A Way to Get That PITA of a Fan Clutch Off

[khalild]

You are going to either love or hate this.
FTW

You bolt one end to the fan clutch and one end to the chassis. Now use your 32mm wrench and go to work. Works in a minute. Mind you this is a trick that works best if you have already removed the radiator and hoses. Good Luck!
pic here



Oh yea, don't let the #of posts fool you, I'm a proud product of Rutgers U. Engineering lmao. Anyways, so there I am doing my timing belt, and I got stuck at the fan clutch. Wacking it with the hammer got me nowhere, and if you are using the e30 as your dd like me, you need to may want to get this job done in a weekend.

[BrassDrummer]

A trick that we use in the shop. A 32MM wrench, and a Hammer. Place the wrench so it is angled slightly towards the Drivers seat, and hit it hard with a hammer. The Nut will spin free.

[Xat1cZ]

^ that's some high-tech shizzle right there , why oh why did I never think of that ... hammer .. dammit all those hours spent using my HAND as a hammer ... but use an actual HAMMER to hammer ...

God damn it, you're a god damn genius! this is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. you must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Listen up, people... USE THE HAMMER

[khalild]

Sometimes, the hammer doesnt work right away. This method works.... Or a thin pipe wrench. Trust me.

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[Northern]

Instead of the strapping, you can use a flathead/prybar/whatever to brace one of the fan bolts against the fan clutch nut to stop it from moving. Then bring out the deadblow.

[craiggroves91]

Rag and big channel locks on pulley. DONE!

[BrassDrummer]

^ that's some high-tech shizzle right there , why oh why did I never think of that ... hammer .. dammit all those hours spent using my HAND as a hammer ... but use an actual HAMMER to hammer ...

God damn it, you're a god damn genius! this is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. you must have a goddamn I.Q. of 160. You are goddamn gifted, Listen up, people... USE THE HAMMER

And you think I'm joking...

[New2MeE30]

when i removed mine, I used a 32mm bicycle headset wrench and a mallet. they're thin and cheap. mine was about $10, iirc.

[craiggroves91]

Oh and don't forget its left hand thread hahaha

[nando]

A trick that we use in the shop. A 32MM wrench, and a Hammer. Place the wrench so it is angled slightly towards the Drivers seat, and hit it hard with a hammer. The Nut will spin free.

that's what I always do. works every time. I've never even needed a special thin wrench either.

[Xat1cZ]

And you think I'm joking...

No I know you're not joking , I thought you were sarcastic 'cause that's the most obvious solution in automotive mechanical history ...

(that was a Forrest Gump reference in my OP btw......... )

[andrewm]

sawzall wins the battle.

[BrassDrummer]

No I know you're not joking , I thought you were sarcastic 'cause that's the most obvious solution in automotive mechanical history ...

(that was a Forrest Gump reference in my OP btw......... )

Haha, I went back and re-read it as it should have been read haha.

[Thizzelle]

you don't need a special thin wrench for this, a normal 32mm works fine and you don't have to worry about it breaking when you hit it with a hammer. Mine i just jammed a screw driver in between the bolt heads and gave the wrench a good slap.

[long tall eta]

i just bought the wrench set from fleabay that contains both the fan clutch wrench and the tool for holding the pully for 38 bucks for both.