I thought some of you might know what to do, hence the OT post. I have a '96 F-150 2WD 4.9L, and a very badly needed new water pump. The fan clutch nut stands between me and my goal.
I have what is supposedly the correct tool, though it does not seem to grip very well. It is a little worn, which might be part of the problem; and exchange is next on my list. I also plan to try a strap wrench vs. the spanner to hold the pulley. It has PB Blaster working on it as I type.
My real question is how to tell which way to turn the nut. Ford's documentation says "it could be right or left" - thanks guys ;) The fan shroud says "right hand thread on fan clutch," but I cannot be certain it is the original shroud and/or pulley/clutch - I bought the truck only a year ago.
Is it the part that holds it in place thats too worn or the wrench that turns the nut? Personally I used a pipe wrench to turn the nut and the loner tool from the Auto Supply place to hold it in place, its a thin tool you need to keep it pretty close to dead on parallel.
They should be able to change it even if they replaces it. Typically when you have a left/right possiblity one is for a different layout to prevent mixing of parts.
I usually pull the radiator to give working room, then use a pipe wrench or chain wrench.
Which way does your fan turn? The nut should come off in the same direction
Gunner
Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
The clutch threads will be the same as the fan's rotation. So, if the fan turns clockwise as viewed from the front, the clutch will unscrew clockwise. They are usually not particularly tight, as the rotation torque keeps them screwed down. A sharp blow usually suffices to break them free. JR Dweller in the celar
I recently changed the water pump on my F-250. Different animal, but I built the holding tool from a piece of 3/4" flat bar, bent into a radius similar to the pulley, and then both ends bolted onto a short piece of channel. The channel protruded to catch on some part of the engine and prevent the pulley from rotating.
The nut was right hand thread, but was 1 3/4". I had to buy a set Harbor Freight jumbo wrenches just to have that size.
I got one of these "holding tools" for the van, apparently the pulley isn't OEM because it in no way fit the thing. The same specialty tool package(NAPA) had a wrench that did fit the hex flats on the clutch. I ended up using a VIsegrip chain wrench to hold the pulley while whapping the special wrench with a rawhide mallet to get the thing loose. As other posters have said, check the fan rotation, the threads are such that it tightens when running. After all you don't want the fan clutch unscrewing when you're going down the road! On my van, it's a left-hand thread. Spent a long time trying to screw the clutch back on after some parts replacements, was cussing up a storm when I realized that I was trying to screw it on the wrong direction. Don't do this late at night with snow on the way!
On my van, I can't pull the radiator without pulling the fan clutch and virtually anything on the front of the engine needs the fan shroud out of the way to get access. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the special wrench and Visegrips.
A U-Pullit place is a good way to get some info on the various parts combinations out there, I was amazed at how many different sizes of clutches and fans were on the same nominal model of van. The buck they charge around here for entrance is cheap tuition for figuring out how to get parts out that the manuals don't cover very well.
A Visegrip chain wrench works very well, I busted several strap wrenchs that used rubber or reinforced plastic straps. Just be careful, it'll mar the pulley if you aren't. My buggy has flat belts, not sure how you'd handle a V-belt pulley. Drill a couple of holes in the hub area for a holding bar, maybe.
An update: my real problem turned out to be that neither set of fan clutch tools provided by Autozone was correct, though picking a spanner/holder from one set and wrench from the other did the job. The original spanner had the correct width, but was not long enough to do a proper job of holding the "far" bolt heads on the pulley; every time the torque started to climb, it slipped.
Given the correct tools and a piece of Al tubing to add some leverage on the tool not designed to accept a breaker bar, it came off without (too much) difficulty.
The only problem I had with the water pump was that its tube for the heater hose ended up too close to the alternator bracket, which would have pinched the hose if properly installed. I loosened the water pump bolts, put a piece of hose over the the tube as a spacer, and re-torqued the bolts. The sealant and gasket appear to have survived the resulting abuse, which happened about 30 minutes after initial installation.
Having been fooled by seals in small engine carburetors in the past, I did a pressure test before buttoning up after the pump. A small hiss "near the upper hose" turned out to be a leak at the plastic/metal interface on the radiator, which I found with soap water. The second radiator fit perfectly; they exchanged it w/o question. The fan clutch was covered in black goop from its own innards, so I replaced it. About the only things left are the head gasket (pleeeeezzzzz no!!!) and the heater core.
The battery cable clamps are hurting (next up), and there is an intermittently failing panel bulb that will probably cause me to replace a bunch of bulbs some time soon. In case you were wondering, NO, I most definitely do NOT know what I am doing ;)
But it sure sounds like you are learning. Good show. I learn a lot every time I work on something, often a lot more than I anticipated. Just started working on a Mopar 318 with the fuel pump cam and camshaft bolt missing, huge gobs of red RTV instead of any head, intake manifold or pan gaskets, and who knows what else.
Thanks for that, but feel free to tell me whenever you see something that should be done differently. The life you save might be mine :)
Truer words have never been written. Or, as a friend of mine says with varied experience, "it's always something."
Good luck with it! I am thinking of rebuilding a small engine or two before attempting the real thing. There are two obvious possibilities with different excuses to tear into them, and one with an actual reason to at least check the crank case gasket. The latter is from a generator. To be blunt, it apparently leaked from the beginning, but I bought it before buying my truck, which indirectly contributed to my misplacing the receipt [*], and I never did figure out how to exchange it. The leak is slight enough that simply pouring some oil in it works just fine (and it will theoretically shut off if the level gets low).
[*] I had receipts from the same day, but not the offending one. One of those, keep the receipt, get the truck, come back here, etc. arrangements. Maybe they stapled the receipt to the rental contract and I tossed it??
Details aside, I assume that either the gasket is damaged, or more likely, it is a casting defect. Hopefully it is a bump/burr that can be removed rather than a hole that needs to be filled. Any suggestions if it is the latter? Either way, I have read enough to know that I will be setting end-play when I replace the cover, and want to be a little careful since the generator currently works. Also, I have lots of respect for small engine governors: incorrectly installed, they can cause the engine to over-speed and turn into a bomb. The generator will have active feedback control, but IIRC, there is still a simple linkage to keep it from going nuts.
Another snag: the disassembly does not quite require unwinding the coils in the generator, but they will probably arrange for that next time ;) Humor aside, the engine/generator interface is not very well designed. I have what appears to be the correct shop manual, but it is not terribly detailed.
If you have not seen it, take a look at Dave Floyd's "A Chrysler Chronicle." It is a very interesting read, and buried in it is a problem-based course in troubleshooting along with some good advice on techniques. Note that you have probably moved beyond the point of it teaching you a lot, but when I read it, it was a huge help. You would probably still enjoy it.
If you get the casting clean and dry, JB Weld will generally fill any small holes.
I am 76 years old and my Dad was a mechanic so I have been tinkering with machinery for a very long time. I have learned quite a bit but everytime I learn one new thing, they come up with a whole bunch of new ones. :-) Luckily I have a background in electrical power and in electronic test equipment so I am able to understand a fair amount of new things.
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