My car has 179k with the original fan clutch. Do you think it should be replaced, or not?
I plan to keep the car till at least 300k. Thanks.
Assume you have the factory, plastic fan blade? First, look at it's hub, all the way around, watching for evidence of cracks. Early on, Ford had lots of crack problems, 1990s. So much so, they re-formulated the plastic used, so intent were they on keeping the design. I found cracks on my '89 5.0 and '90, replaced the blades with the "fixed" design. I learned of the cracking problem from a very good Ford parts guy.
If you find no cracking, grasp the the blade with both hands, diametrically opposite, and feel for movement, wiggle, in the clutch bearing. If it's fairly tight, yer better off, IMO, to keep the old clutch as a new replacement might prove worse. BTW, "play" in the pump bearing is detected at the same time. If you can move those blades about 1/8-inch or more back and forth, look closely where the "play" is coming from. If it's in the clutch, best replace it. If the water pump shaft is "wiggleable", absolutely replace the pump.
Be aware that, whether normal or reverse rotation, a failure allowing separation of the fan blade from it's containment, can result in it's blades "screwing" themselves into the radiator core. A NASTY happening. Happened to me once, long ago. Wish I had a pic of the radiator! imp
