View Full Version : what is the speical tool you need to remove the fan clutch??
MikeLTZ
10-10-2005, 08:14 PM
Thanks
autotech
10-10-2005, 11:42 PM
you need a fan clutch wrench and holding tool. you may be able to rent one from an auto parts store. if you have access to airtools, you may be able to use an air chisel.
APDMC6008
10-11-2005, 05:56 PM
Let me just tell/warn you....it was a mother b**ch changing the fan clutch. :mad: I couldn't find a fan clutch tool that would fit at anywhere that loans or rents out tools, so I went to Lowe's and got a 14" pipe wrench for $9. Then I just tighted it over two of the four bolts on the waterpump pulley and (this sounds crazy, but it worked) I removed the box over the air filter (and the filter) and put a piece of pipe of an appropriate length over the end of the pipe wrench and braced it against the more substantial frame part behind the exterior panel. At that point I was able to loosen the nut that holds the clutch on. It was too tight to use one hand to hold the pipe wrench and the other to attempt to break the torque on the nut. When the torque finally broke, it unscrewed rather easily, compared to before. But that's not the only PITA :no: ....then you have to get it to unseat from the fan blade so you can get it off the threaded portion of the water pump and then attempt to lift the shroud, fan, and clutch out all at once. I'll have to say I know why they pay mechanics so well....because the *$&(@! engineer that designed it didn't plan for easy repairs. Of course, I'm sure the person that designed the fan clutch didn't think it'd fail either. And if you remove the radiator hose (makes it easier) be prepared to replace some coolant. :yes:
On the plus side...the truck is sooo much quiet. It's been so long since it's been quiet that I forgot how smooth the 4200 is. Ahh...the sound of silence. Sure beats sounding like I have a Pratt & Whitney under the hood....though...that'd be cool... :undecided
my-tb
10-12-2005, 04:14 PM
Will your engine sound louder if the clutch is going. I haven't had any cooling problems yet but I noticed the other day that the TB use to be much quieter and I was wondering if it was the exaust. I really notice when giving it gas, and come to think about it, it kinda sounds like a Pratt & Whitney
APDMC6008
10-13-2005, 01:58 AM
Will your engine sound louder if the clutch is going. I haven't had any cooling problems yet but I noticed the other day that the TB use to be much quieter and I was wondering if it was the exaust. I really notice when giving it gas, and come to think about it, it kinda sounds like a Pratt & Whitney
Will it?! Oh, you'll know it...if it is engaged any decent amount you'll have a loss of power, and then the sound...loud 'whoooooosh!' At high RPM/Speed it sounds like a small turbofan...:laugh: Once the fan disengages (if it does) you can tell...much quieter, more power. I've a lightbar on the roof and even over the windnoise from that I can hear the fan. I love my super-quiet truck now. I've had the loudness for so long it's odd not to hear it.
MikeLTZ
10-13-2005, 10:13 PM
my car has been like that for like 2 months. You think the clutch fan replace is harder than replacing a heater core?
Thanks
thecarbonman
10-17-2005, 05:27 PM
Thirty years in the mechanical field, and for twenty five of those years I wished an engineer would walk in so I could have him or her show me why they did it the way they did. Then the end of my career I got to work with both a GM & Chrysler Engineer, Trust me they don't know WHY, repairing it isn't the priority.
kingjames1
09-22-2006, 06:02 PM
Here's some pointers:
Make sure you have a spare vehicle when you do this. The first time it's pretty tough. It goes back together much easier than taking it apart.
Plan a few days for this unless you take a day off for this. It can be done in one full day. I could probably do it in half a day now that I know how to do it.
Get the special tools to do this. I spent an entire night with a pipe wrench and finally gave up. I called Advance Auto which had the tools for rent. They came in one universal fan clutch kit: $63, which I get back when I return it.
If you don't feel like wrestling it out you'll have to take the radiator out. To do that you have to take the upper support bar off and the grill. I was ready to do that if I had to but after a little struggle I was able to extract the shroud, fan and clutch, all at the same time. Just take your time.
If you are not going to take the radiator out you only have to take the upper radiator hose off. Once you get the shroud out, after wrestling it around the metal upper radiator tube, you might want to cut a notch in the top of the shroud, for the radiator tube, to make installation and disassembly, if this happens again, easier. I did this and it went on really easy.
Remove the bottom tranny lines. Mine were in the way when I tried to lift everything out at the same time. You get a little more room that way. You need every 1/8" you can get when you don't remove the radiator.
I saw what the solution for this would be to make it much easier. Obviously the engineers didn't think this would be an issue. (They didn't think the clutch would ever go bad, ever?) I thought about doing this once everything was out but decided against it. What is needed here is a two section shroud: an upper and lower. If you could remove just the upper part, the fan and clutch would come straight up and out. You wouldn't have to disconnect the tranny lines. I was going to cut my shroud in half and then clip the two sections back together upon re-assembly. If this happens again I just might do that.
As for the power loss. I didn't notice any power loss. I could pass and upshift without a problem. It just made an awful lot of noise. Maybe it's just an illusion when you hear the roar, you think you should be going faster. I don't know.
