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Ford Explorer Community - Maintenance - Modifications - Performance Upgrades - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street
Explorer Forum Covers the Explorer ST, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Lincoln Aviator, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Ford Aerostar
Need some advice. Have to take the fan clutch off the waterpump. I rented the 36mm (1 7/16) Fan Clutch removal tool from Autozone, but it's too big for the clutch nut, which looks like its about 1/16" smaller, or: 34-35mm or 1 3/8". I can't find a 1 3/8" wrench thin enough to fit in there.
Could it be as simple as my Autozone loan-a-tool 36mm wrench is widened up/splayed?
One of these things is not like the other... one of these things just doesn't belong
Or: Not all cheap Chinese wrenches are created equal.
Found success at Pepboys of all places, where they had several "36mm" fan clutch wrenches for sale. I noticed that not all of them were the same size, so I purchased the "smallest" one, and what do you know, but I had my fan clutch off in less than 5 minutes.
Just so people know about this for the future:
Success: Pep Boys "Performance Tool" P/N: W80585
Measures out to a hair below 1 3/8" inches.
Failure: Autozone "OEM" P/N: 27018 (From their loan-a-tool program).
Measures out to 1 9/16" at the opening of the wrench, and tapers down to 1 1/2". This wasn't just the 1st wrench I rented, I went to a second Autozone and found the same thing.
However, for holding the 4 nuts on the water pump pulley, I used the 72mm holder from the Autozone "OEM: P/N 27141 Loan-a-tool kit.
For reference, pull the wrench on the fan clutch to the passenger side while holding the pulley stationary to loosen it up.
Photo 1 is a comparison of the two wrench heads
Photo 2 is of the wrenches
Photo 3 is of the pulley holder
Thanks for the info. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone looking for a 34.9MM clutch nut tool. I rented two different fan clutch removal tool kits from Autozone and neither one had the right size wrench. I still think the nut is actually 1 3/8" (34.9 MM) and not the standard 36 MM that everyone sells and rents and you just got lucky when you found a 36MM that was actually closer to 35 MM or 1 3/8".
Never the less, my hat's off to you for figuring a way out of this.
Funny thing about all this is that I've had to replace the radiator in my '86 Bronco II with a similar clutch assembly twice and I never used a special tool to get the fan clutch nut loose. I guess there was enough clearance to use "gasp" channel locks. I hate doing this but I guess I was probably trying to do this on a Sunday afternoon after everything was closed.
What really torques me is how they (Ford Engineers) designed the Radiator-A/C Condenser as an assembly that has to be removed in one piece after disconnecting the Freon lines and losing all of the refrigerant. What a crock. Before I put this thing back together I plan on fabricating a bracket to mount the A/C Condenser separately so that the Radiator can be removed by itself without disconnecting the Freon lines.
Take care,
Dannyb
What really torques me is how they (Ford Engineers) designed the Radiator-A/C Condenser as an assembly that has to be removed in one piece after disconnecting the Freon lines and losing all of the refrigerant. What a crock. Before I put this thing back together I plan on fabricating a bracket to mount the A/C Condenser separately so that the Radiator can be removed by itself without disconnecting the Freon lines.
Take care,
Dannyb
The radiator will come unclipped from the condenser without having to remove them both. Unclip the radiator on the passenger side bottom and then slide it towards the driver's side while holding the condenser in place. It'll take a little work, but saves time and money over cracking the A/c lines open.
Thanks man, I realized this only after I had removed everything as an assembly and was able to see how it went together. It still looks like it would be extremely difficult to do given the limited space that you have to work with. Anyway, I solved this problem for future radiator removal by mounting the A/C Condenser so that it is self supporting and not attached to the radiator. I don't think the replacement radiator will last 95000 Miles like the original so this should allow for a much easier replacement procedure. In my opinion, it shoulda been done like this to begin with.
Thanks,
Dannyb
Thanks for the info. I thought I was in the Twilight Zone looking for a 34.9MM clutch nut tool. I rented two different fan clutch removal tool kits from Autozone and neither one had the right size wrench. I still think the nut is actually 1 3/8" (34.9 MM) and not the standard 36 MM that everyone sells and rents and you just got lucky when you found a 36MM that was actually closer to 35 MM or 1 3/8".
