How do you remove a fan shroud on a 74 VW beetle to tighten or replace the fan?

Answer 1

Usually, you would have to drop the engine, or remove the fuel lines and intake manifolds, but I actually accomplished this in about 45 minutes without doing any of it.

You will need:

36mm Socket
a breaker bar
a camera (optional)
your basic socket and open wrench set for a vw, 10mm, 12mm, 14mm..etc.
a pair of vice grip pliers
a new carburetor gasket
cable ties

The main steps involved are:

Remove the deck-lid and the lid-hinges that are attached to the top of the engine compartment. put all your screws back in so that you remember where they go.

disconnect the negative battery wire off your battery located under the back seat.

Unscrew the coil from the engine shroud, not necessarily taking all the cables off and set it down to the side, out of the way.

Remove the outside half of the alternator pulley. (remove the 21mm nut on it and it will slide right off.) Pay attention to how many shims are on the alternator shaft and where they are located. These are used to adjust the tension on the alternator belt.

Here, when you slide it all off - take a cable tie through the middle and tie everything down so that you don't lose anything.

Remove The wiring on the alternator. If you have an externally regulated alternator you will have a rubber cap on the top, which makes it easy to remember where the wires go. If you have a newer internally regulated alternator it's still pretty easy- you have one female spade terminal on one wire, and a loop terminal on the other.

remove the bolt on the alternator strap and slide the strap back so it is no longer contacting the alternator stand.

take the vice grip pliers, and in the front of the alternator you'll be able to see the spinning components. turn it slowly with your finger until you see it line up, take the grips and insert it around one of the bars, tighten it on either side so that it stops it from spinning.

on the side of the carb, you'll see the throttle cable that comes through the fan shroud. unscrew it, and make sure you place the holding nut and screw in a safe place!

undo the bolts from the carburetor stand and set your carb down to the side. plug the clean rag into the intake manifold, so that nothing will fall in.

If you have a standing oil cooler on the back of the shroud, it'll be to the left. reach back with an open wrench and undo the nuts that will release the cover plate for the oil cooler.

Now, you can lift out the alternator attached to the fan shroud.

Take the breaker bar and 36mm socket, and attach it to the nut behind the doghouse shroud on the back of the fan that is driven by the alternator shaft. Fit the socket and breaker bar onto this nut, and as you put pressure on it, the vice grip will hold the alternator in place and you should break it loose.

It should only be torqued to about 45 ft lbs, but sometimes people get a little overzealous when putting them on. Sometimes a little bit of penetrating oil (I prefer WD40) can help as well.

Once the large nut is off remove the screws holding the backing plate to the doghouse shroud. There are also 4 10mm nuts to remove on the front side of the shroud. you will likely have some shims/washers on the fan side of the alternator shaft as well. Again, take note of where these are located, take a cable tie through the holes and tighten and set aside.

Once the 36mm nut, backing screws and 10mm nuts are removed you can slide the alternator out and the fan will be loose inside.

Additional tips:

This is the best time to check for cable corrosion, hoses, oil cooler condition and anything else you usually can't see when the shroud is back on.

when you replace the carb, you'll need a new gasket.