removing engine shrowd, need help! Options

[shaggy]

i have taken off the front portion of the shrowd
showing the alternater and the impeller(more)
had to scrap the belt though (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/dry.gif)
tried to coax it off but wouldnt go...

so now i have the front off but i cant get the back off
i can see no bolts on the face of the back plate
looking behind it i can see two thingies coming off the back that attach to what i think is the block

but i cant figure how to get it off

i need to get it off to get to the oil cooler so i can replace my oil filter assembly

so how do i get it off?

[Dave_Darling]

Haynes actually isn't very helpful on this particular task--IIRC, it says to remove the front half of the shroud, then the fan, then the rear half. Which you don't have to do.

Remove the fan. There are three bolts near the center of the fan; remove them. Hold the fan still with one hand, or if the spark plugs are still in and you have decent compression--or if the engine is still in the car, put the transmission in gear and set the handbrake HARD. You can loosen the bolts with one hand, if you can keep the socket on the bolts. (Or in the bolt heads, if they are "triple square" bolts like the CV joints use.) Or get a buddy to hold the fan for you.

You can use a screwdriver through the timing hole in the top of the fan shroud to keep the fan from turning. This is definitely more risky than holding the fan, but if you're careful to keep the screwdriver near the back of the fan blades the risk of breaking them is significantly less.

Anyway, once those three bolts are removed, you start rocking the fan back and forth. It can take some work, but it should eventually loosen up and pull off of the fan hub. Then you should see the four nuts that hold the back half of the fan shroud onto the crankcase. Next time, you should remember that you don't have to remove the front half of the shroud--just the fan. And unhook the oil cooler bracket and a few other bits, too...

--DD