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Old 09-14-2020, 06:40 PM   #1
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03E350 clutch fan install help needed.

That posted this on a couple forums praying for some advice....
Okay... As we all find out getting the water pump or clutch fan off a 7.3 E350 is a horrible nightmare... I have never done anything that caused me so much grief on a vehicle....ever and I've got some real good stories too... lol 😄
The sheer horrible engineering pissed me off SOoooo bad I've let this "Bastard son of Ford " sit 7 months before starting putting it back together today.
When I removed it all I had to remove the pump and the clutch fan together, then put a 8' steel pipe with the pump in a vice ...just to get the clutch fan off....Destroying the old pump in the process... which was unfortunate as it was brand new
The previous owners before I bought at auction, failed to put 4 bolts back into the fan blade... Guess they figured just 2 bolts would be okay , so on the third day I owned it...the fan came apart on the freeway, disintegrated and took everything in the cooling system with it...lol "Good Times that was!"🙄
Here's my question, when I took it all apart, I rented two different clutch fan removal tools none of them ever worked...No almosts, No if I get the right angle.... they just will not work on the E350. AutoZone or O'Reilly's are the two I used..each are thin steel straight wrenches.
They need to have a (dog leg) in them. They will work on an f350 etc.. But not on the Vans as the assembly is shorter, thus the giant nut is over 1 and 1/2 inches inset into the fan center housing. (Does anybody offer a dog leg tool or has anybody fabricated one? Can one be bought?)
I have everything on now, except mounting the clutch fan and fan assembly.
To do this.. there's not a lot of work room as apparently it looks like I have to have the radiator and the shroud mounted 1st otherwise there's no room for the fan & fan clutch to pass through, so instead of having ample room now you have to work completely on an angle approximately 10 in and holding a 10 lb fan assembly...
Contrary to what some say I intend on using loctite on the clutch fan but....It calls for over 80 pounds of torque I don't see any way I'll be able to tourqe it down properly ? Can it be just spun on clockwise until it's snug with loctite? (These are NOT reverse threads they are clockwise to tighten.)
I purchased all brand new Motorcraft parts... Dealer wanted over $2,700 to do this that's insane..... And the local diesel repair mechanic says he will not work on vans...lol. That right there should have been a sign...lol
Anyways anybody have any tips or advice they can throw my way it will be greatly appreciated I enjoy working on cars...but when you come across something like this it is just so utterly aggravating it really discourages you.
Any replies are welcome here or my email @daveevansinc@yahoo.com
Thanks all!

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Old 09-14-2020, 10:09 PM   #2
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Chipping hammer with a chisel on the edge of the nut works. German torque spec (Gutentite) when you put the new one on. Torque value doesn't matter much. It tightens when it spins. I've never seen anybody use loctite on a the fan clutch shaft.
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Old 09-15-2020, 02:40 PM   #3
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I got mine done at an AC shop a while ago. They made it sound like no big deal at the time, but they've obviously done this many times previously.

IIRC they used a fan clutch wrench with a slot and then a rod with an air-hammer on it. The end result is something like an impact driver, but on a flat wrench.

And I would really skip the locktite on something I was having a hard time getting apart. The thing will self tighten anyway.
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Old 09-17-2020, 01:59 PM   #4
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This video is the best way I've found to do this chore---assuming you have a pipe wrench:

I've used this and it doesn't leave horrendous marks in the attaching nut. As already said leave the serpentine belt installed and you should be good. I did have the upper half of the radiator shroud already removed because I was replacing the radiator at the same time---that helps tremendously but its not 100% necessary.

Hope this helps!

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