front fan (impeller) shroud removal, is there a trick? Options

[rwilner]

My first time removing the impeller shroud...

on p 21 step 12 of Haynes, it says to remove the 3 hex bolts and 7 cheesehead screws, and the front half of the impeller housing should come off. Mine is hung up on the driver's side by the alternator.

So then it says "if it can't be readily removed", to remove the impeller and pulley. Ok, I got the 3 bolts out of the impeller (these were hex bolts for me, not "multi tooth socket head screws"). Do I now just pull the impeller and pulley off together? Does anything else have to be removed? Seems like I would have to undo the large (24mm?) bolt on the alternator to get that pulley off...

Any other tips for this?

Thanks
Rich

[bigkensteele]

Is the motor in the car? I don't know that I would even try it with the motor in. It is really easy with the motor out, and it is pretty easy to drop the motor, so you may save yourself some time in the long run.

You should only need to remove the fan from its hub on the end of the crank. After removing the 3 bolts that hold it on, you should be able to pull it right off. After you get the fan off, there are 4 nuts behind the fan that hold the fan housing to the case. Remove those, and assuming you have removed all the the cheesehead screws, the fan housing should come off.

It is easier to handle if you take off the alternator. There are two bolts/nuts - the one that it swivles on, and the one that is used to tighten the tension. Remove those, but first disconnect the air guide that goes from the fan housing to the back of the alternator. Can't remember if it is a phillips or regular screw on the clamp. Oh, and the wiring harness.

Unless you really want to do a thorough cleaning, there is not reason to separate the two halves of the fan housing (that I can think of).