Fan clutch - cant break nut

[mdl76]

Trying to replace the water pump....
What a byach... Ive held the belts to keep the pulley tight and smacked the crap out of the 32mm nut with a hammer and she will not budge.

will a pulley holder make this a lot easier? I wonder is Murrays auto parts lones them out. Ive sent over a hour on this thing with no luck. Am I doomed to buying a $40 holder Ill use 1x every 3 years?

whats your guys experience with this?

[bmwpower]

With the correct pulley holder and 32 mm thin wrench it takes under a minute...literally.

[mdl76]

do I need to order the holder or I wonder if I can rent one somewhere...

do i need to use the bmw part number one?

i can not believe the time its taken me, i feel like a bafoon

[asubimmer]

no need for the pulley holder. You are goin about it wrong. If you have your 32mm wrench at like 1:00 instead of parallel to the ground and give it a few good hits then it will come off. Just the belt should be enough for the waterpump not to turn when the wrench is at about 1:00. Also remember its threaded backwards ;)

[silverblades181]

Are you hitting it clockwise?

[bmwpower]

no need for the pulley holder. You are goin about it wrong. If you have your 32mm wrench at like 1:00 instead of parallel to the ground and give it a few good hits then it will come off. Just the belt should be enough for the waterpump not to turn when the wrench is at about 1:00. Also remember its threaded backwards ;)

The belt has always slipped for me.

[bmwpower]

do I need to order the holder or I wonder if I can rent one somewhere...

do i need to use the bmw part number one?

i can not believe the time its taken me, i feel like a bafoon

No need. I believe mine is a knockoff of some type, but it works fine.

I would look for the set (wrench(s) and holder). They're on eBay for ~$40.

[vitesse]

As two others have said, it is threaded backwards. You need to be turning it clockwise to loosen it. Get a large wrench, set it at the 12 o'clock position, get a heavy hammer, and give it a good wack until it comes loose. If it doesn't come loose, I use an air hammer here int he shop with a bit and catch it on the very edge until it breaks loose.

When you put it back together you dont need to tighten the fan down, just spin it until it is all the way on and wont spin anymore by hand. The engine with tighten it when it starts it the first time afterwards.

[asubimmer]

The belt has always slipped for me.
then you are holding the wrench too flat ;)

[mdl76]

If it doesn't come loose, I use an air hammer here int he shop with a bit and catch it on the very edge until it breaks loose.


Awesome info... I know that will work if all else fails. (Air tools rule.)

I am going to go to the auto parts store to see what they got.

Im hitting it clockwise. but I guess its never been changed. Or if it was they locktited it in :mad:

Ill let you all know how it goes.

[gearheadE30]

I used a pipewrench to grab the pully. It was quite effective, but be careful not to gouge it up too badly.

[tjts1]

Make sure you are turning it the opposite direction of a regular nut. Righty loosly , lefty tighty.

[vitesse]

Im hitting it clockwise. but I guess its never been changed. Or if it was they locktited it in :mad:

It probably hasn't been taken off in quite a while, and whacking it on tight will make it very difficult to remove the next time. just spin it on by hand until it stop and its on tight enough heh.

[mdl76]

GOT IT!! after looking everywhere for a pulley holder with no luck... I unscrewed the pulley bolts and put in 4 bolts of the same thread but only 3/4 inch longer. Since I was replaceing the whole pump I di not care if I scuffed up the old pump housing. gave the wrench a good smack and she came off.... but man it was on there tight. the fan clutch is dated 2001 so when that was replaced they may have tighten it a bit much.

Saved me $40 and the 4 day wait to buy the tool.

[vitesse]

good to hear!

[KhmerMafia781]

Trying to replace the water pump....
What a byach... Ive held the belts to keep the pulley tight and smacked the crap out of the 32mm nut with a hammer and she will not budge.

will a pulley holder make this a lot easier? I wonder is Murrays auto parts lones them out. Ive sent over a hour on this thing with no luck. Am I doomed to buying a $40 holder Ill use 1x every 3 years?

whats your guys experience with this?

i had the same problem trying to get to the water pump that nut connect to the fan clutch u have to tighting it to remove it lefty loosey right tighty
somehow moving the nut to the left doesn'y loose that nut u have to turn it clockwise

[nicknikolovski]

yeah its left hand thread

[pwforprez]

i got that tool from a friend it was great

[josephb983]

I just did this job a couple days ago. I used a 32mm bicycle head wrench for $17 from a bike shop, so no wait for the tool. I'd tried to use other types of wrenches I have, including an adjustable wrench that fit in there with no success, the belts just turned. The key is it has to have no play in the wrench, so all force is delivered directly to the clutch nut. First I soaked the clutch nut overnight in Deep Creep. I then hit the head wrench with a 4lb sledge hammer (reverse thread, clockwise). Two hits and the clutch was loose, then I spun the fan to loosen the rest of the way. Fed the fan blades/clutch out through the bottom of the car (might need to jack it up a little to get it out). Whole job = 5 minutes. :)