I found a good looking auxiliary fan at a local junkyard (for my 83 240D) but I had hell of a time disconnecting the two wires on the back. I had to use pliers but I ended up tearing the wires this way. I have the fan at home now but I don't want to cause the same kind of damage to my existing wires because I want to reuse them. What's the proper way to disconnect these wires? Do I have to disassemble the fan from the front?

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL