Cannot get Fan off

[jasongind]

I need to take the fan off of my '01 3L. I took the 4 bolts off the pully, slide it forward, put the bolts back in the water pump flange, used the special spanner tool on those 4 bolts (to keep the water pump and fan shaft from spinning), and then tried to loosen the fan shaft to the right. I cannot get it off its stuck like a sonofabitch. I had my buddy, whos a lot bigger then me try and nothing. So i hooked a ratchet strap to the closed end of the wrench and to the cross member under the vehicle, then started to crack on the ratchet, just ende up breaking the ratchet on the strap.

Any ideas?

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

lol.. is the fan left hand threaded? most of them are. check on the fan shroud it usually says "left hand threads on fan clutch" or "right hand threads on fan clutch"

 

[jasongind]

Yes the fan is left handed thread thus trying to lossen to the right (clock-wise). The 3.0 is left handed and the 4.o is right handed.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

i did a water pump on a 3.0 before and had this exact situation. i ended up having to take the water pump off with the fan still attached. lock it into a vise and let it sit in penetrating oil while i went to lunch, then came back and wrenched it off with a massive pipe wrench

 

[jasongind]

IOT do that you have to remove the radiator right? I'm not down for all that.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

no. all you have to do is remove 2 bolts that hold the fan shroud on. remove the water pump bolts and lift the water pump/fan AND the fan shroud as an assembly.

the radiator is not hard to remove at all. 2 hoses, 2 bolts, and another 2 hoses if you have an auto tranny.

if you're replacing the water pump i highly recommend you take the timing cover off and seal that up too or you WILL end up doing all this work again and can possibly end up with water in your oil. taking out the water pump bolts loosens most of the timing cover also.

 

[jasongind]

Damn its a lot of work just to get the fan off to replace the pully. I might just wait till the water pump goes out to do all this. I'm just trying ot put a blue aluminum pully on, nothing important. Thanks for the info.

 

[dennis461]

Get the right tools

Some jobs absolutely must have the right tools to get her done.

Pick up something like this to hold the pulley
(You may need a new pulley when done, mine survived)

Measure the hex shaft and buy a LARGE open end wrench.
Or a large pipe wrench.

Get an extra pair of hands to get everything hooked up.
Then pull like a son of a B____.

Someone most likely used Red liquid locktight on the threads like the factory uses.

If all else fails, find this guy.

 

[USMCFords]

I use a an hammer on the nut between the fan and the pully. Works every time.

 

[JamesC]

At work we use an air hammer with a flat chisel and it always comes off quick.

you just chisel it so that it gets the nut to spin. so position the chisel at the edge of one of the hex and chisel on an angle.

 

[jasongind]

The air hammer and chissel doesnt mess up the nut? Not that it matters at this point, my 7/8's open end rounded two sides of the nut when I tried to get it off.

 

[USMCFords]

The air hammer and chissel doesnt mess up the nut? Not that it matters at this point, my 7/8's open end rounded two sides of the nut when I tried to get it off.

Not if you get it right the first time. Hit the corner just right, and it'll loosen, then you can spin the fan right off. We don't put them back together, so I don't know really. Just get a new one.