Putting the viscous fan back on a 2000 XJ 4.0L after replacing the fan clutch and a leaking water pump. I was successful in getting the nuts started on the pulley studs. Any tips or tricks on getting these nuts tightened back up and then torqued to spec? There is absolutely zero room to get in there and I am having trouble rotating the pulley to get at all the nuts (yes, I have the belt off so that is not keeping it from rotating).

What a PITA!

Once you get em hand tightened as much as you can, put the belt back on so that it'll keep the pulley from spinning. I just used an open end wrench to tighten them as much as possible, didn't torque them

I just did mine. Agreed it was not a fun experience. I put the fan on the clutch and lowered it into the engine compartment as one piece, using one bolt already in the pulley as a base. While balancing on that bolt I put in the oppposing bolt, adn then the other two on the sides. Now you have to twist in akward positions to tighten them down.

If you turn the fan the correct way you can get your hand in there to start the bolt. You'll see there is a larger gap then smaller etc. You just need to turn it to the right position depending on which bolt your puttong in. When you get 2 started you can use a pry bar to stop it from turning.. That's what I did. They don't need to be ridiculously tight.

The belt will stop it a tad but it will still spin once you get some good torque going. A pry bar or longer screwdriver in between the bolts is your best bet.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Had the same issue with tightening the water pump pulley. Will try the long screwdriver/pry bar thing but then again, I don't think I can get a torque wrench and socket on them anyway

I put the pulley on the water pump while the water pump was out of the jeep. Just hit with my electric impact gun for sec...

You are right tho the mech fan bolts are a pain. But you will see what I mean about when you turn it there will be a bigger gap between the blades.