billball

Ok, I'm confused. I went to Autozone and got the two piece wrench set (one to hold the pulley and the other to turn the large nut on the pump shaft). The confusion is which way do I turn the wrench? I have been trying to loosen it by trying to turn it clockwise. It won't budge. I even hit it with a hammer. Am I trying to turn it the wrong way? There seems to be a lot of confusion out there on which way the nut turns. I can't believe it could be that tight. The parts store man told me that a lot of people just use the wrench on the nut and whack it with a hammer, and the shock knocks it loose, without trying to hold that big wrench on those four pulley bolts. (horrible design)

sdmartin65

Look at the threads on the new water pump. Pretty sure it is a reverse thread

billball

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not replacing the water pump, as it was replaced a number of years ago. The shaft doesn't have any play, and the pump isn't leaking. Hopefully the previous owner replaced it with a non A.Z. part. Anyway, I'm just trying to replace this really noisy clutch, (bearings). Trying to hold that pulley still with that big wrench is really tough, because it slips off those four bolts really easily. This is one of Ford's better ideas, but it's not. Does anybody know a better way to hold that pulley tight? You can't even take the fan blades off to get them out of the way, so there are obstacles, but mechanics obviously have to have a way of getting it loose. Help !

5Rangers

I know it sounds like a pain in the ****. Maybe the radiator and shroud should come out for better access. I have never had to replace my fan clutch or water so Im taking a stab. I detest working in that small space, sometimes I just think about taking it all out. Even the core support.

The Haynes manual shines alot of light on it when it says: "Note: On some models the nut is turned counterclockwise to loosen, bit on others it's turned clockwise."

NICE!!!

ManSam91

When I did mine I had to take the water pump off with the fan still on in order to have enough room to bust the thing loose. Good thing I was replacing the water pump anyways just to be safe.

2000MTZ

iTrader: (1)

its regular threaded, lefty loosey. I couldnt get mine off with a wrench so i used an air chisel to bump it loose then spin it off

billball

Hi guys, Well, after reading one place that it was left handed and others saying it's right handed thread, I thought I'd go down and try to break it loose again. Boy, did I feel stupid. You know how when you look at something many times, you tend to not see it? Well, underneath where it says "caution" on the fan shroud, it says "Fan clutch is right handed thread". Oh boy, no wonder I was frustrated when trying to remove it. I put the two clutch wrenches on, and I struck the wrench several times with a hammer (counterclockwise this time), and voila, I felt that familiar "give" as the nut loosened. I unscrewed the nut, and off came the fan and clutch assembly. I gently lowered it, (being careful not to come in contact with the radiator fins), and when it was resting on the frame I climbed under and easily pulled it out from the bottom. I have a manual transmission, so maybe the automatics would have cooler lines down there..not sure. I didn't have to remove the serpentine belt, the shroud, hose, or anything. It appears that most of the silicone from inside has leaked out, and the bearing in the clutch is definitely worn out, and after I unbolted the fan from it, I cleaned all the silicone that had leaked out onto the fan blades. The fan is solid, and in perfect condition, but if I had left this 23 yr old clutch much longer, it may have torn up the bearing in the water pump, or maybe have come apart? (Not sure if that happens) I don't understand why some of the 4.9's have left and some have right, but it can certainly cause aggravation. Hopefully, all the shrouds tell which threads the clutch has. I figured maybe someone else would benefit from this, so I felt I should describe the procedure. The new clutch is $32.00, so if I had done it correctly to begin with, this would have been a fairly simple and inexpensive repair. Thanks to all.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

All v-belt fan clutches are reverse thread, all serpentine belt fan clutches are standard thread, so the thing doesn't unscrew with the engine running.