Suggestions on removing stubborn fan clutch bolts

[flintknapper]

I went to the hardware store and got some regular stainless nuts and split washers and I'll be applying some anti-seize on reassembly.

^^^^^^^^^ Now we're talking. Never replicate the same situation that gave you trouble to begin with, FIX IT, (make it better) as you did using different hardware and anti-seize. Good job.

Anti-Seize is your friend....many places on a Land Cruiser.

 

[Heckraiser]

Two of mine rounded with a 6 point socket and I used a vice grip to turn them off. Pretty big PITA for four little nuts.

 

[whaler]

Use your strong hand.

 

[inkpot]

Just documenting my experience today, had one nut that was stuck on the water pump stud holding the fan clutch on. The first 3 came off relatively easy, although they were all slightly deformed. I used a 5 point flare nut wrench. The last nut was completely rounded off almost immediately. I hit the nut with tons of Kroil hoping it'd free it up, then I went to Harbor Freight and got some strap wrenches because I was having a hard time getting a screwdriver braced in the studs. Used the smaller strap wrench to hold the water pump pulley, braced against the AC compressor pulley then went to town on the stuck nut. Kroil seemed to do nothing, vice grips did nothing but mangle the nut even further. No matter how tight I put the vice grips on they would start sliding and cutting away metal from the nut. Went to the hardware store and picked up a metal chisel and started trying to back it off with the chisel and a mallet. The chisel dug in a little too well and was cutting off chunks of the nut with my pounding, so instead I quit pounding with the chisel when I'd established a good little groove then used a standard head screwdriver with my mallet and pounded in desperation until suddenly it popped free. My reasoning was that the screwdriver was more blunt-tipped than the chisel, so it would apply force to the nut without cutting/deforming the material as much.

It's hard to accurately describe the elation I felt when that g** d*** nut finally broke free after struggling with it all afternoon.

Really blows my mind how soft those nuts are, I don't think I've ever encountered such soft hex fasteners while working on a car.

I went to the hardware store and got some regular stainless nuts and split washers and I'll be applying some anti-seize on reassembly.

Watch out for those hardware store. It’s. They are often 13 mm. So then there is even less room for the proper tool!

 

[AndrewInf]

Watch out for those hardware store. It’s. They are often 13 mm. So then there is even less room for the proper tool!

Yeah you're right about that, I couldn't get my Harbor Freight gear wrench in there anyway, ended up just doing them up with an open ended wrench and a 12 point box wrench. The split washers raised them up enough off the fan clutch flange that clearance wasn't an issue for those tools. There was no way my torque wrench was fitting in there though, stock hardware or otherwise, so I just had to go by the seat of my pants.

BTW, a cheap strap wrench at Harbor Freight is well worth the $5 for this job.