Fan clutch replacement - will this work?

My 1996 XJ is overheating and I don't know why. There are a lot of things I could start replacing, but I'm going to sell it in a few months and buy a new Jeep. I don't want to invest anymore money than I absolutely have to.

Anyway, I suspect the fan clutch might be at least part of the problem. Would this work as a replacement on my Jeep?
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stor...atalogId=10002&storeId=10001&categoryId=13473
I'm aware of the drop in HP, but I don't really care right now.

Yes, it will work, fan clutches were added to improve milage, emissions, etc. Prior to around 70' something all fans were direct drive with no clutch.
Bad fan clutch symptons are runs hot in traffic or when idling then runs normal once you get moving and air starts flowing thru the radiator again.
Bad radiator and good fan clutch sympton is it usually runs normal in traffic and overheats on the hiway due to poor flow, bad water pump will also exhibit this sympton but it will usually exhibit this in either traffic or hiway. Bad pressure cap will also play havoc at hiway speeds.

RichP said:

Bad fan clutch symptons are runs hot in traffic or when idling then runs normal once you get moving and air starts flowing thru the radiator again.

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Yeah, that's about what it's doing, but then sometimes it overheats on the highway too. I think it wants a new fan clutch, radiator, and water pump...

Yep it'll work fine. As RichP said, a lot of older cars had solid fan mounts instead of clutches.

Wow said:

Yeah, that's about what it's doing, but then sometimes it overheats on the highway too. I think it wants a new fan clutch, radiator, and water pump...

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Hows the fan shroud?

I'd back flush the radiator first, see if any crud comes out. That might do the trick. Also do the basics...check the thermostat.

a little booty-fab, but you can also weld a bad fan clutch in place and it will accomplish the same thing as that eliminator. I did this for a while and it worked well. I now have dual electrics because I had another good electric lying around and thought I'd try it.

anony91xj said:

Hows the fan shroud?

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Perfect.

I came home today and the engine sounded different, and then I noticed the clutch fan. It was barely moving even though I was at 210 degrees and rising. This should be conclusive evidence that it is in fact the clutch causing the problem, right?

Sounds like it to me!

The fan clutch is going to slip at full lockup - I think it loses something like 10-15% of belt speed due to slip. However, if there is a noticeable lag in the fan WRT the belt/spindle speed or the idler pully speed, then it's shot.

I've found out that fan clutches only seem to last three to four years on the XJ anyhow - typical service life, in most other applications, is somewhere around five. So it's not a MASSIVE drop in service life, but it IS significant...

5-90

5-90 said:

However, if there is a noticeable lag in the fan WRT the belt/spindle speed or the idler pully speed, then it's shot.

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Yep, that's what it is doing. If I hit the throttle it doesn't really speed up. It spins free for about 5 seconds after I turn off the engine too. I think I'll see about getting a friend to weld it up tomarrow. If I can get a 10% improvement over a new clutch with it locked up, it should help the worn out radiator/water pump too.

Thanks guys

Might be easier than welding, but it's possible to drill and either "pin" or "bolt" to make it a solid mechanical coupling. You will have a fluid leak tho - the viscous silicone that couples the fan clutch to the hub, in fact.

If you still get it welded, make sure you let your buddy know there's fluid in there, so he's not surprised...

If you drill and pin, I think you can drill two places thru (spaced evenly from the centre,) and either use roll pins, drift pins, or nuts and bolts to nail the thing togehter. You don't need to use anything big - 1/4" is probably overdoing it - but you do need to space them evenly so you don't kill the balance of the thing, and by extension, the bearings.

I'm wanting to think you'll want to centre the pin/bolt holes about 3/4" from the centre of rotation of the part, but I've not actually done it, so I don't know for certainl. 1/2" to 3/4" should be enough, since you don't need to use anything large (and going closer to the centre will reduce the "off-balance" effect if you happen to mislocate a hole slightly...)

5-90