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Can't take the clutch fan off

11K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  Little Blue Guy 
#1 ·
Mine is bad. It's rattling and making tons of noise up front and its pissing me off ALOT.

I tried removing it though with a big ass wrench and it's not budging...the water pump pulley wants to spin.

I took off the upper fan shroud to get access to it better but thats not helping. Is there any way i can lock up the waterpump pulley so it doesn't spin...? I'm tempted to just take it to a shop for them to remove it.
 
#5 ·
place lock jaw pliers on waterpump pully

use a wrench to bust fan off (lefty loosey righty tighty)
Oh wow, so much for "using the right tool for the job" eh? I guess they are called water pump pliers :jester:

As said before, vice grips could wreck the pully. I'm not sure about 2000's, but that pully is part of the water pump on my 99, bugger it, and replace the water pump.

There is a proper tool to fit into 2 of the 4 (I believe) holes that are in the pully. If you're crafty, you can make a tool. Thats what my dad and I did.

Get the proper sized wrench (I dont remember what size it is) and give the nut a turn. Once you break it loose, it will spin off real easy.
 
#4 ·
There is a special water pump pulley holder that has pins on it that go into the pulley holes.....you can try to put a phillips screwdriver in there and lock it against the pump, or a punch will work as well.....or, if you have an air hammer and a pointed bit, you can lightly hammer the nut off the water pump by putting the pointed bit on the left side of the large nut and give trigger a pull...once you get it loose, it will spin right off.....careful with the vise grip on the pulley, the pulley is not all that hard...bends easily

You sure it's the fan clutch making noise and not the water pump itself??
 
#6 ·
Either way he needs to remove the clutch fan to replace it. If you have the big ass wrench to fit the nut, put it on. Leave the belt on, and if you have an extra set of hands, somebody else with a 15mm wrench who can put extra pressure on the tensioner pulley will help hold the waterpump. Then use a Ford wrench(BFH--big fucking hammer) and hit the wrench on the nut towards the passenger side. Quick sharp blow should jar it loose, and once it's broke loose it wil spin right off. be carefull not to let the fan fall into the radiator and damage the fins on the radiator.
 
#8 ·
I have used the locking pliers method for a long time on many vehicles (04 dodge ram (4.7), 98 Mitsubishi montero (3.0), and my dak with no damage to the pulley, and I have never bent a pulley in the past (I have the old 4.7 water pump in my lap right now and can spin the pulley, it is straight and true and I have done this over 10+ times on this water pump alone) , I wouldn't hesitate to use this method to take the fan off at all. Like mentioned there are many tools you can use for the job some better then the others but if you don't have to make/rent or buy expensive "right" tools to serve the same purpose, why not?

only situation I couldn't use the locking pliers method was when I had to replace a radiator on my dads 2001 BMW 530I, we had to buy a special $50 BMW pulley holder.
 
#18 ·
And if it's the one I have, it also fits Chevy pumps (has pins on both sides of the fixed spanner) so you can charge all the Chevy guys 5 bucks to rent it out for an hour!:funny:
 
#11 ·
Yeah, I agree, some of these are a bitch.

The clutch fan on my 5.2 that i put in was on the water pump good and tight. We had lots of room to work, because it was sitting on an engine stand. As a last resort we decided to use the fire wrench (oxyacetylene torch). We heated up the nut slightly and put a wrench on it and hit it with a hammer...no luck. We decided to leave it for the night, and work on it the next morning. The next morning my dad asked how we got the clutch fan off. We said we didnt, but he went out earlier in the morning, and just spun it off by hand. :huh:
 
#12 ·
Had the same problem last weekend. Fan clutch and water pump went. Could NOT get the clutch off. Bent the heck outa the pulley, and broke the handle on one strap wrench. then sd screw it and install a e-fan and saved $50.
 
#14 ·
I used a piece of wire rope (aircraft cable) and ran it through one of the holes in the pully, wrapped it around the tensioner arm and tied it. I didn't have a wrench the right size for the nut so I used the air happer trick. there were already marks on the nut from the previous replacement.
 
#16 ·
The air hammer trick didn't work for me. I beat the hell out of that nut.

I ended up making a spanner wrench by cutting a 3ft piece of flat stock in half and drilling some holes. Used some longer bolts the same thread as the pulley holes and I had a bitchin hold on the pulley. A 12" adjustable on the clutch nut and a good push broke it free rather easily.

the clutches aren't cheap. you can pick up a 16" fan and an adjustable controller for much cheaper if youre frugal(course I went the dual 14" route). then enjoy the extra benefits of e-fan.
 
#20 ·
I used the cable idea, and got a pipe wrench on the fan nut, and hit the handle with a hammer, it knocked the fan loose, and the cable held the pully in place perfectly.

Now the only problem is the leak is coming from the timing cover, and not the water pump, so get to tear more stuff off.
 
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