I have always thought the cooling fan and fan housing on my car needed a refresh, but I just didn't know how it was put together (fan, alternator & housing). On pages 61-63 of Wayne Dempsey's "101 Projects for Your Porsche 911" there is a clear explanation, so I started by tapping the bolts that were exposed when I removed the inner air duct to gain access to the alternator electrical connections:
That released the fan housing from the fan / alternator. I had already removed the nut, washer, outer pulley half and spacer shims from the front of the fan / alternator:
Then I suspended the backside of fan with some wood blocks with the backside of the alternator about 1/2 inch above the garage floor (being careful to contact the inner ring of the fan and not the fan blades - fragile, don't to break a blade and then have to buy a new fan). Then I carefully tapped on the threaded end of the alternator shaft with a rubber mallet and the alternator dropped down to the floor, releasing the fan from the alternator shaft. The alternator shaft is keyed to the fan with a woodruff key which I put in the labelled zip lock bag so I won't lose it.
Now the fan / alternator assembly is separated and I can get on with cleaning the fan and fan housing and hopefully restore their appearance:
