Got a new fan clutch from autozone and it was too large and the fan wouldn't mount to it. took it back with my stock one and the guy said it was the right one for my 98 cherokee. he measured it at 7" and the stock one that came off was about 5". he did some looking and went back to an 80's clutch and it was smaller like mine. i took that one and it worked. so is autozone all screwed up or is something going on with my cherokee. he thought maybe it was changed in the past and the only thing they had was an older fan and clutch and used that. not positive but it all looked stock and not touched. anyone have this same thing happen or any ideas whats going on?
^^This would be correct, Autozone has the wrong part in stock and will not do anything about it. I pointed this out to them 2 years ago...
The clutch they sell for an XJ is actually the
Heavy Duty clutch from a ZJ with the 4.0L. While the Standard Duty ZJ clutch will not only fit properly, it will give better fan performance as it couples at 80% instead of the (if I remember right) 65% the XJ clutch runs.
The only reason I use Autozone (aka, Bozozone) is for things that they can not screw up. Such as oil. Or antifreeze.
My own experience that drove me away from getting important parts there:
1) Wrong fan clutch and they wanted to ague about it. I brought in the fan and still...
2) VSS for the Wife's Bronco. No where near the correct part. Thier response? "It is what the computer says..." NAPA had it in stock.
3) Injector o-rings. After checking thier stock on-line, I went in and gave them the part number. The idiot behind the counter would not listen, argued with me and then attempted to sell me a generic o-ring kit form the floor shelves...
And, three strikes, you are out.
Even though both Advance Auto and NAPA are four to five times the driving distance away, I use them. At least they appear to have people behind the counter that have a clue. But mostly, I mail order parts. As long as the cost to my door is less than driving to get it, I go that way.
