Aftermarket Fan Clutch install.

I've got a new Autozone Torqflo Fan Clutch to install. I have everything apart and the factory has a lower clearance than the Torqflo. How do you tilt the radiator to fit the new fan clutch back on the pulley? Or am I missing something?

thanks

If the fan clutch is thicker than the OEM one it probably won't fit. Car Quest has the correct one but take the old one with your to measure the thickness.
Normally when I take that apart I unbolt the fan shroud and put it towards the engine, gives a tad more working room. Actually I take my fan shroud out of my 98, I broke the bottom and when it broke it left both bottom tabs intact so now my fan shroud us upsidedown U shaped.

Just did the replacement with a Napa one. Fit fine but the replacement has those radiator death knives on the front. I wasn't crazy about that but didn't want to make the unit unbalanced. I definitely feel a lot more air flowing past radiator.

RichP said:

If the fan clutch is thicker than the OEM one it probably won't fit. Car Quest has the correct one but take the old one with your to measure the thickness.
Normally when I take that apart I unbolt the fan shroud and put it towards the engine, gives a tad more working room. Actually I take my fan shroud out of my 98, I broke the bottom and when it broke it left both bottom tabs intact so now my fan shroud us upsidedown U shaped.

Click to expand...

To get the clutch and blade off I used a big crescent wrench and got 2 of the pulley bolts from the top and two from the bottom. I manuevered the shroud the allow room. But now that its off the room between radiator and pulley bolts is too narrow to fit the torqflo clutch in. There's got to be a way to tilt the radiator or prefit it to the pulley. Any ideas?

Definitely a tight fit on mine and I have huge hands. I did eventually get it though.

09-15-2003
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The OEM on my 92 was made by Delco Div. of GM. (It was so marked in the casting.)

The replacement from AutoZone (some not so famous brand) was about 1/4 in too long to fit over the studs. To solve this, I unbolted the top radiator support, and tipped the rad forward a bit. It gave the clearance needed to mount the clutch.

The clutch proper is dimensionally correct for the XJ. (The fan blades mount the same distance from the rad as the OEM unit.) What makes it a tight squeeze is the hub with the thermostatic spring actually fits a bit closer to the rad, and thus makes an already tight squeeze too tight.

I would NOT go hacking on the new clutch. You may upset it's balance, and cause the fan to go flying. NOT COOL.




http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10649&highlight=fan+clutch+auto+zone



Where's the top radiator support being discussed here to allow the aftermarket to slip past the radiator?

You're better off going to the junkyard and getting an OEM repalcement from a low mileage XJ. I've not been happy with some of the aftermarket replacements I've seen from AutoZone or Advance Auto. One of the Advance Auto ones I used went through my radiator because it stuck out further. After Radiator Barn was kind enough to replace my CSF 3 core free of charge, I converted to electric fans.

You can also cut out a notch in the bottom of your fan shroud making it easier to slip over the fan clutch upon reinstallation.

A junkyard fan clutch??

I just installed a new Hayden (made in USA) fan clutch in my MJ. Bought it at Kragen and it went in with no problem.

Make sure you got the right clutch... If you got a heavy duty clutch, it will fit, but it will be tight. If you got a severe duty, it will not fit without moving the rad. If you got oem, it should fit with zero problems, and there should not be any DEEP fins on the front of the clutch, only a few shallow ones on the oem standard duty. Cherokees were only made with standard duty clutches. (even with towing packages) A heavy or severe duty clutch is a custom application.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=955907&highlight=ford+taurus+fan

Taurus electric fan conversion The old jeep mantra...why replace when you can upgrade! BTW Summit racing has a duel fan controler for about $40. This swap is very reasonable and would probably help with gas milage seeing as you are no longer pushing the fan with the motor but using power that is otherwise wasted from the alternator. Just my $.02. Best of luck with which ever route you take! Dan

That alternator power is not wasted power, and when your e-fan comes on, it still puts an extra load on the motor. Having a clutch fan is actually better because if your e-fan dies, or that dual controller goes bad you are stuck! If you still have the clutch fan, you are still getting home! Having a jeep is all about staying on the trail (or at least making it OFF of the trail) and driving under any conditions. Redundant cooling fans that run off of 2 separate systems is optimal!

Thought I'd post photos of this, i'm not alone for sure.

I have tried a Hayden, Torqflo, and a Napa (Hayden). Everything is simply too big. I loosened the Serpentine and all I can go for now is an OEM Fan clutch, or tilt the radiator. I don't know where to go to tilt the radiator. I couldn't find any particular bolt or bracket to do so.

The pulley bolts sticking out dont allow clearance for anything aftermarket to slip between the radiator and pulley.

Any ideas?

So, You're saying the OEM will fit, but you want an upgrade?

mrpeepers said:

Thought I'd post photos of this, i'm not alone for sure.

I have tried a Hayden, Torqflo, and a Napa (Hayden). Everything is simply too big. I loosened the Serpentine and all I can go for now is an OEM Fan clutch, or tilt the radiator. I don't know where to go to tilt the radiator. I couldn't find any particular bolt or bracket to do so.

The pulley bolts sticking out dont allow clearance for anything aftermarket to slip between the radiator and pulley.

Any ideas?

Click to expand...

oem is the only thing i can fit without moving the radiator. I've read alot of posts saying they installed, autozone, napa, advanced etc...

how did they?

I recently installed a replacement unit from carquest. it was a tiny bit longer so I un bolted the front so that I could move the radiator to allow room for it to fit.

Recently installed a TorqFlo from NAPA which came with a lifetime warranty....
The unit is approximately 1/4" longer, but fits fine...
As others have posted... just unbolt the upper radiator support allowing the radiator to tip slightly forward...

Stock (motor mounts=MM) will fail FAST with hard offing. The rad tends to eat the fan when they do. So with a longer clutch some type of torque control may be needed.
A torque strap may save the stock MM and is a lot cheaper then HD MMs. I like cheap, it's likes me.
HD MMs give more bragging rights and control forward, aft movement better then most strap setups too.

Try NAPA part #272310... This is a factory replacement for a 98 grand cherokee, and it is a heavy duty clutch that has the same mounting dimensions as the oem standard duty cherokee clutch. It was a direct bolt in replacement. Here is the thread with pics.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=962512

Stihl029 said:

I recently installed a replacement unit from carquest. it was a tiny bit longer so I un bolted the front so that I could move the radiator to allow room for it to fit.

Click to expand...

where were these bolts? This is what i need to do.

xj88superjeep said:

Try NAPA part #272310... This is a factory replacement for a 98 grand cherokee, and it is a heavy duty clutch that has the same mounting dimensions as the oem standard duty cherokee clutch. It was a direct bolt in replacement. Here is the thread with pics.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=962512

Click to expand...

For a grand ? thats nice, the distance between a 4.0 in a ZJ and an XJ is like day and nite, there is NO room in the ZJ, that engine is stuffed in there. You have to remove the fan belt to replace the thermostat it's that tight.