I wedged a wrench between one of the bolts andd the pulley and used my left hand to hold it still while trying to get one of the nuts off the clutch with another wrench and my right hand. Repeat for the others. Not the easiest but deffinately the cheapest.

 

YUP! Same here. I believe I used a long handled box end, but any wrench will work.

 

I think the previous two guys are talking about the 4.0, which has 4 smaller bolts holding it on. Your 5.2 has the one hex that threads onto the end of the shaft itself.

The Haynes manual suggests pressing on the belt to put extra pressure on the pulley, but good luck getting enough pressure to break it loose. Here's a pic of what worked for me. The red arrow is pointing to the chuck key from my drill motor inserted into one of the holes on the face of the pulley. My biggest screwdriver went under the key then over the top of the shaft. I had a helper pull up on the screwdriver while I beat on a pipe slipped over the end of the pipe wrench for more leverage.

 

I had to take mine out with the fan still attached to the pump. I then put it in a vice and i still struggled a little to get it off

 

If you've got access to an air compressor, check the parts stores to see if you can rent a "fan clutch removal" tool. It goes on an air hammer and will take the fan clutch off in seconds.

 

or if you have access to an air compressor just tap it with an air chisel with a regular tipped attachment on it, it will come right loose

I removed mine with the pump still hooked to it, because I was going to electric fan, so that process works to, then when on the ground you may be able to manipulate it a little better

 

Yeah, 4.0 here. Didn't realize they had two different setups. Sorry for the mis-information.

 

I just put a 15" adjustable wrench on the nut of the clutch with the handle straight up. Then hold the tensioner with a wrench to get the belt tight and hit the handle of the adjustable wrench with a hammer and the clutch came free. You can then remove the lower part of the shroud and remove the clutch and fan out the bottom, or remove the fan, clutch and entire shroud at the same time. I've done it both ways.

 

THIS! My friend and I spent prob 2 hours trying to get that off and someone suggested putting a big wrench on the nut and giving it one good hard whack with a hammer and being at our wits end we gave it a try and first hit broke it right loose.

 

Leave the belt on for starters.

First just try using a big wrench and smacking with a hammer. The blow has a better chance of loosening than slow force applied by hand.

If that fails use a large screwdriver against one of the pulley bolts, then do the hammer trick. You're kind of working against yourself since the large nut is one of the pry points, but it'll work.

Most guys that struggle take the belt off first. It's twice as difficult with the belt off.

good luck

 

i usually use a torch to heat it up the correct size wrench and a rubber hammer takes about 10 minutes

 

Thanks for all the info. I used a bolt through a pulley hole along with a small pry bar to create the leverage point and it worked great. I Cleaned the engine compartment when I was finished with pump replacement to help locate any leaks. Thanks again.

 

FWIW, you don't have to spend crazy money on the official tool. Lisle sell a fan clutch spanner that works for Jeep, GM and Dodge vehicles, you can get it online for about $26.

 

Sorry for the late post, but I just did this over the weekend and wasted a couple hours, since I couldn't find a spanner in stock nearby, trying all sorts of things to crack that nut, until...

With the belt off and a heavy duty strap wrench (I used the red one from the like $12 set of two Craftsman ones from Sears) around the water/fan pulley and arranged to be blocked by the crank pulley, it came off without hesitation.

The loaner tool from Advance had a 3/8" drive hole so I was able to add some leverage length with the "poor man's breaker bar" (AKA a 12" extension, a 4" extension, and a 7/8" deep socket over the end of a 3/8" ratchet handle -- I suppose "don't do this at home" rules apply to that move), which probably made it easier, too.

It was a little bit of a PITA to get situated and tight around the pulley, but way more than made up for that in reduced effort on the fan clutch removal.

I've seen a couple people say no on the strap wrench, but I have a feeling they just didn't have it tight around the pulley. Hope this'll save someone some headache!

 

I've found quite a bit of help reading these forums, and wanted to share how I solved a problem for the next guy searching for an answer on how to break the nut for the fan clutch on a 95 Grand Cherokee.

Friday night, I did this repair on a '95 with the V8. I tried cranking on the tensioner, and smacking the wrench with a hammer using my mighty blacksmith skills, but she didn't break loose. I finally held the water pump pulley with a locking chain clamp, and was able to break it loose. I lifted out the fan blades, clutch, and fan shroud all at once. The nut isn't reverse threaded. Photo attached.

thanks
James B

 

ugh. i tried a pry bar, i tried a strap wrench, i tried holding the tensioner with the wrench to put more strain on the pulley. NOTHING.

i gave up. put on a new belt and i think moms gonna take it to one of her favorite local mechanics. its her rig anyway. :brickwall :crying:

 

You know the proper way of doing it, right? Using a spanner wrench that fits into the holes in the pulley to hold it still?

 

I'm going to save this necro by contributing useful information.

When you rent a fan clutch wrench set from an auto parts store (which is the appropriate tool to remove a fan clutch) you should also rent a tool that the counterman probably doesn't even realize is meant for this:

A pulley holder

The one you might rent at the parts house may not look quite like that, but the operating principle is the same. You slot a bolt through the hole in each jaw, and into the corresponding bolts on the water pump pulley. It'll look vaguely like this:

Of course, there will be a fan clutch nut in the middle of all that.

Then, you get the clutch wrench on the clutch nut, and spin it the appropriate direction (Magnum V8s use normal, right-hand thread; most GMs use left-hand thread) while holding the pulley holder. It all takes about 30 seconds of setup and a tiny bit of effort.

Good luck finding a counterperson who knows this trick, though. In my time in auto parts, even the seasoned former-mechanic-turned-parts-guy had never heard of this- and this is a guy who could find just about any part in no time. Bring it up on your own for best results.

 

Those adjustable spanner wrenches are great if you need to work on a variety of vehicles (and they aren't only used for holding water pump pulleys), but I picked up this from Amazon for $34. My KJ water pump pulley uses the 2-pin side.

Lisle 44180 Fan Clutch Spanner Wrench

I use a standard 36mm wrench to loosen the actual fan clutch nut.

 

ZJ 5.2L Fan Clutch threads LH or RH?

ZJ 5.2L Fan Clutch threads LH or RH?

 

Mine are normal right hand threads.

 

RH

 

Definitely not the cheapest, but maybe the fastest and easiest. I don't dread this job anymore.

I have the SP Tools (Schley 99800 and 95210) version of these tools, high quality but twice as much.

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-44180-Clutch-Spanner-Wrench/dp/B000W0WSPI

https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-A8...008TOI2AO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491851441&sr=8-1&keywords=48+mm+clutch+wrench

 

I have the SP Tools (Schley 99800 and 95210) version of these tools, high quality but twice as much.

Those Schley Products Tools look very nice.

My ultra cheap method is to loosen the puller bolt slightly, put a box end wrench over the head, then use my mega sized adjustable wrench on the fan nut.

Not cool tools, but no cost...