# TB: 00-06-02 and 37-07-08 - W12 (only!) Underbody Cover Attachment Modification



## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*TB 00-06-02 - W12 (only!) Underbody Cover Attachment Modification*

Volkswagen of America issued a Technical Bulletin (TB) on February 2, 2006 that mandates a very small modification to the way that front underbody cover is attached to the right wheel well liner, and also mandates that the bolts that hold the pan on the bottom of the five speed transmission be re-torqued. *These two actions apply ONLY to the W12 Phaetons. The V8 Phaetons are not affected by this TB. *The TB number is 00-06-02, and the ‘campaign’ number (this TB being a mandatory modification) is BL.
Although the actions required to carry out this TB are quite simple, the TB itself is not as clearly and carefully written as most VW technical publications are. For this reason, I have provided a series of pictures that show what is involved in completing the work. The TB itself is attached to the bottom of this post in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.
The motivation behind the TB is as follows: The original design of the attachment of the right side of the front underbody cover to the right wheel well liner consisted of two screws that fit into speed nuts (clips), and one screw that threaded into a raised boss that was molded into the right wheel well liner. This raised boss protrudes up about 15 mm above the level of the base of the front underbody cover and the right wheelwell cover. If a driver is careless when parking and strikes a raised concrete wheelstop or a curb with the front right corner of the car (meaning, the underbody assembly rides up onto the curb), and if significant upward movement of the whole front underbody assembly results from this impact, the raised boss could be driven into the bottom of the transmission oil cooler, thus damaging the oil cooler.

*Complete cover assembly, front underbody*









*Note position of raised boss relative to transmission oil heat exchanger.*
If a driver was to carelessly ramp the front end of the car up onto a curb, the boss could be forced upwards into the transmission cooler.









The fix is simple: the raised plastic boss is cut off, and the attachment is reworked so that additional screws and speed bolts are used to secure the front underbody cover to the right wheel well liner. The repositioned screws are forward and aft of the transmission heat exchanger. Once the rework is done, nothing at all protrudes upwards in the area of the transmission oil cooler.
I don’t think this TB needs to be carried out urgently, as long as you are careful to not hit curbs or ride up on wheel stops with the front end of your car. If you use valet services to park your W12, until you get this TB completed, you might want to stress to the parking attendent the importance of not carelessly driving forward until the front of the car hits the wheel stop or curb.
It is very simple and straightforward for a Phaeton tech to complete this TB when the car is in for an oil change, because all the affected components are normally removed from the car when an oil and filter change is done. It would,however. probably be a bit of a nuisance for the tech to complete the TB on a stand-alone basis, especially when one considers that VW of America only pays the technician 0.35 of an hour labour (21 minutes labour) to carry out this work. _ (Translation = your Phaeton tech will appreciate your thoughtfulness if you ask to have this TB carried out while he or she already has the car up on the hoist for some other purpose, such as an oil and filter change)._
Here’s a description of how to carry out the TB.
*How the front underbody cover is fastened to the right wheel well liner pre-modification*








*1)* Remove both the front underbody cover and the front right wheel well liner from the car. (You don’t actually HAVE to remove the front right wheel well liner – but, if you are doing an oil and filter change at the same time, you will have these parts removed anyway, to get at the oil filter, and it is much easier to do this work when the two parts have been removed from the car).


















*2)* Cut off the protruding boss that serves as an attachment point for the middle retaining screw on the right hand side of the underbody cover. The TB suggests doing this with a die grinder equipped with a cut-off wheel, however, it is a bit safer for the person doing the work if this is done using a reciprocating saw.
*Removing the protruding boss*









*3)* The TB calls for two holes to be drilled in the front underbody cover and right wheelwell liner, with the ultimate objective being four speed nut fasteners all aligned along the same longitudinal axis. (See picture below) The Volkswagen of America TB specifies that one hole be drilled 99.5 mm aft of the existing front fastener, and the other hole be drilled 107.3 mm forward of the existing rear fastener.
Unfortunately, the technicians at my VW dealership do not have the precision equipment required to complete work to one-tenth of a millimeter tolerances. We phoned Bombardier Aerospace to inquire if their newest laser guided CNC machine was available, however, it was Friday afternoon and the staff on the Global Express production line were planning on cutting out early to go ice fishing. We then decided that it would probably be acceptable to round the measurements off to the nearest millimeter, as long as no-one let the author of the TB find out about this sloppiness.
The technicians then re-assembled the two parts – the underbody cover and the right wheel well liner – using the remaining front and rear fasteners and speed nuts. Once the two parts were re-assembled, the locations of the two new holes to be drilled were plotted using a steel ruler and a centerpunch.
By doing this work with the two pieces joined up, it was quite easy to check and make sure that everything would line up correctly when the two pieces were re-installed on the vehicle.
*Measuring and marking*
















