I'm getting ready to install my electric fan is there anything i need to know i've done this on several other classic cars so it's not a mystery to me just wondering a few things, is the big nut behind the fan left or right hand thread, does the shroud have to come off,does the belt have to come off, does the big nut get removed from fan and reinstalled on the pulley,and in the manual it says to drain the coolant is there any way around this i'm not sure why u would have to unless the shroud is around the hose and the shroud has to be romoved.

Thanks, Ken

 

I know some of you guys have done this already. anything to add?

 

You don't need to drain the coolant or remove the belt. The nut is attached to the fan so you don't have to put it back on. You will have a little stub with threads on it sticking out from the pulley. You just have to make sure you keep the pulley from moving to get the nut loose. Here is some pictures of what I did to loosen the nut. I used vise grips and a big adjustable wrench. You may have to smack the wrench with a hammer to break the nut loose.

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I made a cheap tool specifically for removing clutch fans, costs just a couple of bucks at Home Depot/Lowe's. To get everything prepared you need to do more steps than just grabbing the pulley with a pair of vice grips, but you won't gouge the pulley this way.

1) Buyone 4' length of 1/2" wide x 1/8" thick steelbar - there is usually a rack by the hardware aisle with misc lengths/types of bars. This should only cost about a buck or two at most.
2) Buy one 1/4" x ~1.5" bolt. Make sure it's the type where the threads run the whole length of the bolt. You may be able to substitute 1" or 1.25" length if necessary.
3) Buy one nylock nut for the bolt.
4) Drill a hole at the end of the bar for the bolt - run it through and tighten the nut. You'll now have a 1/2" wide bar with a bolt through it, kinda like a 2x4 with a nail sticking out.
5) Get a wrench that's big enough for the fan bolt. If you don't have one, you can rent a clutch fan wrench kit for free from Autozone - just have to leave a deposit while you're using it.
6) The back of the fan pulley has a few holes - take the homemade tool and slip the protruding bolt into one of these holes. Swing the tool over to the driver's side fender (put a rag between tool & fender to prevent scratches), then rotate the fan until the steel bar gets wedged in place and prevents the pulley from rotating anymore.
7) Now that the pulley is locked up, use the clutch fan wrench to loosen the fan bolt - give it a good whack with a hammer or rubber mallet if you need to in order to get it started.

It's easier than it sounds... Once you have the tool & get used to how it works you can pop off fans in 5 seconds flat without scratching anything.

 

Didn't do any damage to my pulley with the vise grips. You can cover the jaws with a rag if your that worried about it.

 

Thanks guys like i said i've done this before on older cars just wasn't sure of some of the things now i wont waste time doing things that don't have to be done. Thanks again