scoper

I lost a fan belt I think for the AC compressor but it also knocked off the fan belt that drives the cooling fan how do I reduce the tension so I can get the belt back on?

dr bob

What year is your car? Wait, maybe I can call my great-aunt Claire Vuoyant.... Naw, she died last year. ;( We never saw it coming.

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The belt for the fan, as fitted from the factory, loops around the crank pulley, the fan drive pulley, and the air pump pulley. The air pump position is adjustable, so is available to adjust tension on fan drive belt. More than a few folks have removed the air pump, and they fit a belt that's tight on the crank pulley and the fan drive with no adjustment available. Does this describe the setup on your car?

If so, the belt is installed and removed by unbolting the whole fan drive console from the water pump. Four Three bolts IIRC. It's not at all an elegant method but it's what you have if the air pump is gone. The belt needs to be exactly correct, and the bolts go in initially with some slight misalignment. Don't Cross-Thread The Bolts.

Good idea to replace any noisy fan drive bearings while the whole console is out.

Mrmerlin

Your fan assembly has 3 mounting bolts.


Remove the lower bolt and either side of the top bolts.

Loosen the last bolt a few turns, letting the fan pivot on the remaining bolt.

Put the belt on, then pull the fan into position and install the remaining bolts.


I like to use a big crescent wrench to pull the fan mounting bracket into position.

scoper

Thank you Mr Merlin! Job done.

scoper

Curious if if wouldn't work to loosen the lower bolt and remove the upper 2? They are much easier to get at!

dr bob

You'll like pivoting on a top one a lot better. Using a top one means the increasing belt tension during installation pulls the bracket towards the engine and places the pivot bolt mostly in tension, without trying to bend it and distort the threads in the pump housing.