First of all, many thanks to Ravenhurst for his excellent guide to removing the water pump on a 2000 Blazer (in DIY section of this forum). Mine came off smoothly, helped by the fact that none of the bolts were seized, which was a first ! Just hope the new pump goes on as easily when it arrives...

I couldn't get hold of the special tool which the article recommended for removing the fan clutch, so I had to improvise, and I thought I'd share the tip in case anyone was struggling. Ravenhurst rightly recommended removing the little pulley wheel that sits above the waterpump to give easier access to the fan clutch and waterpump. I did remove it, but AFTER I had loosened the fan clutch, as I found that if I jammed a V-shaped wedge of wood between the waterpump pulley and the little pulley above it (so that the wedge was being forced between the two wheels when I put pressure on wrench I was using to unscrew the fan clutch (anticlockwise)), it held the water pump pulley sufficiently for me to unscrew the fan clutch. Phew, that was a mouthful (as the actress said to the bishop) !

Maybe I'm teaching everyone to suck eggs here, and maybe I was lucky in that my fan clutch wasn't too tight, but I thought I'd share this tip in case it helps anyone out.

Cheers
Lee

 

Good tip and yep sometimes that works. Your fan clutch was probably properly torqued and your method should usually work. I spent an hour trying different ways of holding the water pump pulley when I did mine, and after a few bloody knuckles and some curse words, I took a ride to Napa and picked up the correct tool. Made life all good again.

 

Glad to hear you got your fan clutch off in the end. I think I'll invest in the proper tool if I have to do it again, as my method didn't work as well when I came to re-install it.

Been looking at a few prices of parts in the US and it must be so much easier (and cheaper) to run one of these cars over there when you've got easy access to places like Rock Auto. The cheapest I managed to get a waterpump for in the UK was £69 plus shipping. That's about $114, which is way more than Rock Auto are quoting. They will ship direct to the UK, but the shipping charges are very expensive, so it isn't really worth it.

Cheers
Lee

 

yah shipping is a bore! i allways suggest a chain clamp and a big mac truck style wrench! makes the whole thang way easier! cheerio!

 

I've always used a hammer and a wrench, forget what size off hand. Probably not the ideal way but I've had it off and on a dozen times and no ill effects. Leave the serpentine belt on and give it one sharp blow to loosen it and same to tighten it back up.