Fan pulley removal?

I'm in the process of replacement the water pump on my 2006 4.0L V6 Tacoma and I'm at the point where I remove the four nuts that hold on the fan. Are they right handed (normal) nuts or left-handed nuts? They're on tight...

 

All of the fan pulley nuts on longitudinally built Asian engines I've worked on loosened counter-clockwise like most other nuts and bolts. Yes - they can be on very tight.

I find using a LONG box-end 6 point wrench to be your best bet. I've never seen a fan pulley like we have on 2nd Gen Tacoma's that allowed for socket/ratchet as there's simply not enough room. 6 point wrenches also grip grip better. Once loose a 12 point is fine as it will expedite removal - you'll spend less time fishing for a spot to hook the wrench on to.

One other thing that helps getting these fan pulley nuts loose is to use a counter wrench on another nut that's say 90 degrees to the left(facing pulley). You put a wrench on the counter and turn clock-wise as if you were tightening; then use your long 6 point box end wrench on the one you are trying to loosen by turning counter-clock-wise. This helps to keep the pulley from turning, thereby giving you more bite on the wrench you are trying to loosen with. You can use this same approach when it's time to reinstall the fan pulley

 

yep. thanks for the advice. after struggling for awhile I figured it out. i also realized that instead of 5 bolts holding the water inlet on, I only had 4 bolts. other than those two things it's all apart.