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I was thinking of ...others say you can put the pulley in a vise (padded with an old drive belt) and then remove the nut with a 1-13/16" socket.

How do I remove the fan by using an impact wrench on the nut?
Could I put the pulley in a vise as mentioned above and then whack the big nut with an impact wrench? Does it hurt the shaft?

After I get the big nut off, could I leave the pulley in the vise and torque the big nut to 40 ft. lbs.?

I do not have an air driven impact wrench.

http://www.speedyjim.net/htm/fan.htm

http://www.vw-resource.com/fan.html#removal
Fan Removal
We received a question about the best way to remove the fan from the alternator -- that is, to loosen the big nut on the forward end of the alternator shaft. Some say an impact wrench is necessary; others say you can put the pulley in a vise (padded with an old drive belt) and then remove the nut with a 1-13/16" socket.

John Connolly (Aircooled.Net) responded - You need an impact driver. Those guys that use a vice are also the ones that have gone through five fans in three years. If you don't have an impact driver, take a 6-pack to the local garage. It's a 3-minute job (don't forget a 10mm socket and ratchet to get the backing plates off).

Dave found that the following method worked well -
Take a big block of wood and drill a shallow hole in it just larger than the pulley nut, then place the alternator/fan assembly down on the block, pulley end down, nut in the hole, so that it's resting on the pulley rather than the nut. Then, go after the fan nut on the other end with the impact driver. As long as the pulley is on tight and the shaft is upright so the pressure is even around the rim, you won't damage the pulley. It certainly is easier to strike downwards rather than sideways, and at the same time prevent marking the end of the alternator shaft on a concrete floor.

Regarding re-installation. When putting the fan nut back on it will be possible to hold the alternator shaft with a wrench on the pulley nut. The torque specification for the fan nut is 40 ft-lbs -- not excessively tight. You have to use the impact driver to remove the nut simply because it's difficult to keep the shaft from turning when trying to remove the nut (counterclockwise). And then too, the nut would tend to freeze over time anyway, so it may take a bigger whack to loosen than the bare 40 ft-lbs.

Anyway, holding the pulley nut with a 19-mm wrench while tightening the fan nut will torque both nuts to 40 ft-lb. Then, of course, once the whole assembly is reinstalled in the car, the pulley nut must be removed to get the fan belt on. (See our Fanbelt Replacement Procedure.

Rob provided some further insight - I haven't needed to do this job, but I think "loading" the pulley end of the shaft by gripping it in a vice would not do it any good at all when the other end is torqued to 40 ft-lbs. I suppose that with an impact driver you'd only need to get someone strong to wrap a towel round the pulley and hold it, whilst the second person gives the impact driver a good whack or two. Inertia of the fan and alternator should make it easy enough to loosen.

TIA! '73 Beetle

If the alternator is out of the shroud, simply remove the outer pulley outter half and hold the squared pulley center with a 21mm or 22mm, I forget which, open end wrench, and impact the 36mm, nut off.

Ainokea

ainokea wrote:If the alternator is out of the shroud, simply remove the outer pulley outter half and hold the squared pulley center with a 21mm or 22mm, I forget which, open end wrench, and impact the 36mm, nut off.

Ainokea

But I do not have an air impact wrench.

Everybody has an impact..... or maybe a wrench and a cheater at least. (Impact can be from..... Hitting a wrench with a hammer as well).... Good luck. I have been in your shoes before. Cheap impact wrench is a life saver sometimes.... HArbor freight has 'em cheap. Gotta have some air for big ones though.

I have an impact wrench that you put a socket on one end, twist it, and hit it with a hammer on the other end.

I think I will put a cheap alternator pulley on, put the alternator pulley in a vice, and try the above mentioned impact wrench to loosen it up. I might even apply some heat from a propane torch first on the big fan nut.
Would it be best to use a new fan on the new alternator?
Would this hurt the shaft?
Would this work?
TIA!

SCOTTRODS wrote:Everybody has an impact..... or maybe a wrench and a cheater at least. (Impact can be from..... Hitting a wrench with a hammer as well).... Good luck. I have been in your shoes before. Cheap impact wrench is a life saver sometimes.... HArbor freight has 'em cheap. Gotta have some air for big ones though.

Take a look at the threads and check for "left handed" application..... I don't remember if the last one I took apart was a lefty or not. It's probably been about 3 years now.