Never the less, my hat's off to you for figuring a way out of this.
Old thread, but I'll just try to fill in some blanks. I rented the "OEM" brand 27018 from Autozone too. The size stamped on the wrench is "1-7/16" (36mm)", which implies it was designed to be 1-7/16", not 36mm. 1-7/16" = 36.5125mm and sure enough, when I took a caliper to it, it came out to 36.5mm. My wrench wasn't tapered like the first pic, it was 36.5mm throughout and it got the job done, I guess the nut wasn't on too tight. My caliper to the fan nut measured a cat hair over 35mm. Not sure if a 1-3/8" wrench would fit, since that = 34.925mm. My guess is you need an actual 35mm wrench, since every bolt & nut I have come to in my Ex is metric anyway.
The one thing I liked about the "OEM" kit was that the pully wrench was full length too (they must have upgraded it since V8BoatBuilder got his - also maybe got rid of that taper). You can hand tighten the fan nut without using a 1/2" wrench. Those shorty stub pully wrenches look like a PITA.
I was planning on keeping the OEM 27018 for the $25 loan deposit, but I returned it. I see the Performance Tool W80585 is $15 online. Upshot: if you work on Ford radiator fans often and want the best, get the W80585 for the fan nut wrench and the 27018 for the full length pully wrench.
Need some advice. Have to take the fan clutch off the waterpump. I rented the 36mm (1 7/16) Fan Clutch removal tool from Autozone, but it's too big for the clutch nut, which looks like its about 1/16" smaller, or: 34-35mm or 1 3/8". I can't find a 1 3/8" wrench thin enough to fit in there.
Could it be as simple as my Autozone loan-a-tool 36mm wrench is widened up/splayed?
havent had to do an explorer, but for fan clutches instead of breaking my knuckles when it finally frees up , i leave the belt on (this holds it a little) and give a quick tap or 2 with an air hammer ( just line up on the corner of the fan clutch nut).
with the air hammer , if it does not break free right away dont go nuts with the air hammer (unless you are replacing your water pump) it hasnt damaged a water pump for me but i would guess that if you lay on it with an air hammer you could damage the pump
but the ones i have dont (alot on ford and chevy trucks) they break free pretty quick
I was able to get this done the other day very easily...once I had the correct tools. All I needed was the wrench set and an extra pair of hands. So I am now on my way to striping the rest of it down.
If you are just doing this once, it's not something to stress about. Just go to your local auto store and rent whatever wrench they have and see if it works and if it doesn't, return it and try the next store.
The "OEM" brand that Autozone carries runs loose. For V8BoatBuilder, it was too loose to work. For me, it was loose, but snug enough to get the fan nut on and off. The "Performance Tool" brand that Pep Boys sells fits better. So, if you have a choice between the 2 stores, go to Pep Boys.
If you are just doing this once, it's not something to stress about. Just go to your local auto store and rent whatever wrench they have and see if it works and if it doesn't, return it and try the next store.
The "OEM" brand that Autozone carries runs loose. For V8BoatBuilder, it was too loose to work. For me, it was loose, but snug enough to get the fan nut on and off. The "Performance Tool" brand that Pep Boys sells fits better. So, if you have a choice between the 2 stores, go to Pep Boys.
I pulled the fan this weekend in my 2001 Ford Explorer as part of a radiator replacement and had good luck with Powerbuilt Kit 34. I rented it from Advance Auto Parts. The correct size wrench is 36 MM. However, this is not a standard looking wrench. Advance let me try it real quick in their parking lot before I rented it to make sure it would fit. I told them about problems others encountered with different wrench sets and they let me try it. When I returned it the next day another store associate who wasn't there the day before said that these wrenches wear out all the time after repeated rental use. I never even brought it up when I returned it, he just mentioned it. Here are some other sources for the wrench set:
i'am going to pep boys. thanks ya'all.