*4)* The TB called for 3.1 mm holes to be drilled through the two plastic pieces. Once again, we rounded off, and used a 3 mm drill bit, because the 3.1 mm drill bit was out being sharpened that day. If the work is being done with the two parts still installed on the car (as would be the case if this was done as a stand-alone project, and not in conjunction with an oil and filter change), then great care would need to be taken to ensure that the drill bit did not extend any further than actually necessary to make the hole through the two pieces of plastic – hence the recommendation in the TB that the drill bit be marked with a piece of masking tape 1 cm down from the tip of the bit. Because we had the two pieces off the car, this was not a concern.
The two holes were then drilled, the swarf was removed, and the two new speed nuts were fitted to the new holes on the right front fender well liner.
*New speed nuts in place on the two new holes*









*All re-assembled, project completed.*








The remainder of the TB consists of tightening the many bolts that hold the transmission pan cover in place. This is easy enough to do with a torque wrench, however, it requires that the rear underbody cover be removed to gain access to the transmission pan. Once again, this is something that is normally done on the scheduled service visits when the oil and filter are changed, and if the rear underbody cover is already off for the purpose of checking the ATF fluid level, it is only a 3 minute job to retorque all the fasteners.
*Location of transmission pan*
It has a zillion little bolts all around the perimeter of it.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: TB 00-06-02 - W12 (only!) Underbody Cover Attachment Modification (PanEuropean)*

Here is a better photo of the pan at the bottom of the 5 speed transmission on W12 Phaetons. The fasteners that need to be re-torqued are all around the perimeter of the pan.
There is no dipstick to check the fluid level. The fluid level is checked, and fluid added if needed, through the hole at the aft end of the pan. The process that needs to be followed to check the fluid level is quite complex - the transmission fluid has to be within a very narrow temperature range (you need a diagnostic scan tool to read the fluid temperature), and a series of steps needs to be taken to distribute the fluid through the transmission before the plug is removed and the measurement made.
Michael
*Transmission Pan Cover - 5 speed transmission*
The exterior of the pan was washed before the photo was taken - the liquid visible on the pan and the exhaust pipes is cleaning solvent residue.


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## dcowan699 (Nov 22, 2004)

*Re: TB 00-06-02 - W12 (PanEuropean)*

Michael, had you been seeing any fluid leaking onto your garage floor before this or was this all a surprise to you with the new TB announcement??


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: TB 00-06-02 - W12 (dcowan699)*

The TB was a total surprise to me. We all had a look at the transmission oil heat exchanger, and there was no evidence that the boss on the right fender well had ever touched it. Then again, there was no evidence that the chin spoiler on the front of the car had ever touched a curb.
I think the TB is strictly a precautionary measure, so that in case someone is really careless and ramps the front end of the car up on top of a curb, no damage to the transmission heat exchanger will result. The ROW W12s have exactly the same design as our NAR ones, but I have not heard anything about a TB being put out in the ROW market for this. In Europe, if a customer struck a curb with the underbody of the car, then brought the car in for repair, there would be no question at all of warranty coverage - you are not supposed to hit things with your car, plain and simple. If you do hit a curb, then the damage repairs are entirely for your account, not Volkswagen's.
Michael
*Transmission Oil Cooler (W12 Phaeton)*


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## Paldi (Sep 4, 2004)

*Torn scoop*









Michael,
The light gray colored air scoop just below the abandoned screw hole in this photo has torn twice on my V8 Phaeton. The engine cover and scoop must be the same or very similar for both engines. 
The first time my scoop was damaged was when my front passenger side tire slipped into a pothole in the street while I was maneuvering to part at my Starbucks. I was going about 5 MPH. The second tear occurred after a snow storm - the rubber scoop snagged on some snow packed in the middle of the right of way at a transition from level roadway to up hill. 
I'm thinking as the suspension moves up, this part of the car - the heavy nose, can get awfully close to the road. Looks like yours has touched down on the under-body cover once as well - the louvers on it are scratched up. Be careful out there.
Interesting that I suffered a (V8) transmission failure too - about 6 months after hitting ground at that spot. 


_Modified by Paldi at 12:29 AM 2-21-2007_


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (Paldi)*

Hi Fred:
I have suggested to VW of America that they make that rubber scoop available as a stand-alone part. Right now, you can't buy the scoop by itself, you need to buy the whole sound insulation cover, which is quite expensive. The scoop does have its own part number embossed on it, but for reasons unknown, it is not sold by itself.
The scuffs on the bottom of my sound insulation pan are as a result of having the pan on the floor of the garage while the technical bulletin was being carried out. The trick to evaluating whether or not the car has been 'grounded' is to look at the bottom edge of the front valence - that is the part that tells the tale.
Michael


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## Paldi (Sep 4, 2004)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

I see, so I'm lucky to have two of the scoops on the busted up underbody panel I got from the bodyshop. On V8's the trans cooler is also mounted forward and some owner took his out on a medial strip. I got all the broken lower right front end parts for "analysis" purposes.







