Bad Fan Clutch?
- Thread starter MrSony
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I find with mine, as you first start the engine you'll get a sort of howling sound from the fan. ...after it warms up, it will quiet down. It may also cycle on and off. I've been using a Hayden thermal clutch with 7-blade fan. So far so good.
Yeah, I need a shroud. Whenever I get some cash together and it's warm enough for a junkyard run. Will any V8 80s gm g body shroud work? Even from a Delta 88, Electra, etc?
I just recently replaced mine with a USMW and it works great. They shouldn't spin by hand when cold very much. Mine actually failed on me on the freeway, the internal spring broke. Nearly pooped myself when it locked in the engage position at freeway speed. I could actually see pieces of the spring that were broken!
Chrysler 300M Dual Fans with 2 relays are $35 at the picknpull. You can probably get a 2 year warranty for $15 dollar more.
I have had a fan clutch go out on EVERY car I've owned with a fan clutch. One cut the shroud, one took out the radiator, one destroyed the fan. It's true I beat the crap out of cars, but Fan clutches have ZERO business on a performance car. Auto makers only use them because they were cheap and dual electric fans used to be expensive. Electric fans aren't expensive anymore, but fan clutches still are cheap.
I have had a fan clutch go out on EVERY car I've owned with a fan clutch. One cut the shroud, one took out the radiator, one destroyed the fan. It's true I beat the crap out of cars, but Fan clutches have ZERO business on a performance car. Auto makers only use them because they were cheap and dual electric fans used to be expensive. Electric fans aren't expensive anymore, but fan clutches still are cheap.
C'mon, a locked fan clutch is good for performance. Not only do you have the engine turning the drive wheels but you also have a fan attached to the front of the engine pulling you forward just like a WWII P51 Mustang(and you know how good the Mustang flew).
ps. My clutch fan failed on my drive home after buying the Monte
ps. My clutch fan failed on my drive home after buying the Monte
An oem type fan and shroud will always move more air than any electric fan setup. I think you just had three cases of bad luck. Admittedly, I treat this motor like a rented mule. That clutch has just about 90,000 miles on it. I've never had a clutch come apart, break, or do anything you described. The hell'd you do? Duke jump over a ravine and land at 6500rpm? I get that all things can go bad, but jesus.
I had to think about what happened to my clutch when it failed (yesterday my first post was done practically walking out the door to see a sick Relative and was not really clear) and this was about 7-8 years ago.
Most of the driving out here is highway and at 75 mph I noticed a louder then normal whooshing noise. The car was running fine and I pulled over and everything looked ok. Checking it later I found the fan was difficult to move and the engine was at operating temp. Took off the clutch/fan and it was covered with gook and my thought was it leaked out all or much of the silicone? Something caused it to not work properly and it was locked all the time. Put on a new one and the noise was gone and everything was normal. That was the first time I had to ever replace a fan clutch.
Yesterday I was curious to see what the fan did on a cold engine and you could spin it maybe a blade distance freely and turn it feeling the resistance. The new clutch I put in was a GM part.
My friend's 80's Olds (this was before I moved to AZ 25 years ago) had the opposite issue where his fan clutch never engaged and he knew he had an issue because the engine temp was higher then normal around town but fine on the highway. Luckily it was not during the Summer when his failed.
I find that when you own a car for over 30 years you have to try to remember certain repairs in decades, not months. Problem is when you get older it is just a chore to try to remember what you had for lunch yesterday! Lol
Most of the driving out here is highway and at 75 mph I noticed a louder then normal whooshing noise. The car was running fine and I pulled over and everything looked ok. Checking it later I found the fan was difficult to move and the engine was at operating temp. Took off the clutch/fan and it was covered with gook and my thought was it leaked out all or much of the silicone? Something caused it to not work properly and it was locked all the time. Put on a new one and the noise was gone and everything was normal. That was the first time I had to ever replace a fan clutch.
Yesterday I was curious to see what the fan did on a cold engine and you could spin it maybe a blade distance freely and turn it feeling the resistance. The new clutch I put in was a GM part.
My friend's 80's Olds (this was before I moved to AZ 25 years ago) had the opposite issue where his fan clutch never engaged and he knew he had an issue because the engine temp was higher then normal around town but fine on the highway. Luckily it was not during the Summer when his failed.
I find that when you own a car for over 30 years you have to try to remember certain repairs in decades, not months. Problem is when you get older it is just a chore to try to remember what you had for lunch yesterday! Lol
Your car is basically a cruiser. The stock type clutch fan and shroud is all you need.
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