How does one get the clutch/fan assembly nut off to get at water pump? I have spray it numerous times. Tonite, I was going to put a torch on it to try to break it free. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

It's been a long while since I did that job but if memory serves me correctly, you'll need to do at least the following:

1) get fan clutch removal kit from Autozone (buy it, then return, free tool usage). When I did it, they did not have a kit specifically for a Chevy, but they had a universal kit, which was close enough for my purposes.
2) use a wide wrench to hold the WP pulley bolts and a wrench on the fan clutch nut. The fan clutch nut is LH thread (so lefty tighty, righty loosy in this case). It will be on tight but you should be able to spin off the fan clutch eventually.
3) Once the fan clutch is off the rest of the water pump job is pretty straightforward.
Good Luck.

 

Thank you. My last resort was to attempt to break the nut off righty loosey! I was wondering if it was a left handed nut.

 

got the fan/clutch assembly off last night. It was a RH thread though. I appreciate your help. thankyou

 

For future refrence; use a vise grip chain clamp and a 1 1/2" huge wrench. just be carefull not to mar up the pulley surface. Also autozone will loan you tools for a deposit of the price on alot of tools. I personally banged my knuckles up more trying to get a universal fan clutch wrentch set to work. resorted to the tried and true! hope it helps!

 

ugh, I had such a hard time with this on mine I ended up just getting my saws-all and going to town

 

I almost resorted to a sawsall also! I hope I tightened it enough when I put it all back together. Started fine; running hot - I'm hoping pockets of air. I was wondering , how does a pro get car up to operating temperature, open radiator, and refill it? I would think these guys would get scaulded daily! I open it up after at least 3 hours later! Thanks for all replies.

 

richjoe,

Now that you have confirmed it, I do remember that the nut was RH thread. I had an old Ford Ranger and that one was definately a LH thread. Glad you got it off.

As far as opening up the radiator hot, it's not that hard, just use a thick towel as a protector pad between you and the cap, crack the cap to release the pressure then open her up. If she's topped up, some coolant will leak out but not that much. If she's low, nothing will come out. In order to top her up, park with the engine raised uphill (or elevate the front end) and with the engine running, fill her up slowly, revving the throttle occasionally to suck the fluid into the engine block. Eventually you'll have her topped off, then close the cap. At this point she'll be overfilled a little, but the excess will be pushed into the overflow container once you are back to level. The key is to make sure that you are at operating temperature and the heater core is circulating coolant (turn the fan switch to HIGH) to make sure she's blowing hot air. Filling in this manner also alleviates the "gurgling" sound often heard in Blazers when the fluid is low, especially when coolant is being lost into the oil due to a blown Intake manifold gasket.

 

Thanks again! I am leaning to switch out the thermostat (original). I am not expecting any problems; or should I?

 

Should have no surprises or problems there, it's very straightforward.