Unfortunately, these scoops are bonded to the underbody panel via a plastic weld at various points. They don't come off. 


_Modified by Paldi at 12:12 AM 2-21-2007_


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## dcowan699 (Nov 22, 2004)

*Re: Torn scoop (Paldi)*

Michael,
I got a good look under my Phaeton today as the tech took the lower engine cover off under the engine. I could see that boss immediately under the transmission radiator. It looks like to me all you have to do is take a sharp knife or small hand saw of some type and simply cut that boss off without having to take all of the fenderwell off.
I took a good look at my transmission pan and it looked fantastic. Clean as can be, and in fact, the entire underside of my car looked like it just came off of the showroom floor. 
My rear left window is still doing fine so we decided to just leave it alone.
*
The next part is funny.* My tech looked at me and asked, "Do you know how to reset your service reminder warning, because I can't figure out how to do it?". I said yes I do. Takes 2 minutes to hook up the VAG and reset. I told him I had to reset it after the 10K mile service.
He was trying to do it by pressing certain buttons in a sequence on the dash of the car. I have no idea what buttons he was pressing. I told him I am totally unaware of any way to reset that using buttons on the infotainment system or any other buttons inside the car.
Now the only thing that concerns me is what is he going to do about the loss of antifreeze/coolant.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (dcowan699)*

I agree, there is not much to that little plastic boss at all - it can't be more than half an inch high. However, if someone drives their car over an object that is more than a foot tall







, it will get pushed up into the transmission oil cooler.
Michael
*What the part that gets removed looks like*


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

Here is a better photo of a new part (a new passenger side front fender well liner) showing the little part that is removed from the fender well liner of North American Phaetons when the above-referenced technical bulletin is carried out. The NAR Phaetons will not have the insulated pad that is visible in this photo, because this photo is of a fender well liner destined to be installed in a diesel powered Phaeton.
Michael
*Where the part that gets removed is located*


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

Attached is the original European (i.e. "Made in Germany") set of instructions for carrying out this modification. These are in English.
I think that the European instructions are much simpler, much clearer, and much easier to follow than the TB 00-06-02 that VW of America published. Both documents attempt to convey the same information - the European one succeeds in a page an a half, the North American one is 5 pages long.
Be aware, though, that the NAR publication contains additional information concerning the need to re-torque the transmission pan bolts on the W12 transmission. 
Note also that the NAR Technical Bulletin is only in effect for 12 months from date of publication (February 2, 2006) - so, if you have a W12 Phaeton and this modification has not yet been carried out, try to get your vehicle to the VW dealer before the end of January 2007 to get the work carried out.
Michael


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Need some help from the W12 owners (Fender Liner Question)*

Hi Everyone:
I had to replace the front left fender liner on my Phaeton last month due to an object on the road damaging it - no fault of the vehicle. The parts wizard at my VW dealership ordered the replacement fender liner according to the exact VIN of my car, but what arrived as a replacement part was not the same as what was installed on the car when it was built in Dresden.
The original front right fender liner has a small louvered grille on the forward side, to assist in drawing air through the secondary radiator that is installed on all W12 engines (see this post for more info about the secondary radiator: "Insufficient Coolant" Advisory Message). The wheel well itself is a strong low pressure area when the vehicle is moving, and having that little louvered grill there draws a considerable amount of additional air through the radiator.
Anyway - I checked the North American VW parts catalog along with the parts specialist at my VW dealer, and only one type of wheel well liner was listed - that being the one without a vent in it, which is used on the 6, 8 and 10 cylinder Phaetons. I checked the European parts catalog, and it shows the wheel well liner with the vent in it as a specialty part for use in the Middle East market, where temperatures are normally very high.
What I would like to find out is if I just happen to have a unique example of a W12 NAR spec Phaeton with this liner with the vent in it, or, if all the other NAR spec Phaetons also have such a vent. So, if you have a W12, would you be so kind as to have a look inside the front *right *wheel well, and tell me if you have a vent in your fender liner?
Many thanks,
Michael
*Front Right Wheel Well Liner*


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

Just a little post-script here:
Last month, I had to replace the front right wheel well liner on my W12 Phaeton because an object on the road damaged the wheel well liner (this was no fault of the car). So, the parts specialist at my VW dealer ordered a new front right wheel well liner for my car.
Because the same wheel well liner is used for many different varieties of Phaetons (6 cylinder, 8 cylinder, 12 cylinder, ect.), the new part arrived complete with the little bump on it that the above referenced technical bulletin requires be removed from the wheel well liner when it is fitted to a W12 engine Phaeton.
So.... if you ever need to get a front right wheel well liner replaced on a W12 Phaeton, perhaps remind the staff that they need to cut the little bump off in accordance with the directions in the TB before they install the part. It is a 10 second job to do this if the fender liner is not installed on the car, but it does take a bit of additional time to drill the two holes needed to line up with the (relocated) fastener locations in the central underbody pan. 
Michael
*New wheel well liner from VW parts - complete with boss on it.*


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## murphybaileysam (Dec 29, 2005)

Hi Michael; Mine definitely have the louvers.


