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Fan Remove and Clutch Bearing Replace

btfarm

btfarm

America First!
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Location
Sandwich, Illinois
I'm thinking my clutch bearing is the possible culprit that is squealing when cold. Does anyone have fan removal experience and bearing replacement info?

I'll be deleting the dreaded LBZ inner shroud while I'm at it.
Does the fan come off just by removing the 4 bolts in the picture?
Fan2.jpg
 
iirc fan nut is 1 1/16 can't be sure though, then you need the fan pulley holder or a LARGE prybar to wedge in and hold the pulley while you unscrew the fan ( i was never a fan of the air hammer trick, i tried it once and cracked the pulley, its cast and it sucks) . it is standard thread, not reverse thread like some other vehicles. so while you are facing the engine the fan will spin off counter clockwise.
 
I think Mine is going as well...not the bearing but the clutch...I get a ting ting ting (in gear at idle) noise every so often that disappears with a variation in rpms... I think it is the clutch trying to catch even when it shouldn't be because engine temps aren't high enough...but I'll be following this to see what I'm up against...Heck it's 11 years old this November so I guess it may be time...
 
Bringing this up again. I'm pretty sure it's a fan clutch bearing issue. It keeps squealing until the fan stops on cold shutdown. I doubt if it's gonna get better all by itself. I see Merchant wants about $200 for a new clutch ass'y. I sure hope I can fix the one I've got.
 
I'm sure you can get it cheaper right here from Henry...a supporting vendor...

I see em' out there on the wholesale GM parts sites for $135 on up, not including shipping...
 
Mike, in order to remove the fan you need to remove the upper radiator shroud first, it is 2 bolts, and 4 plastic retainers, also need to remove the tcm from the shroud. Next you will need to loosen the big nut holding the fan to the pulley. Once thats loose, the main fan shroud can be removed by removing the 3 iirc bolts that hold it to the block. It will lift out as a whole piece fan, shroud ect. If you take out the above bolts in your pic that will loosen the fan from the clutch but you still need to have the clutch removed from the pulley to get the fan off.

On a side note, I have never seen one go bad for a squeek. Not saying its not possible, but I have not seen it. Maybe remove the fan assm (being that you want to remove the stupid shroud anyway), leaving the belt on, and start it up. This will eliminate the fan and possibly the noise. I have seen alot of the idler pulleys go bad along with the tensioner pulleys. They either will squeel like the dickens or they will chirp. If the noise is still there once the fan is off, it is much easier to spot and fix.
 
Thank you Joe. I noticed this morning while it was sitting there idling down by the road (while I unloaded the trash) that it was screaming pretty loud. As soon as I took off I knew that the clutch was locked up and that tells me it's more likely an idler. I think I might just buy 2 of 'em and be done with it. Helluva lot cheaper than a $200 clutch if that's not the culprit.

BTW, I wouldn't buy from Merchant unless I had no other choice here at TTS.
 
Mike, check out your local dealer for the pulleys, they are cheaper than napa by a long shot. Atleast here they are. My price even list here is around 20 bucks. Just for the bearing at napa was 45 bucks when mine locked up on me on a sunday last year.
 
stacks04 said:
Mike, check out your local dealer for the pulleys, they are cheaper than napa by a long shot. Atleast here they are. My price even list here is around 20 bucks. Just for the bearing at napa was 45 bucks when mine locked up on me on a sunday last year.
Click to expand...
Got a part # for the smooth pulleys?
This is what Rockauto says the ACDelco # is: ACDELCO Part # 1540526 {#98057284, 98072072}
They want $14.23 each for it.

Edit: The Rockauto # is good and so is the price. GM dealer was $27.20+tax.
 
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Good and Bad results

The good thing is that the inner shroud is now an ornament on the shop wall.
A certain amount of blood was shed to accomplish this part but which of us hasn't shed some blood on our trucks? Reasonable price to pay for improvement...:agreed:

Shroud.jpg Fan-Shroud1.jpg


A 1-7/8" wrench is needed to remove the fan. I had a handy 18" prybar stuck in the pulley and wedged against the AC pully that did the trick of holding it.

Pulleys.jpg FanWrench.jpg

Took a look and saw a pulley with an obvious problem due to the buildup on it so I changed it.

Pulleys1.jpg Idler.jpg



Fired it up afterward without the fan on and no more squeal.:thumbsup:

Put the whole shootin' match back together and look at how nice it would be to work on the belt and pulleys now. A belt could be changed in a few minutes without pulling everything in site near it!:thumbsup:

W-O Shroud.jpg

The bad news is now that the fan is back on, the squeal has returned.:mad2: Yup, pretty convinced it's in the clutch. I'll be calling Kyle tomorrow to see if he found one like he thought. I see RockAuto has an OEM one for about $130. Not REAL bad...

However, it will be SO much easier to work on...:D
 
I see there's a guy on egay selling these OEM New In Box for $55 with a top seller rating. sd_performance parts out of SoCal. Anybody heard of them?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dura...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cb154b343

Edit later:
I called and had a conversation with Kyle (dmaxfireman) and he offered to make a deal if I needed the used one (good guy as we all seem to find out about each other). He agreed that $55 was a real good price for OEM. I called the seller and asked how he was selling OEM for that price. They were a warehouse overstock that he got about 200 of at a real low price. I talked to him for quite some time and couldn't trip him up. Seemed like a good guy so I pulled the trigger on one. $69 to my door.
 
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CtChevy427 said:
Mike, have you noticed any change in the operating temperature with the inner shroud removed?
Click to expand...
Not at all Bill but it just so happened that our high temps in the mid 90s all of a sudden took a turn to low 70s for the high the day I took it off so I'll have to wait and see when we get some heat. My guess is it will not be a problem but if I need to replace it, I know where to find it...;)
 
Nice deal mike!!! That shroud should not make any difference in or out. I towed over 20k through mountains with it in and out with no noticeable change at all.

The only difference is its now much easier to change belts, especially if you are stuck on the road!!
 
Got the clutch today. 2 day TA with priority mail. Looks to be the real thing. Took 15 min to remove the intake tube, air box, TCM, upper shroud, fan, swap the clutch and put it all back together. Would have been an hour with that OTHER item still in there. Didn't make a peep when I fired it up but it was still hot from the 60 mi drive home. We'll see tomorrow AM...
 
Some noise cold but not what it was. I took the belt off and cleaned the back of it with brake cleaner and put it back on and no more squeal for a little while. Then a faint intermitant chirp/sing. I have NO idea any further. Everything turn smooth and quiet by itself. Truck is haulin' ass to Colorado next week too. Bringing tools and spares (old parts and belt) with.
 
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