Iron City

I'm getting ready to tackle the leak in my timing case cover. Just had a question on getting the belt and fan removed. On the belt, do I need to loosen the nut on the idler pulley and then swing the tensioner down with the 3/8 ratchet? Also, when putting the belt back on, how do I know how much to tension it? On the fan, if I'm looking at the engine with a wrench on the nut, do I go clockwise or counter-clockwise? I did do a search on these subjects, but just needed a little more clarity. Thanks in advance!

John Faughn

For the tensioner use a longer than 3/8 rachet , try a 1/2 breaker bar with a 3/8 drive change ,for control , no loosening a bolt just unload tension with bar , be careful lots of tension and lift belt off the easyest to reach pulley then let the bar go as far as needed to release the tensioner pully , avoid any quick movements or may damage tensioner. As far as the fan there are some relitivly cheep sheet metal wrenchs , a large one that goes over the nuts on front of the fan and a smaller that goes over the nut behind the fan, not everthing that I've worked on is the same but most are counterclockwize. get on one of the tool trucks and get tools for both , they'll now whitch ones , a mistake with the wrong tools will cost more than the right tools , these are stamped plate steel so not too exspensive.

infidel

John touched on most of it. The belt tension is self adjusting. I use a 3/8 drive ratchet with a cheater pipe on it, this way I can easily hold the the tensioner slack with my elbow, freeing both hands for messing with the belt.
Even though I have a set of fan wrenches I always use a long drift and give the driver's side flat of the fan nut a couple of good whacks with a hand sledge. Makes it so much easier to get the nut loose. Remember it is left hand thread.

ccmckee

There are four smaller bolts that hold the fan assembly to the block that you can get at with wrenches that might be easier. i believe they are 10 mm or so if memory serves me correctly, one of them is a bit tough but do able. That's how i did mine when i did the kdp, the whole fan assembly will come right out with the shroud at the same time.

Iron City

ccmckee, thanks for the tip, I think I've read that Infidel has removed the fan in the past without removing the shroud. Do you think it would be possible to remove the fan without removing the shroud with your method? Maybe a better question is the shroud a pain to remove?

running4bhs

No not at all the shoud is 4 10mm bolts. Trust me I just did my KDP and you want to move the shoud out of the way. It will make a HUGE difference in room when it comes to removing and reinstaling the fan. Now moving on, You can use a 10mm shocket on 3 bolts that are attached to the gear housing and then you will need to use a wrench to get the fourth bolt because its behind the fun hub. Thats one way to do it, but you also risk striping that fourth bolt because it takes a little beating with a hammer to get it loose. If you use the other method then keep in mind that the fan will go clockwise to unscrew. I could be wrong, but I remember going CCW to take it off and it was not moving, then I went CW and it came right off.

ccmckee

By all means take the shroud out it just makes things that much roomier and it is only four bolts. The bolts on the fan unit i described came out pretty easy on my truck when i did the kdp this spring. You will need a wrench for the odd ball.