Pretty much need help doing exactly what the title says. Our second rate mechanic refused to put them in after overcharging us to replace it under warranty, so now when it needs to come out again, we cant do it the easy way. Ive tried holding the pulley, ive tried hitting it with a hammer to knock it loose, and nothing. Anyone else run into the same problem or have a solution? Anything is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

without the proper fan clutch wrenchset...I use an air hammer with a long chisel bit. I give it quick shot to create a groove on the edge of the aluminium fan nut. place the chisel into the groove but angle the chisel outward so the nut will turn c-clockwise when you hit it....give it another hit to loosen the nut. the fan then can be spun off by hand.

 

Well we have the fan clutch wrenchset, but our mechanic didnt put the bolts in that the wrenchset grabs on to, so any time we try and turn it counterclockwise, it turns the pulley too instead of loosening. Do you think if we keep knocking the wrench with a hammer itll eventually break free?

 

Got it off! I tried what i said earlier with the hitting it with a hammer, and it still didnt work. What i ended up doing was putting 4 of my own screws in the spot by maneuvering them behind the fan. It took a bit of patience to get the wrench to lock, but it worked! I hope anyone else who has this problem can solve it too. It never hurts to have 1000 solutions for one problem.

 

just so ya know, the mechanic didn't leave anything off the water pump pulley... the proper holding wrench tabs fit into the holes...there are no bolts for this application. you didn't have the proper tool...not mechanics fault.

 

lots of things I don't understand about the original post, but yea I wouldn't put anything there because theres not supposed to be bolts there, I don't get how you got charged if it was warranty?

 

I thought the 5.3L and 6.0L motors use the pressed-on water pump pulley -- and uses a pin-wrench to hold the water pump hub, and the older 5.7L engines used the bolted-on water pump pulley -- and uses a hole-wrench? Isn't that right?


[Edited Post to correct from reading "crankshaft" to correctly read "water pump"]

 

all crankshaft pulleys are bolted on? but yes they are pressed on first not sure what a hole wrench is

 

Ooops, I realized what I had typed. Said crankshaft pulley, meant water pump pulley, my error. Thanks.


Edited post above.

 

Some engines (GM 5.7L) use a water pump that the water pump pulley bolts to the water pump hub, other engines (GM 6.0L, 5.3L, etc.) use a water pump that has the water pump pulley only pressed onto the water pump hub.


To hold the bolt-on water pump pulley, and hold the water pump hub, there are wrenches that are essentially a flat bar with holes a diameter larger than the head of the fasteners through the water pump pulley into the water pump hub. The wrench is placed over the bolt heads to hold the hub from rotating whilst the fan clutch is turned off with a large open-end wrench.


To hold press-on water pump pulley, and hold the water pump hub, there are wrenches that are essentially a flat bar with two round pins protruding from the side that are small enough to fit through the water pump pulley into the water pump hub. The wrench is placed with the pins inside the holes of the hub to hold it from rotating whilst the fan clutch is turned off with a large open-end wrench.


The wrench with the pins protruding is usually called a pin-wrench, pin-spanner, or lug-spanner.


The wrench with just holes through it is sometimes called a hole-wrench or stud-spanner. Maybe there are other common names for this sort of tool that I am unfamiliar with.


I will attach a photograph of the hole-wrench below. The image shows both the hole-wrench and the open-end wrench used to remove the large screw on style fan/clutch assemblies.


(Image courtesy of KTC)