idosubaru Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 what's the easiest way you people have of removing the 4 10mm bolts that hold the clutch fan in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 I bought an extra long 10mm box end wrench just for that purpose I've had the best luck using a crescent wrench to hold the shaft still with my left hand, while breaking the nuts loose with the 10mm in my right hand, from the top of the engine. Can also get to them from the bottom. Depending on how tight they are, you may have to replace the 10mm wrench with some vice-grips to break them loose the first time. Usually once they're broken loose you can get them off by hand. -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 The shaft of the fan is square. I use a C-Wrench on it to hold it in place, then use a small hand wrench to loosen the bolts. Works every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 The shaft of the fan is square. I use a C-Wrench on it to hold it in place, then use a small hand wrench to loosen the bolts. Works every time. +1. I also cut the bottom of the fan shroud while I have it off so that future removals of radiator or fan are less of a pain (literally). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 well i hate to admit i've never noticed the shaft is square. i've always done it a different way, i'll refrain from explaining. i didn't even notice the one today that i removed!?!? too much XT6 in my blood. i will say i won't be reinstalling that four-letter-word thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I got a fancy box end wrench with a ratchet from autzone it was like $8 but now i don't fear taking the fan off ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 this is why I'm glad I swapped to dual electric fans. I had the same problem with my '87 coupe because they were on oober tight. a 10mm wrench with a 13mm wrench on that (poor man breaker bar) and a pair of Channel Locks and I was good to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calebz Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I got a fancy box end wrench with a ratchet from autzone it was like $8 but now i don't fear taking the fan off ever again. +1 With my aftermarket radiator, there is almost no room to between it and the fan. Long racheting wrench is the only way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy52 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I've found that getting it off is the easy part. Getting those &^(TI^^^*&^ nuts back on is a tad more difficult. Anyone have a slick way of doing it? Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quidam Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 what's the easiest way you people have of removing the 4 10mm bolts that hold the clutch fan in place? I spray the nuts with PB Blaster first and let it work. I bought a long 10 MM box wrench to clear the fan blades. Hold tension on the belt if needed and bust them loose. Ratchet wrench used here as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 this wrench and something on the shaft. I've always jammed a long screwdriver between 2 of them, having ALSO never noticed that the shaft was square. That doesn't make clutch fans any less unpleasant to remove, though. Or install. I am a dual-electric fan proponent as well.. my trick is to slot the bottom mounting holes downward, bolt the fan on a little less than snug, and then to lock the bottom fan bolts with double-nuts on the inside of the bottom brace (welding would work fine too)... that way you retain all 4 attachment points and you don't have to crawl under the car to remove the fans. aside from the 10x11mm wrench linked above, I also have the 12x14mm and the 17x19mm.. very useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somick Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 The shaft of the fan is square. I use a C-Wrench on it to hold it in place, then use a small hand wrench to loosen the bolts. Works every time. On my 92 Loyale it is size 22 - the same wrench that I use for the crank shaft nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 hmm.. my clutch fan is held on with bolts and nuts, so I need to use two wrenches.. and I have never had an issue with it at all. Had the thing off half a dozen times. My brother (PO) replaced the stock electrical fan with an aftermarket one, and at one point I replaced that with a JY stock one.. so I have an electric fan I could easily put on there.. but I have never felt it worth investing my time in. Maybe my hands are just *that* small... Thats one of the reasons I love japanese cars. I don't NEED all that space.. and these cars fit me. I am 5'8" and weigh 140 pounds. I am sized like a japanese person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I've found that getting it off is the easy part. Getting those &^(TI^^^*&^ nuts back on is a tad more difficult. Anyone have a slick way of doing it? Jon I use a small magnet extension too. I hold one edge of the nut with the magnet, then carefully place it over the stud. Then I pin it on there with my fingers and start turning. ussually they go on by hand far enough to stay till you get the wrench on em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgd73 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 clutch fan RULES. I even use it to judge cam timing. the carbs by far are the monster ea82s oem, that fan literally can shake the hood and make a wiper lift though a bad hood seal. electric fans have the same prob as an electric supercharger- they are spinning, but not all that effective.I like nature through the rad, there is an invisible static grounder that