Fan Removal Help / Engine Mystery

[maxman]

Hello!

As part of my '82 SC engine cleaning project, I have two questions:

(1) What is the procedure for removing the fan? I would like to get it out of there to polish or perhaps paint. I searched the threads and didn't find much advice on the actual removal.

(2) What is this crap and how do I get it off my motor? I went at it pretty hard with simple green and scrubbing, with little to no progress. Any ideas?



Thanks guys!

~Max

[Flat6pac]

The 82 alternator has an 8mm allen recess in the middle of the alternator shaft. I put the 8mm allen socket on and tap it with the air chisel. Pulling against the fan it should slip right off..but then last month I couldnt get the fan off a 78.
The allen and air chisel with the point has always worked for me.
Bruce

[James Brown]

(2) 28+ years of harsh road grime, salts, water+heat=corrosion. And might be some cosmoline and/or tar. You need a bigger tool than just simple green. Soda blasting works good but remove the engine first, the soda will corrode copper wires and it gets everywhere.
(1) removal of the fan is easy (sometimes) with a Bently manual on your lap. might come off when you take the belt off and might not. removing the fan strap and removing some covers on the rear and removing the alt. wires will remove the whole assembly. Check out John Walker's post on how to remove the fan from the alt. good stuff.

[jwasbury]

My fan seems to get pressed onto the alternator shaft very tightly, so I use my gear/pulley puller to get the fan off. I fish some pieces of coat hanger wire through the holes in the fan pulley area (circled in red in this picture)

which gives my puller's arms something to grab onto. I've also read here that some folks will tap and thread a couple of these holes so that you can screw a bolt in and push the fan off of the alternator shaft.

[47silver]

i use an 8 inch long piece of 6" pvc pipe
lay it on the concrete
put some rags in the bottom
and then drop the alternator into the hole making sure the sides of the fan (not the blades) hits the pipe and it will fall right off, may take a couple of drops.
i had mine off last summer 10 times... so beleive me this works.

[boyt911sc]

Max,

This was taken 2 days ago when I decided to pull the alternator out and give it some cleaning before the motor goes back into the car.



To get the alternator out, do the following:
1. Loosen the 8 mm bolt on the alternator strap. You might as well loosen the alternator nut using a 22 mm socket before completely removing the 8 mm bolt.
2). Remove the metal screws on top of the alternator and other screws that hold the block-off cover or backdated heating duct if you have one these.
3). Remove alternator pulley. Take note of the number of shims behind the nut and behind the pulley. Usually there are six (6) metal shims.
4). gently pull the fan housing unit away from the fiberglas shroud to access the rear side of the alternator. Remove the 6 mm nuts (6 total). Tight access and be patient removing the nuts and washers.
5). Put some marker (see pic) before removing the air deflector. Slide the air deflector to gain access to the wiring connectors and disconnect wires. Take note of the location and wire color when you disconnect these wires. Make a diagram of the wiring for the alternator and save it. The drawing (sketch) will be very handy when you put the alternator back on the engine.
6). The alternator fan housing assembly is ready to be pulled out.



To remove the fan from the alternator housing use GRAVITY. Hold the complete assembly upside down (alternator on top and fan beneath) and gently tap the alternator shaft on a piece of wood block (set on the floor). Apply some penetrating oil on the shaft as needed. Mine just slid down after a couple of drops.



Sandbasting is a very efficient way of cleaning the alternator housing and fan. It saves you a lot of time and effort in getting very clean parts for painting. HTH.



Tony

[James Brown]

good job Tony, that's Walker approved! and how I do it. I like the bead blast look, wish it would stay like that forever.

[maxman]

Just to clarify, this can all happen with the motor in the car?

[James Brown]

yes you can take the fan/alt. out with the engine in the car.

[maxman]

Alright, great. Based on the fact that I'v never down this before, and armed with these instructions, how long should I plan for removal, and then for reinstallation.

An hour?
An afternoon?
A day?

Thanks for all you help guys. I look forward to the day when I can give back.

~Max

[James Brown]

you want to put it back????? well you marked the wires, thats good. Make sure the plastic cover is installed in the engine prior to connecting the wires (i made several attempts beforee discovering this), tighten the long bolts very carefully, don't break them, don't forget the key way in the alt. shaft prior to replacing the fan, make sure the fan housing is seated beforee tighten the fan strap, check the fan for clearance by spinning it before putting on the belt, use the 6 spacers to get the right belt tension, plan on 2 hours to R+R, don't drop any nuts in the engine!!, feel and play with the fan and the housing and marvel on how well built these things are. They do belong on a wall! (but put them back in).
A good "while your in there" is to remove the valve covers and clean and/or paint them (new gaskets/nuts), clean the shroud, it's solid color fiberglass so a little sanding and polishing will make it look new. (might do a valve adjustment also).
BTW, it never stops, you will never be done, and the smile on your face will never come off.
WARNING: once you clean one bolt, it's over so plan well......

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by maxman

Alright, great. Based on the fact that I'v never down this before, and armed with these instructions, how long should I plan for removal, and then for reinstallation.

An hour?
An afternoon?
A day?

Thanks for all you help guys. I look forward to the day when I can give back.

~Max

Max,

If you could finish this job in a day, that's great. Just take your time and enjoy the experience. Please take note and look very closely in the second pictures I have attached. It is very important that you put back the air deflector correctly and you could easily get confused if you don't have any reference point to use.

I placed a marker to remind me that two pieces meet together during re-assembly. When you install back the fan housing assembly, make sure that the guide pin under the housing is correctly positioned before tigthening the altenator housing strap bolt. Good luck.

Tony

[autobonrun]

Removing the fan doesn't take long. The first time I removed the housing and alternator it took 4 hours. The last time I did it 40 minutes. It's a good time to replace belts as well.

If you don't have a telescoping magnet, now would be a good time to get one. If you pull the alternator, disconnect the battery. It's easy to let a wrench ground out on one of the hot wires. I also like to stick a small towel under the alternator bolts to catch any that might fall. If they do however, you'll have the telescoping magnet.

I use to remove my fan every 6 months or so to polish it. I'll pull the fan and sit down on the floor during a football game and give it a once over. You can reinstall it during commercials; it's that easy. As others have said just put your shims back in place behind the pulley nut.

Lastly, don't use metal to polish your fan. See this thread on the subject. Can't believe it was 2002 I posted this.

Input from magnesium mfgr on fan polishing.

photo of polished fan and powder coated housing


engine compartment after polishing