020 Flange Removal
Need to install a shim kit, replace a leaking flange seal, or just swap in a different size flange? These pics will hopefully help out!
First, a pic of the tools I'll be using to change the flange. Circlip pliers, screw driver, home made flange tool, 17mm wrench, 8mm wrench, and some bubblegum scented gloves.
Here is a better pic of the homemade tool. As you will see in other pics, a welder I am not! It is good enough for my needs however blobby it may be.
It is a M10 x 1.50 piece of threaded rod, a couple M8 x 1.25 bolts, a couple M10 nuts, and a tube with a couple of bars welded on. The tube is a piston wrist-pin from a 1.8 8V. I spaced the bars out so they can sit on the head of the M8 bolts when assembled on the flange.
The first thing you will need to do is to remove the center cap seal in the middle of the flange. There are 2 kinds of seals, one with a rubber center, and one that is all steel. On the rubber version seals, you can stab a screwdriver through it and pry the seal out, but on the steel seals, you might find it easier to lever the seal out from the edge.
The front of the seals look the same, but poke the center and you'll know if it is rubber or not.
Here is the backside of the above seals, the one on the left is all steel, the one on the right is rubber in the center. You can see where the steel seal has been hit before, and wasn't punctured.
While on the topic of various parts you might find, here is a pic of the 2 types of concave washers that VW used under the circlip that holds the flange. I am not aware of what exactly the difference is, or why the design changed just yet, if you know, let me know:)
OK, lets dig that center seal out, and for the pics, I used the steel version, and how to pry it out from the side. Be careful not to dig into the flange as you lever it out. Pressing the tip of the screwdriver into the soft rubber and levering will usually pop the seals out.
OK, the seal is out, the circlip is exposed, and it is time to remove it. At this point, you can just knock the circlip out of the groove with a screwdriver, yank it out, and the flange should just pop up off the shaft.
For the pics, I will show the tool being used to compress the spring behind the flange to make the circlip easier to remove.
Thread the M8 bolts into the flange and thread the M10 rod into the center of the stub axle in the middle of the flange. Bottom the M10 bolt and snug it up. Place the bars of the tool over the tops of the M8 bolts, and now tighten the top 17mm nut to force the tube/bolts/flange down, and release the spring tension on the circlip.
Reach in with your handy-dandy circlip pliers, a good set of these are priceless when fighting a circlip in a confined area such as with the flange. These are Snap-On SRP5A pliers, and they work pretty well.
Once the circlip is removed, release the tension by backing the flange tool off
The flange most likely will pop off under the spring pressure and remove itself from the stub axle, but if it doesn't you can either thread in a couple M8 bolts into something solid behind the flange, and drive the flange off by evenly walking the bolts in....or you can reverse the use of the home made flange tool, and place the bars under the M8 bolts, and unscrew the bottom 17mm nut, and it will lift the flange off the axle stubs.
Once the flange is off, you'll be able to see the diff carrier taper bearing, and the stub axle, and then the bronze conical thrust ring. It very well may be in more than one piece. Normally, they are not a complete ring, and they do have a gap which looks like the ring has broken, but it is supposed to be there. If the ring is broken, it will be in more than one piece.
If it is broken in, say, 2 or 3 clean pieces, then it can be re-used, because once assembled, the pieces cannot go anywhere, and they'll still do their job.
They were added in there, along with the springs, to stop the stub axles from making a noise because of slop in the parts. The rings and springs add a bit of tension to the stub axles, and make them quiet. This tension is what is increased by the 40% and 80% shim kits.
Here is a better pic of the split in the ring that looks like a crack. To get the ring out, use a small pick or screwdriver to spin the ring around, and this will break the surface tension of the oil, and allow it to be slid off of the shaft.
Here you can see the flange, the spring that fits onto the bottom of the flange, then the spring cap.
The install is pretty much the reverse of the removal, to remove the flange seal, simply lever it out once the flange is removed. Be sure to coat the new seal in trans fluid to allow the seal to be installed smoothly. Also pack the inside of the seal lips with grease.
Use a tube the right size to allow you to press the seal in fully...
There is a spring behind the dust lip of the seal, don't allow that lip to roll up or the spring could pop out, and result in a leak.
When installing the circlip, VW suggest the use of special tool 30-23 to help seat the circlip in the groove if needed. The special tool is just a tube with an ID of 26mm to fit over the stub axle, but still catch the circlip. Use it to knock the circlip in and seat it fully.
Instead of the special tool, you can simply walk around the circlip with a flatblade screwdriver, shoving it into the groove and seating it fully by tapping the screw driver with a hammer as you seat it. Start in the middle, and work your way to the each end of the clip until it is fully seated.
Pop in a new cap seal in the center of the flange, and the job is done.
A pic showing the 100mm next to a 90mm flange on the trans, the 90mm is on the bottom trans.
Where to measure across to get the 90mm or 100mm measurement.
You can also measure the inner CV joint itself, and determine the size.
Take a piece of string and wrap it around the inner CV joint, right where it fits into the flange.... mark the string where it meets itself, so you know how far it is around the CV joint. Measure the string.
A bit over 11" (11.13) and it is a 90mm
CV/flange.
Just under 12.5" (12.36) and it is a 100mm CV/flange.