I had to do a double take. I was like " huh "

 

I took a aluminum flat stock i had laying around approx 3.5 in x 2 ft & cut it with a 4 in grinder that had a cut off wheel on it to fit the fan nut then struck it with big hammer but you really don't have to take fan off for ip r&r

 

I didn't catch that at the beginning, until sshort brought it to mind; I don't remember ever removing the fan to pull a VE, but maybe I did and forgot about something so simple while attending to the more tedious aspects of the job.


Jim, is there a reason why your fan needs to come off to remove the VE ??

Have you got a special fan ??

 

see all i was doing was trying to make it a little easier, i realize it wasent the question but i thought id put in a suggestion for an easier way. so another thing to remove the big nut on the fan use a air chesel and gently hit the nut as if you were trying to back it off.

 

Jim's had his VE out before, I'm sure he has another reason for pulling the fan.

 

ok so can i take the 4 bolts out of the pully and pull the assembely off that way? as a package

 

Yes, the whole fan support/pulley/clutch/fan will come off.

 

ok thanks wanna i need a bigger hammer then maybe a 15lbs sledge would work gettin it off,ill try tomarrow night after work number 2

 

Ok guys here is how I got my fan clutch off.

First I could not find a wrench that would fit the big nut on the hub.

So I took an old 1¼” wrench I had and then using my 4” Angle Grinder I ground out the opening parallel to 1 7/16 that now fits the nut on the clutch.

The handle extension is 24” of ¾” Black gas pipe.



Then using my Blue Point Chain Wrench I wrapped the chain around the pulley and secured the end of the chain into the jaw.

This chain held the pulley securely and kept it from turning.



Holding the chain wrench with my Left hand I then engaged the fan clutch nut with my modified wrench I pulled the handle clockwise and the nut loosened with almost no effort.

Then all it took was to turn the fan about a dozen more turns to remove the fan being careful not to drop the fan into the radiator.

It was amazingly easy to remove.



Harbor Freight has a cheap copy of my Blue Point that will work just fine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42717

Vice-Grip also makes a pair of grips with a chain in place of the jaws; I have several pair of these.

http://irwin.com/irwin/consumer/jhtm...rwinProd100322

No beating, cursing or loss of knuckles or blood.

Jim

 

First time I ever seen it done with a chain-wrench.

I am putting that on my "when I get to Harbor Freight" list; the nearest one is about a hundred miles.


I have always had to take the blades loose and take the fan/clutch out seperately, not being able to get both out from the confines of the fan-shroud together.

The way it reads, it would appear that you were able to take the whole thing out together; if so, what did you do different from how I have been doing them ??


Thanks.

 

The trick is to pull the shroud and fan at the same time. Have the shroud loose and ready to go, then loosen the fan and lift it all out as a unit.

 

That’s it, you lift both of them out together, on my non /IC I had to rotate the shroud to clear the top radiator hose but it was as easy task.

One thing you want to do is to cut a piece of cardboard and slip it down the backside of the radiator to protect the core incase the fan gets away from you.

This is also a good habit to get into protects your hands and another unplanned repair when wrenching on the front of the engine, as careful as I am there will always be a wrench slipping from something.

I use my Chain Wrench allot, it is easy to wrap around a crank pulley to rotate an engine, if used carefully the chain will not damage the pulley.

Jim

 

The card-board radiator protection is a good idea.

I was under my Ford, a considerable distance from the radiator, when the wrench flew out of my hands and whacked the radiator, right in the center.

The next day, after running the engine enough to build a little pressure, it started spraying from the wrench wound.


A dab of two-part stick epoxy took care of that.

Since then, as the radiator was 1985 original and probably running on borrowed time, I have installed a brand-new one.

I had a high-mileage/old radiator to blow apart on me once, so I am sort of nervous about traveling around with an old radiator, even if it shows no signs of leaking.



I am gonna procure me one of them chain-wrenches.