Andrew Cleland Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Just drove from UK to Italy in our 2004 td5 110 and got the red battery charging light lit just as we crossed the Brenner pass into Italy. We made it to our destination near Padova although it was a bit of a tense drive - a td5 will run for 3 hours on a full battery with everything electrical that can be turned off, off. Anyhow this morning I checked and the battery is too flat to start it now. Had a poke around and all the wiring looks OK so I'm guessing it's the alternator that's died, either brushes or voltage regulator probably. If it's the original (I don't know) it's done over 180,000 miles, so understandable if it has died. I've got a new alternator coming out on Monday thanks to Brit Car but have a very limited set of tools here. I can get some brought out but I don't have the spanners to remove the viscous fan either here or in the UK. Is it essential to get it out of the way or can the job be done with it in-situ, maybe by removing the inlet manifold? If I could do it without draining the coolant system that would be a bonus. Also beyond the usual metric sockets are there any special tools needed, I've seen mention of a torx bit? Finally if there's anyone near Arqua Petrarca with tools or expertise, we have food, wine and lots of olive oil to offer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 I did a disco td5 one yesterday. Need just 36mm spanner for viscous fan, removed fan and radiator top cover, removed belt and the pulley off the idler pulley - 10mm socket I think Alternator held on by torx bolt at bottom and 10mm head bolt at top. Quite a squeeze but didn't take anything else off. Managed to wriggle it forwards and against the rad to undo the connections. Needed a jubilee clip for the oil drain pipe as it had one of the special hose clips you need a special tool for, jubilee clip was fine instead. Worst bit was trying to undo the multi plug from the back without breaking it it was stuck fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Cleland Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks. Do you remember what size torx bit it was? A. Edit - don't worry, found it, T50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy009 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 I've never looked at a TD5 engine before... but on my 200TDi when in a fix i was able to remove the viscous fan with a hammer and chisel, knocking a notch in the 'nut' and then tapping it around - bearing in mind it is reverse threaded. Actually i think i needed to cut a V shaped notch in the plastic in order to get the chisel onto the flats of the nut. I used it for 6 months like that then replaced the viscous fan with an electric so no idea if it would have suffered failure long term as a result of the chiseling (i doubt it). I think i've heard people say it can be bad for the water pump bearings - but i was doing it to replace the water pump... Not ideal, but did the job. No idea if that is possible on a TD5 - sorry if its a wasted suggestion. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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