Bearcat
09-22-2006, 06:17 PM
Sure beats sounding like I have a Pratt & Whitney under the hood....though...that'd be cool... :undecided
Pratt & Whitney's were prone to stalling, and caused pilots innumerable problems in the F-14 airplane. Hell, a stall killed Goose in Top Gun. You really wish you had a GE under the hood. BTW, today marks the retirment of the F-14 ffrom active service. Sad, sad day indeed. :( :mad: :cry:
rbarrios
09-22-2006, 06:25 PM
yeah I felt the 'power loss'
the 1st time I heard my fan fully engage... I thought it was a SEMI accerelating in low gears next to me... I even turned to look at the SEMI... but there was none there- as I was on small bridge in the middle of nowhere in Mexico- the bridge was being repaired and only 1 lane was being used- BIG backup- once It was my turn to cross, as I accelerated, the loud sound was ME- the sound was bouncing off the side of the bridges guardrail...
ehall0527
09-22-2006, 09:28 PM
Well I'll make sure once I graduate from my Mechanical Engineering program and start designing things, I'll take your complaints into consideration. :D
jimmyjam
09-23-2006, 12:02 AM
maybe i was just lucky, but replacing mine didn't seem that hard at all. 1. remove the top radiator hose (drain the radiator first if you wish) 2. unscrew the clutch with the clutch tool (you may need to unscrew the fan bolts to get clearance) 3. unbolt the fan shroud and unclip the tranny piping. 4. yank it up towards you. 5. steps 4-1 in reverse. took me maybe two hours and that included a couple of beer breaks. i would not recommend removing the radiator or tranny lines. its not necessary, there is enough play with the trans piping for you to do the deed with them connected.
tblazed
09-23-2006, 10:40 AM
Mine wasn't all that bad either. Took me a little over an hour. Also unhook the rubber splash shields from the lower sides of the fan shroud before you lift it up. All I removed from the radiator support was two bolts in the center which allowed the radiator to move forward a bit, and loosened the fan-to-clutch bolts most of the way which gave a little more working room. If you take the fan-to-clutch bolts completely out there is a good chance of dropping the clutch against the radiator, have heard of resulting radiator damage from trying to do it that way. I bent the corner of the shroud a little to get it around the radiator neck. Then it all lifted out. Went back in easier than it came out.
Ed Blown Vert
09-28-2006, 05:41 PM
Good info, my fan clutch is in the mail and I will be tackling this soon.
Crashola
10-13-2006, 12:47 PM
You shouldn't have to remove the radiator. In fact, you shouldn't even have to remove the shroud. After struggling mightily to remove the shroud and fan, we decided to just unbolt the fan from the clutch while it was still inside the shroud. It still took some maneuvering of the shroud to make room to pull out the old clutch to come out, it was a heck of a lot less work than trying to take the whole fan-shroud combination out of the engine compartment. One caveat -- you need to be careful when removing the old clutch so it doesn't bang up the cooling fins on the radiator.
jon-t
10-15-2006, 05:01 PM
Hey guys, I have a '03 xl every time I idle for about 5 minutes and take off the motor suddenly sounds like a damn airplane taking off, but I rev the motor up to about 4,000 rpm and hold it there for about 30 seconds the noise goes away until I idle again, I think its the fan clutch any ideas? Would really appreciate any feedback.
MikeLTZ
10-15-2006, 05:54 PM
Hey guys, I have a '03 xl every time I idle for about 5 minutes and take off the motor suddenly sounds like a damn airplane taking off, but I rev the motor up to about 4,000 rpm and hold it there for about 30 seconds the noise goes away until I idle again, I think its the fan clutch any ideas? Would really appreciate any feedback.
Yes its the fan clutch. When mine was broken if i revved out the motor a few times it would "unlock" and the motor would be normal for about 5 mins. Then slowley you would hear the "airplane" noise.
ScarabEpic22
10-15-2006, 08:55 PM
Hey guys, I have a '03 xl every time I idle for about 5 minutes and take off the motor suddenly sounds like a damn airplane taking off, but I rev the motor up to about 4,000 rpm and hold it there for about 30 seconds the noise goes away until I idle again, I think its the fan clutch any ideas? Would really appreciate any feedback.
Its the fan clutch. Replace it and if your Voy doesnt have the newest engine cal (probably not), have the dealer flash it and make sure they upgrade to the cal with the fan clutch fix in it.
jon-t
10-15-2006, 11:01 PM
Thanks alot guys for the info, I purchased the extended warranty it should be covered by it right?
mikeb33
10-16-2006, 08:36 AM
Has anybody just removed the fan and put an electric fan on?
ScarabEpic22
10-16-2006, 04:28 PM
Has anybody just removed the fan and put an electric fan on?
Yea, there are a few I6 guys that have tried, but since the PCM throws a SES and REP lights, you cant go anywhere fast. EFILive and HPTuners cant pull the SES code from the I6 PCM yet, once they can I will probably be in line for an efan as Im sick of my airplane taking off when I start my TB in the morning.:mad:
Air Defender
10-25-2006, 09:00 PM
I just replaced my Fan Clutch with a new one purchased on Ebay. If you live near an Advance Auto Parts they will lend/rent a tool kit to you. In essence you pay the purchase price and then return for a full refund. The kit had a wrench large enough to hold the water pump hub/pulley and a wrench for the clutch itself. Follow the directions and wear gloves, I didn't and of course slipped and cut my hands up a few times.
The new clutch is on and runs (or doesn't run, shuts off) great, no PCM flash required.