lower right corner of the W12 engine, and that there is no way to get the component removed from the car without removing the engine and transmission as a complete assembly. I did this once, and it took me a week to get it in and out again - and this was with me doing the work at my VW dealer, with all the special tools available and lots of skilled technicians around who were willing to help me and provide advice. 

Michael


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

PanEuropean said:


> I believe that the alternator is embedded in the lower right corner of the W12 engine, and that there is no way to get the component removed from the car without removing the engine and transmission as a complete assembly. I did this once, and it took me a week to get it in and out again - and this was with me doing the work at my VW dealer, with all the special tools available and lots of skilled technicians around who were willing to help me and provide advice.


Hi Michael,
The alternator is the left most component, as seen from the front on the two photos you posted earlier in this thread. It is the one with the smallest pulley. But what you wrote above... does it mean that you already remove the alternator from the car, or did you just meant to say that dropping the engine is such a heck of a job?
After I carefully studies the photo's above with the one below, I think it is possible to do it without dropping the engine. The photo below shows the engine with the bumper and radiator still in place:










Still, the alternator is barely visible. Its location is shown below:










Imagine that the bumper is removed, the radiators are moved forward or removed, and the oil cooler is removed, the car is on a hoist, then isn't the situation and accessibility to the generator practically the same as in the photo's which you posted earlier?

Regards,
Willem


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Hi Willem:

I removed the engine from the car, but did not remove the alternator from the engine.

I have attached a picture below showing what the front of the car looks like when the bumper, radiators, and other stuff have been removed. 

I don't think that VW would specify that the engine and transmission combination be dropped to replace the alternator unless it was truly necessary to do so. Looking at the picture below, which shows the engine in place (after being re-installed, but before all the front bits were re-installed), it does not appear to me that there is sufficient access to the side of the alternator to enable someone to remove it from the engine while the engine is _in situ._

But - that's just a guess on my part. The answer will have to come from someone who has actually removed an alternator from a W12 engine, and can tell us what kind of access (front, side, rear) to the alternator itself is needed to enable it to be parted from the engine.

Michael

*W12 Phaeton, with engine in place*


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Hi Michael,
I'm ordering parts now and am planning to replace the alternator in October, together with Ron, the owner of the indy garage with whom I have a very good experience.
I am very curious to see whether my issue (voltage not exceeding 13.7 Volts, mostly just 13.5 V) will be solved by replacing the alternator.

Regards,
Willem


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## Cantrellc123 (Aug 5, 2012)

I've not confirmed with VAG-COM but looking at the dash gauge I'd say my W12 is in the 13.5-13.7 volt range. I've put 30k on it and the gauge is always the same.

Cantrell


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Hi Cantrell,

I hope that I can tell you and everyone else with this 13.5 Volt dash gauge issue whether it fixes the issue. Since the bumper and radiators need to be partly removed anyway for the V-ribbed belt replacement (serpentine belt), I think it is not so much trouble anymore to get to the alternator.
I ordered an alternator with code 07C903021N (Hitachi LR1190-907E) and I hope it is the right one, because there are many versions and the all look the same, except for the position of the B+ post and the DFM terminal connector with respect to the orientation of the cooling tubes.

Within about a month, I will be ready to replace the engine and post some pictures of the process.

Willem


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## Cantrellc123 (Aug 5, 2012)

I failed to clarify myself as my thinking is there is not a problem with this voltage reading. If there was an issue, other problems would be showing themselves due to this low voltage.

Cantrell


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## WillemBal (Nov 20, 2010)

Cantrellc123 said:


> I failed to clarify myself as my thinking is there is not a problem with this voltage reading. If there was an issue, other problems would be showing themselves due to this low voltage.


Hi Cantrell,
My problem is that my standheater often doesn't turn on or shuts off due to a too low voltage of the LH battery. This problem does not occur during a week or so, after I have charged the battery with a charger.

I have done a lot of measurements and found that the charge current is just a few amps or even zero, while the battery voltage is just 13.5 Volts. Even when it was previously charged with a charger, the voltage doesn't go above this once I take the charger off, start the engine and wait a couple of minutes.

Willem


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## Cantrellc123 (Aug 5, 2012)

WillemBal said:


> Hi Cantrell,
> My problem is that my standheater often doesn't turn on or shuts off due to a too low voltage of the LH battery. This problem does not occur during a week or so, after I have charged the battery with a charger.
> 
> I have done a lot of measurements and found that the charge current is just a few amps or even zero, while the battery voltage is just 13.5 Volts. Even when it was previously charged with a charger, the voltage doesn't go above this once I take the charger off, start the engine and wait a couple of minutes.
> ...


Hello Willem,
That's an interesting issue. I am fortunate in that I keep my car garaged which means I've really never needed to use that option. I did try it once while I was waiting on the Wife and I also noticed it didn't operate very long before turning itself off. I remembered thinking it didn't function long enough to be very useful.

Cantrell


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## Noway55 (Jul 7, 2014)

After replacing a shattered tensioner and new belt last weekend on my W12, I just wanted to publicly thank all the folks that contributed to this thread. I was able to replace both items without removing the front bumper cover and putting it into 'carrier position', I just put the car on Rhino Gear ramps, removed the bottom aero cover, and spent several hours on my back.

The pictures contained here are lifesaving reference materials!

-john

For reference, here is what a shattered belt tensioner looks like:


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