Engine in or out of the vehicle?

It sounds like you're dealing with a California vehicle if the left side header is separate from the heat exchanger. So, if the engine's still in the vehicle (best case) get a fairly stout dowel and slide it INTO the header. You don't use the dowel just as a big lever to try and rip the header from the head, but you use it as a lever to get a little movement - up and down - on the header while also pulling straight down from below. You jiggle a little, pull, jiggle a little more, pull, and so forth. Having a friend to help here is very beneficial. (A friend that'll help is one of the best tools you can have.) If the engine's out of the vehicle and just sitting on a dolly or block the drill is the same, though you end up rocking the entire block and also can't get as good of a downward "pull."

As far as removing the fan goes, a friend who'll help is, again, very beneficial. I've had my wife grab the flywheel (engine out, 'natch) with thick gloves while I wrench on the bolts. She can't really hold the flywheel against my torque but it's sufficient resistance that I usually can get the bolts started reversing. Using a ratchet and then hitting the handle of the ratchet with a sharp blow will usually "shock" the bolt enough to turn a bit, even if she can't hold the flywheel entirely still. However, I now use a flywheel lock (~$10 tool) for this exercise. --------------------------------------------------- Tom Young Lafayette, CA 94549 --------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Jeffrey" <buddha@GMAIL.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2005 5:44 PM Subject: '83 fan removal / header removal

> I'm currently in the process of swapping all of my engine parts over > to a new block. While doing so, I ran into some problems that I wonder > if y'all could help me with :) This is an '83 air-cooled - I checked > the archives but couldn't find any relevant info. > > First, when removing the exhaust system, I was unable to separate the > left-side headers from the head. I separated the muffler, left heat > exchanger, and catalytic converter from the system - the right side > headers are off, but the left side just won't budge. Is there a trick > to removing these? I can get a 2x4 in there for leverage, but am > afraid to use it as it will be levering against the pushrod tubes... > > Also, my brain couldn't figure out how to remove the fan - every time > I tried to remove the bolt, the whole thing would turn. I didn't see > any obvious way of locking the fan in place so that I could remove the > 3 bolts (the belt and alternator are removed). Any advice? > > Thanks all for your help - looking forward to getting this thing back > on the road! > > Mike > 83 Westy air cooled