I'm trying to remove the fan off the water pump on a 99 suburban. The repair manual says to remove the fan using a spanner wrench and unscrew the fan from the water pump before removing the belt. I thought that the belt would help keep the water pump from turning but when I turn the nut on the fan (behind the fan) the pulley on the water pump turns. I have nothing to hold onto to keep the water pump pulley from turning. any ideas?

 

The spanner wrench is usually for holding a pulley from turning. I think you need J-41240 and J-46406 tools to remove the fan hub nut. You can then remove the fan clutch and blade as a whole.

 

If your '99 is the same as my '97 (350), then you don't need any special tools. Use a 15mm craftsman combination wrench to jam the water pump pulley against the power steering pulley hub. Place the closed end of the wrench on one of the water pump pulley bolts at the 6:00 position. then use any large crescent wrench and a rubber mallet to knock the fan clutch loose. turn it counter clockwise as you face the engine from the front of the truck. Good luck, I hope this helps.

 

since I was only needing to remove the water pump from the engine to remove the heads, I ended up just using long extensions to remove the pump from the block and left the fan attached to the water pump. but thanks for the suggestion. I"ll have to remember that if I need to replace the water pump in the future.