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## W126C (Jan 27, 2005)

*Re: (murphybaileysam)*

I second the louver motion on the '04 W12 NAR Phaeton.
Regards,
Brent


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## pirateat50 (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: Need some help from the W12 owners (PanEuropean)*

Michael,
I'll look next week, assuming I get mine back from the shop, but I think mine does have the louvered vent.


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## geowben (Jan 26, 2005)

Michael, mine also has the louvers.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (geowben)*

Thanks everyone, that gives me the information I need. I will write VW of America and ask that they add the wheel well liner with the 'R' suffix to the North American parts inventory.
VW did respond to our requests to put the infra-red W12 windshield back into the NAR parts system - I think that was just a paperwork error on their part, not something that was deliberately dropped. So far as this W12 wheel well liner goes, I can fully understand why they have not stocked it so far - if the European catalog says it is a Middle East only part, then there doesn't appear much point in stocking it in the USA, regardless of how active America might be in the Middle East these days.







However, it looks like this is a "Middle East and NAR" part, which is not correctly described in the European parts catalog.
Michael


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## Itzmann (Jan 16, 2006)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Care to speculate what the outcome of installing fender liners without ventilation grills might have been?


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (Itzmann)*

Might have led to slight overheating in really, really hot conditions, but it certainly does not pose a problem in Canada at this moment (wintertime). I installed the vent-less fender liner about a month ago, and I have not heard from my wife about any problems with the car since then.
I do want to eventually get the correct part installed, just to keep the car OEM spec. But I can wait until summer, if need be. Even longer, if I don't happen to be in Canada the weekend that summer takes place next year.
Michael


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

The TB (technical bulletin) 00-06-02, "Noise Insulation Cover (Lower), Relocating Fasteners and Re-torque Transmission Oil Pan Bolts (Campaign BL)" has recently been re-issued by Volkswagen of America because the time allowed to accomplish this revision as a 'Campaign' has elapsed.
I have attached a copy of the updated document below. There is no new information in it, the changes are editorial only - the formatting of the document is slightly different, conforming to the new page design that VW uses for TB's, and the title of the TB has been changed. The new document (below) is TB 37-07-08, and the new title is "Customer States Transmission Slips". This suggests that rather than carrying out this TB as a preventative measure (before the transmission fluid cooler gets damaged), you should wait until the transmission cooler is damaged, then, the cost to VW of America will be 3/10ths of an hour of labour to carry out the TB, plus an additional 15 hours of labour and $16,000 in parts to replace the transmission with a new one.








I honestly don't know who VW thinks they are kidding with these new TB titles "Customer states..." I think this is some kind of idiocy that the VW of America legal department has come up with. This kind of obfuscation and double-speak would not be tolerated anywhere else in the world.
In any case, if you have already read the original version (posted earlier in this thread), or if you have already carried out this revision, there is no need to download and read the new version.
Michael


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Torn scoop (PanEuropean)*

Here's a copy of the campaign that was put out in the rest of the world (meaning, outside of North America) to remove the little boss from the underbody noise insulation cover.

There are several unrelated items in this particular campaign (66C4), criteria 3 is the one that addresses this particular topic.

Michael


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## remrem (Jan 20, 2008)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Hi Michael or anyone else who is familiar with this,
I have a bit of a rip (about 4" long) in my RIGHT front wheel well fender (rubbery part) directly behind the front right wheel. Should I not worry about it, or should I get it replaced? I just noticed it a couple of weeks ago. My concern is if I go through a puddle, would the water that might splash through the rip go somewhere it shouldn't?
Also, I've read your posts above, and don't know if the correct replacment part for the W12 is still a problem to obtain or if that was just a LEFT front wheel well issue?


_Modified by remrem at 9:47 PM 1-28-2009_


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## phaetongeek (Oct 16, 2011)

*Pictures Please*

I just removed my fender liner to perform an oil change and replace one of the horns. I discovered that this mod has not been done. Could someone please "rehost" the photos? Thanks! 

Richard


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

Photos and PDF have been rehosted. 

Michael


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## PowerDubs (Jul 22, 2001)

In reference to the wheel liner vent difference above- the reason why is some cars have a larger washer fluid tank that blocks the airflow anyway- so no need for a vent.

Compare-


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