TT.Mk1 Coolant fan(s) replacement
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Back to 2000-2005 (Mk1)
Submitted by: CoasTTal
Entered by: MCPaudiTT
Radiator Fan Replacement
Radiator fan 345mm $144.50 or aftermarket $99.95 Radiator fan 290mm $142.50 or aftermarket $89.95
To replace your radiator fans you will need: Torx #30 Screwdriver Torx #30 Bit 10mm short and long sockets 13 mm short and long sockets 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" knuckle extensions Bandaids
Basic procedure is: Raise car as high as possible, set on jack stands. Remove battery Remove belly pan Remove metal loop attached to intercooler cross pipe, 2ea. 10mm bolts. Pay special attention to which side of the crosspipe bracket these are attached to.
Remove intercooler crosspipe, 6 ea, 13mm bolts. You may need to loosen the side shield that attaches to the belly pan on the drivers side to have access to one of the 13mm nuts during removal of the crosspipe.
You will now have access to both fans.
I have a relocated oil cooler and have two large wire braided hoses that run across the bottom of the radiator. This made it very difficult to remove my fans.
I found that I had to remove the smaller of the two fans, 290 mm passenger side, to then be able to remove the larger fan. Without the relocated oil cooler hoses, you may not have to do this.
Once you have removed the crossover pipe you will now see the 2 fans from below. Directly below the larger, 345 mm fan, drivers side, you will see the lower radiator hose. It is held with a clamp that you release by pushing down and back. Once this is loose you can unclip one of the wire harnesses for the smaller fan.
Before proceeding, pay close attention to how the wiring harness is run and clipped to the fan support brackets. I didn't and it took me a bit of extra time in routing the wire on reinstallation. The fans can only go back in the same orientation they came from.
The fan attaches to a 3 legged support that then attaches to the car. I found that I needed to loosen (not remove) the 3ea, 10mm nuts holding the fan to the support bracket prior to taking the fan out. This allowed more flexibility during removal. To remove the support bracket there are 3 ea, #30 torx screws. I found I needed a Torx screwdriver, plus a short torx bit I could put in a ratchet to remove these. Space is very tight.
Once I had the fans loose, I first started by removing the smaller fan and then the larger fan. They were still connected to the electrical plug at this point. It took quite a bit of effort to push the radiator hose out of the way and fit the fan between the radiator and the hose. The fan kept hanging on the radiator hose clamp. Next time I would probably cover the clamp with a fair amount of duct tape. I was not sure how to remove the clamp. That would have been the optimum option.
Once the fans were clear of the car, I supported them on a box below so as not to put much tension on the wiring harness.
The wires are connected to the car as shown below.
The connectors for the wires look like this:
The left most, when viewed from above, require you to hold in the little clip on the side, and then pull the plug out from behind (toward the drivers side wheel well).
On my car there was not much room for the plug to move backwards. I held the clip with one screwdriver and then slowly pried the plug loose. As you can see from above, the plug on the left actually fits inside of the one being pried backwards.
Once the one on the left was removed, the other one required the pin to be pushed from the far side of the connection and again the parts pried apart.
Once they were apart the fan plugs, which were captured in a slot that has barbs on the top to prevent these from coming apart and out.
I had to carefully pry the left one apart and place a screwdriver under the captured plug to force it upward as I pried the barbs apart. I did the same for the second. This was not easy as the area to work in is not large.
You may consider removing the bottom battery tray to provide more access.
Below are the old and new fans. Notice that the fans have been removed from the support brackets:
This is a picture of the smaller fan. It came with a much larger motor that just barely fit in the support bracket.
Reinstallation is just the opposite of the removal.
I loosely installed the fans in the support bracket and then tightened them once they were roughly fit in place in the car.
Remember; plug these in before you start putting them back into the car. And, remember your wiring routing.
While you have the fans and cross member out, you might want to change the oil.
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