RichP
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Effort, Pa
yardape said:Thanks for the explanation Rich. You've seen me posting here alot as I am still on my discovery since the aforemetioned accident. I was looking at my fan spin and I'm not sure if it is still true. It occurred to me that the reason the fan clutch may have failed is that the radiator smacked into it when I was backed into by a Chevy Blazer. If the fan is also slightly out of whack that could cause premature clutch failure as well, right? So I figure why not replace the clutch and fan at the same time. Only problem is that after doing research, it looks like the dealership is the only source for a stock fan. Oh well, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Get a fan from a boneyard. Find one that was rolled and you might even get a new fan clutch to go with it. After dealing with them for quite a few years one thing I noticed about them. When the engine is cold, first start of the day, the fan clutch is fully engaged and the fan 'roars' for about 60 seconds or so then quiets down as the clutch takes over. On every bad one I have had it won't do this and just stays quiet. It is anecdotal information but it is something that I have observed on my last 5 vehicles. You could try a flex fan on a fan clutch but I dont know how it would work, those clutches are designed with a certain minimum mass of the fan in mind, the flex lites are very light, about a third the weight of a steel fixed fan, so that may have an affect on the operation, good or bad I don't know but it will behave differently.