Okay, got the engine on car skates so I can move it around. Cleaned the engine and tranny fairly well (huh, VW logo on tranny, didn't know that). The oil pressure switch was on finger tight. Decided to remove it for a look and discovered it was cracked and leaking oil. Gotta love 'rebuilt' engines

I want to remove the oil cooler to check the oil seals and cooler itself. I have the bottom nut removed from the oil strainer mount but I cannot figure out how to remove the top nut. I haven't touched the oil cooler yet. All the tin and fan housing is still there i.e. engine is completely dressed. Suggestions? And to think I originally wanted to do this with the engine in the car!

The oil strainer? The one that's down inside the sump of the motor, held in by the "NEVER OVERTIGHTEN" bolt?

Or do you mean something else??

If you're trying to remove the oil cooler, you will have to pull off the fan shroud first. Which means removing the fan. So you undo the three CV joint bolts (or regular hex-head bolts, depending on which your engine has on the fan) and wiggle the fan loose. Then you remove the four bolts that hold the back half of the fan shroud onto the motor. You also have to remove the bolt holding the outer oil cooler bracket to the fan shroud; and there may be a few other things to remove. Like engine tin, and the alternator (or at least unhook the alternator cooling duct).

Then you pull the fan shroud off, and you should see the three nuts that hold the cooler onto the crankcase.

Unless you're talking about a different cooler?

--DD

Oops, sorry about the confusion, I mean the oil filter mount on the side of the engine that is directly below the oil cooler and not the oil strainer screen at the bottom.

Crap, do I haveta remove the fan housing? I thought it's been done with the engine in the car.

The seals have been replaced with the engine in the car. It's a huge PITA; I personally think it's easier to just pull the damn motor and get it over with. You can't exactly see anything while you're doing the replacement, though.

If you're inspecting, you gotta pull the shroud. If you're replacing, and the motor is out of the car, just pull the shroud.

--DD