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Give this a listen. Fan will not turn when car is off. I think it should, hence why I'm thinking the fan clutch is bad. Spreader bar is clean of the pullies and fan. Fan is not touching the shroud. Alt and p/s pullies are not touching anything. I do need to replace the belts though.
Yes, they do go bad. Mine spins easily with the engine off--not totally free, but easily.
Sounds like the blades are nicking something?
I'd check it out soon, radiators are expensive.
They also can leak. They are filled with an oil like fluid and sealed when made. Once the seal leaks it needs replacing. You can have it restored based on what year and how original you are.
ZIO
1st shot is an aftermarket, the 2nd is my correct restored fan clutch.
Yep. It's making some excess noise now that you mention it. A dull roar, at speed.
Off to a use the credit card once again.
Any aftermarket suggestions? Is a fan clutch a fan clutch? One brand better? Any to stay away from?
Dodosmike
I think now a days they all probably come from one distributer who sells to Advance, Oreillys, Pep boys etc. Not sure what you have in Canada but you should be fine .
R
That sounds like your fan is hitting something. I have to put a shim in as if I really get on it the fan will bend back and hit (barely) the spreader bar that I just installed. Sounds like your clutch fan is leaking, maybe Cdn Tire catalogue has them or NAPA.
Yes, they do lock up sometimes. A locked up fan clutch will sound like a jet engine going down the road.
My fan clutch seized about a year ago, and wouldn't spin with the engine off. It also wouldn't freewheel at freeway speed even with the engine cool, wasting power. And it definitely sounded like a jet engine going down the road.
Swapped in dual electric fans from a Ford Focus for $40 from the junkyard. Relays also came from the junkyard, and I got a temp switch from NAPA for about $20. If you are smarter than me, you could probably get the right switch from a yard too. The swap was almost the same cost as a new fan clutch, and best of all it got that huge fan shroud out of the engine bay. I would highly recommend electric fans to anyone not concerned with show-car originality.
Good luck with finding one that isn't too tight.
I've tried one from the Corvette vendors (believe it was Zip) and one from Summit (the "lowest performance" Hayden I could find).
It still sounds like a jet fighter, maybe now it's only a small single engine jet where it sounded like two engine jet before
They also can leak. They are filled with an oil like fluid and sealed when made. Once the seal leaks it needs replacing. You can have it restored based on what year and how original you are.
ZIO
1st shot is an aftermarket, the 2nd is my correct restored fan clutch.
That jet engine sound is actually a blue bird school bus sound.
It is caused by the 7 bladed fan above, not the clutch.
The clutch should be hard to turn with the engine off. The fan disengages at speed.
What would the effect be if I removed the clutch altogether?
The engine and fan running at 1:1 all the time. No slip. Sure Id lose a bit of HP.
anybody ever run the clutch eliminator with an adverse reaction?
My dad has a GMC Jimmy with a 350 and the clutch eliminator. The fan just bolts to the water pump, and it is always spinning full speed. It is kind of annoying on the highway and I'm sure it is no good for MPG. Its apparently worked like that for over 20 years, but I wouldn't want to run my car like that.
What would the effect be if I removed the clutch altogether?
The engine and fan running at 1:1 all the time. No slip. Sure Id lose a bit of HP.
anybody ever run the clutch eliminator with an adverse reaction?
Very bad idea.
The car actually will not run cooler at speed. The fan interferes with the air flow. It draws unnessar horsepower, makes the engine work harder and is a bad thing.
A good clutch is cheap insurance and a 6 blade fan wont sound like a school bus.
The car actually will not run cooler at speed. The fan interferes with the air flow. It draws unnessar horsepower, makes the engine work harder and is a bad thing.
A good clutch is cheap insurance and a 6 blade fan wont sound like a school bus.
Found a BlueStreak thermal clutch for $120. locally. Currency exchange, shipping costs and import duties kill me from bringing stuff across the boarder, so Summitt and Jegs are not a viable option.
Thanks for all the input folks, greatly appreciated!
If the clutch were not necessary, why would GM put them on so many cars? Same as with therrmostats... Some people eliminate them, but they are there for a reason.
Just my 2 cents. Run a good thermo fan clutch.
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Do fan clutches ever go "bad"?