loves coolant, does not like the electric fan, anyhoo, rather than confuse the misunderstanding... I had no clue the shaft was square- I manage to keep belts on, crack them free, then go from there with half a fan shroud it is well worth the patience for that fans supreme function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 my XT6 is much nicer, i only install the top bolts in the fans, since i have no covers i can have the first timing belt off in 5 minutes. i read on here that the clutch fan isn't even necessary except for the a/c. the a/c is non-working as of yet, so i'm not installing the clutch fan back in place. i'll get to the a/c this summer, it's a friends car. thanks for the input. i used the two wrench method and managed the last one by hand. the long 10mm wrench is the way to go, clears the fan blades. thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 clutch fan RULES. I even use it to judge cam timing. the carbs by far are the monster ea82s oem, that fan literally can shake the hood and make a wiper lift though a bad hood seal. electric fans have the same prob as an electric supercharger- they are spinning, but not all that effective.I like nature through the rad, there is an invisible static grounder that loves coolant, does not like the electric fan, anyhoo, rather than confuse the misunderstanding... I had no clue the shaft was square- I manage to keep belts on, crack them free, then go from there with half a fan shroud it is well worth the patience for that fans supreme function. :confused: I have supported you and backed you up when you were getting mindlessly flamed, so I certainly hope you wont take it the wrong way when i say... What are you, on DOPE?! The rad needs air flowing over it. It doesnt matter if that air is being supplied by the motion of the car, a clutch fan, an electric fan, or a million mice all simultaneously farting on it. a small electrical motor might make some radio "noise" but thats about it, it can in NO way change the flow of ions on their way to a chassis ground. The entire fan is plastic half the time, outside of the motor!! Clutch fans make noise, (which is frequently undesirable) directly rob the engine of kinetic energy, and unfortunately fail at the least convenient time. Are Subaru fan clutches particularly bad? no, not that I have heard.. but fan clutches are mechanical, moving devices. By nature, they break. Yah, so does an electric fan. I have never in my life had an electric fan go bad on a car.. sure, im only 26 but I have certainly seen at least four or five fan clutches go out on various vehicles. Your likening of an electric fan to an electric supercharger makes me think of something.. ALOT of electric fans are one-directional... Meaning that, the design of the blade is such that it wants to spin a certain way. Since it is a DC motor, you can reverse the spin of the motor by reversing the polarity.. and my car had an aftermarket electrical fan put on it. My brother mounted it where the stock electric was, in front of the PS pump/thermostat housing. However, the fan blade was oriented to be mounted in the front. When the fan was wired in the CORRECT polarization, it moved ALOT more air than it did when it was reversed... unfortunately, it was moving that air forwards in relation to the car.. in other words, the wrong way. It was trying to push air out of the engine bay rather than suck it in. I am trying to find a way to describe this in words, and its difficult.. To re-phrase, If i want to mount THAT same fan back on my car, I would need to either A) Leave it alone, polarize it the right way (swamp the + and 0- that my brother used) and put it in front of the radiator... or take the blade off, flip it over, leave it polarized the same way it was, and mount it on the INside of the radiator. When I had the fan in my hand, and I was hooking it up to the battery charger for power.. reversing the polarity didnt just change the direction of flow... it ALSO changed the volume, because the blade was intended to rotate one way only. That being the case, i couldnt just swap the + and - to make it spin the other way.. (like my brother tried to do) I have to also remove the blade and flip IT, too.. Please, someone tell me if that made sense or not. If it didn't, I will go through it and re write this post. Okay, and back on topic.. Just for posterity's sake I will mention that I always loosen my pulley bolts BEFORE loosening the belt... and always do a final torque AFTER tightening the belt. This eliminates the need for that flat spot on the shaft, since the belt will hold your pulley immobile for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torxxx Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 heh, get it off any way you can.. if you use a 22 mm to hold the water pump shaft and a extra long 10mm wrench thats the easiest. Once you get the clutch/fan off, throw it away and rig up another electric fan. Not only does the clutch/fan sound like a helicopter, it will wear your water pump bearings out faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 11, 2007 Author Share Posted January 11, 2007 I always loosen my pulley bolts BEFORE loosening the belt... and always do a final torque AFTER tightening the belt. This eliminates the need for that flat spot on the shaft, since the belt will hold your pulley for you. that very rarely works for me. northeast rust and weather, i don't know, but i tried that. didn't even come close to busting them loose even while adding pressure to the already tightened belt. pulley just spun inside the belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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