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new fan clutch

TMXONR

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Arkansas
I have been reading and there seems that some fan clutches don't fit or perform as good as the stock one. Which one has the best fit and performance, not including the OEM. Also how do I go about removing the fan clutch, It looks like I just need to remove the fan shroud and 4 bolts that hold the fan clutch on. Is there anything else I need to do.

1987 XJ with 4.0

Thanks
 
In my experience with a 96, the Hayden brand was the most like the OEM part, I only had to remove the cleats (projections on the outer rim) of the clutch face to install.

On removal, it is easiest to remove the top two bolts from the shroud and move it over the fan toward the engine (unless yours is broke like the one I had) then remove the fan from the pulley (4 bolts). You can try loosening them before you take the tension off the belt, but more then likely you will need a long screwdriver to hold resistance with the other bolts to keep it from turning as you remove the nuts....they are 13mm, btw.

Not hard, just go slow and watch your knuckles!!
 
don't take the belt off. remove shroud, then the nuts holding the clutch to the pulley (1/2 works better than 13mm) you can get 3 from the top and one from the bottom. pull on clutch to remove and replace with new.
 
Yeah, just adding in that I don't remove the belt to put mine on... if you want you can remove the radiator cross brace to tilt it forward a little to give you more breathing room, not hard or time consuming to do.

As to brands, I had a Hayden last less than 2 years, as now it is stiff when cold and loose when hot :mad:
 
TMXONR said:
I think it is loose, It doesn't have that much more resistance than cold.

Oh man TMXONR, that's getting up there. How long do you have to be idling to get the temp that hot? Does your electric fan come on around 220? That fan does a pretty good job of keeping things in check, so make sure that is working correctly (also stays on with the a/c compressor). If you're on the highway does it cool well, then when you slow the temp shoots up? I guess I should ask, if it's that hot and you speed up again does the temp go down pretty quickly?
 
My electric fan is always on, as soon as I turn the key. The temp does shoot down with in a few seconds when I get back in motion from stopped. It takes maybe 30 or so seconds for the temp to be noticably higher.

I took it for a test drive tonight after I put the new fan clutch on, and when I got back the fan clutch felt LOOSE. It was alot more loose than in the video, it would do 1 revolution at least when I would spin it. The temp also showed the same characteristics as before I changed out the fan clutch. I drove around, got the temps up to about 210 or 215, pulled in the drive way let it set while running for somewhere between 30 and 60 seconds. The temp rose to about 2 needle widths past 210, I brought the RPM's up to about 1800 and the temp gauge went back down with in a few seconds. This is pretty much the same thing that happened with the old clutch, only the old one felt tighter than the new one. Could I have gotten a bad fan clutch.
 
When I replaced my fan clutch, I checked to make sure it was pulling air at idle.....Then I drove around until the temp got close to 200 to see if it would hold or go on up.

My temps would go up to right at 200-210, then drop and after a few minutes seemed to get stable right at 200. When I got back from the drive, I opened the hood to see if the mechanical fan was still pulling air?? Yep it was. Of course, I had just replaced the water pump, T-stat, belt, tensioner and lower radiator hose. So I am happy with the slow driving temps and am not worried what it will do on the highway speeds.

When you say your clutch is loose, I assume you mean you can spin the fan pretty easily.....If it will pull air at startup and after the temps reach normal it is still pulling air...it is ok. Then you will have to look elsewhere for your problem.

Good Luck!
 
There is a possibility you got a bad fan clutch, as the Hayden one I got was never very good, never moved much air and bit the big one after less than 2 years. The fact that your temperature goes down when you start moving is a sign that your radiator is probably working correctly, and there could be 2 problems. One, you got a bad fan clutch and your electric fan can't keep up on it's own, however I'm not sure about that. There was a time when I took off my fan clutch and bolted on the pulley and drove around with just the electric fan and it took an AWFULLY long time to heat up.

The other possibility though, is your water pump. If the impellers get eroded away, they are just sort of little nubs that don't move much water, especially when idling. Revving the engine can get them moving enough to bring the temperature down. If you have the original pump, you may be amazed at what the impellers look like (or don't look like).

Obviously there could be something else, but those 2 options seem the most viable.
 
Might be time to R&R the cooling system, starting the engine cold the fan should roar for about a half minute then quiet down as the fluid distributes in the fan clutch. As for fit, Car Craft has the correct one, they list two so take your old one with and measure it for thickness. It is an AC/delco one by the way. I remember the dealer oem one was not that much more than CC but I also get good prices from my Dodge dealer who gets my jeep parts for me.
 
The old fan clutch didn't roar, and I don't hear anything different with the new one. I am going to go back to Oreilly's tomorrow and try to get another new one.
 
I got another fan clutch and it seemed to work a little better. I guess next I will change the water pump, then radiator. I also need to put a OEM temp sender for the gauge on, instead of one from Auto Zone.
 
I went to U-Pull-It and got a fan shroud, since I found out that the bottom part of my old one was gone. A complete fan shroud makes putting it on alot more difficult.
 
Yeah, you'll probably either have to take off the fan clutch and put them on at the same time, or undo the radiator support brace and tilt it back a bit. You probably could force the shroud out, but you don't want to damage or bend it as it isn't the sturdiest of objects.
 
If you trim the shroud like this, it makes installation/removal of the shroud alot easier without affecting the airflow and such. Just allows the shroud to slip past the fan clutch a bit easier.

FanShroud1.jpg
 
That's a good idea... although hopefully within the next week I won't have to deal with that damn mechanical fan as I just found a Taurus fan on eBay for $50 shipped with a relay:D
 
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