Do you have a FAN CLUTCH recommendation?...or comments?

[Number4]

To remove the radiator, you remove the chrome grill and plastic shroud behind it.

There are three round holes on the radiator support, you can gain access to all bolts via them. Need to pull back parts of plastic air dam on bottom two.

The condenser stays in and connected, the trans cooler stays in and connected. You will have to move the condenser to the side in order to get to the lower left bolts. The bottom of which is accessible by lifting up on the coolers right side. Extra set of hands helps.

Edit: fan clutches suck. Now that I'm running one again, my truck is slower, definite loss of power. And that clutch drain kills the engine at start up.

 

[TechGuru]

Edit: fan clutches suck. Now that I'm running one again, my truck is slower, definite loss of power. And that clutch drain kills the engine at start up.

Is there a compatible electric clutch we can upgrade to? Would be nice to be able to lock it up on demand in traffic for better a/c sitting still.

 

[Joe in NY]

The fan does engage in traffic. It just depends which duty you have. The higher duty the more rpms the fan spins.

Also, it makes no difference if you have clutch or electric fans as far performance. If you have AC cranked in a hot day with clutch fan engaged or electric fans screaming on high you will have the same load on the engine. You simply transferred the load from your water pump pulley to the alternator. Also with electric fans you are now carrying a high current through wires and relays. A lot of energy gets wasted as heat due to friction.

So electric fans give you zero performance gains. Electricity doesn't come out of thin air...

 

[TechGuru]

The fan does engage in traffic. It just depends which duty you have. The higher duty the more rpms the fan spins.

Also, it makes no difference if you have clutch or electric fans as far performance. If you have AC cranked in a hot day with clutch fan engaged or electric fans screaming on high you will have the same load on the engine. You simply transferred the load from your water pump pulley to the alternator. Also with electric fans you are now carrying a high current through wires and relays. A lot of energy gets wasted as heat due to friction.

So electric fans give you zero performance gains. Electricity doesn't come out of thin air...

Pardon me for not being clear, I am talking about an electric clutch NOT a electric fan.

I believe Explorers come stock with the HD model, all I see are HD models offered by RockAuto.

Anyway a electric clutch should be completely free spinning when disengaged unlike the regular kind which always has some resistance to it.

 

[Joe in NY]

Electric clutch will have more drag and more "loss of power" as electric clutches are 100% or 0% engagement.

But I would think so, Ford did switch to electric clutches. My friends 2007 F150 had an electric clutch fan. Wonder if it would fit... Definitely a junk yard item to try! But you will need a proper method of calling for cooling.

 

[imp]

The fan does engage in traffic. It just depends which duty you have. The higher duty the more rpms the fan spins.

Also, it makes no difference if you have clutch or electric fans as far performance. If you have AC cranked in a hot day with clutch fan engaged or electric fans screaming on high you will have the same load on the engine. You simply transferred the load from your water pump pulley to the alternator. Also with electric fans you are now carrying a high current through wires and relays. A lot of energy gets wasted as heat due to friction.

So electric fans give you zero performance gains. Electricity doesn't come out of thin air...

Might as well mention, then, "flex-fans". Every body loves them, it seems. Except, they suck away lots of power unnecessarily and all the time, and few know that. The B.S. advertising convinces them. They think the blades "flattening" relieves load. It's just the opposite: takes big air flow to flatten those blades, lots of power used. A good working thermostatic type fan clutch is best in my book. imp

 

[TechGuru]

What would be nice is a thermostatic clutch with a electric lockup function! (just like our torque converters! lol) For times when idling in gridlock while a wreck is being cleaned up.

 

[Number4]

The fan does engage in traffic. It just depends which duty you have. The higher duty the more rpms the fan spins.

Also, it makes no difference if you have clutch or electric fans as far performance. If you have AC cranked in a hot day with clutch fan engaged or electric fans screaming on high you will have the same load on the engine. You simply transferred the load from your water pump pulley to the alternator. Also with electric fans you are now carrying a high current through wires and relays. A lot of energy gets wasted as heat due to friction.

So electric fans give you zero performance gains. Electricity doesn't come out of thin air...

Now that I'm running a fan clutch again (used electric fan died) I can garauntee you, that the fan clutch has more drag. I can feel it. It's certainly most notable at start up.

Before returning to an E Fan, I'll go to a local speed shop and see about some dyno numbers.

Once driving for a time, it may equalize more, but certainly not when first starting the car and driving.

 

[Joe in NY]

When its cold all the fluid in the coupling has settled and needs to be redistributed to its proper place. That is why it roars on start up. I never just start and go, it is extremely hard on the engine and transmission for any car.(I fear the 5R55W!) Especially in the winter. Winter time I wait for the temp gauge to move up one tick from the bottom. That means the engine is 60* C or 140* F. That way the heat is hot and I can go drive however I want and then engine will be fine. Even in the summer time I let it run a few minutes before driving. Therefore, I never experience this cold start drive drag.

 

[apenland01]

Now that I'm running a fan clutch again (used electric fan died) I can garauntee you, that the fan clutch has more drag. I can feel it. It's certainly most notable at start up.

Before returning to an E Fan, I'll go to a local speed shop and see about some dyno numbers.

Once driving for a time, it may equalize more, but certainly not when first starting the car and driving.

This is exactly right. My fan roars for the first few minutes I drive it, but then quiets down unless I'm idling a lot, then it picks up again, which is what I want it to do. We've had heavy monsoon rains the last 2 days and it's only been in the 80's and low 90's and I don't hear the fan except for the first minute or two after startup. Ambient temperature seems to have a lot to with this as well from what I can tell. When we are at 110 outside, it's almost always running to where I can hear it.

 

[Number4]

I don't drive until it drops below 1k RPM. It roars until it shifts into 3rd it seems. The clutch isn't your engines friend at start up. With my E-Fan the engine started much nicer, idled smoother and got to proper operating temps quicker.

 

[imp]

OK, I can't resist this! If the "juice" slowly leaks out of a viscous fan clutch (sometimes it does!), it gradually drives the fan less and less, until finally the engine overheats.

So, living with that initial fan roar upon starting up is a blessing, if you view it as such. If you begin to notice the noise is much less, the damned thing is telling you to replace it before it's too late.

IMO, the noise thing is overblown. My '04 is quite audible as I leave our house, on a deep cul-de-sac about 1000 feet from the main road. By the time I reach the stop sign, the fan is quiet. No problem. Has never overheated standing idling with A/C full-on, despite summer here involves 120` F commonly. Whew! imp

(Tucson is higher altitude, gets a bit more Monsoon activity, and not quite as hot as here by the Colorado River, FWIW)

 

[Number4]

It doesn't leak out out. It just leaks within itself, as if it was hot enough to warrant it to engage. I've not heard the roar of fan clutches on any other vehicle quite like ours.

 

[TechGuru]

OK, I can't resist this! If the "juice" slowly leaks out of a viscous fan clutch (sometimes it does!), it gradually drives the fan less and less, until finally the engine overheats.

I remember helping my grandpa repair the clutch on his 1984 Toyota Pickup in the late 80's or early 90's.

He opened it up and put that thick honey like stop leak motor oil additive in it.

IMO, the noise thing is overblown. My '04 is quite audible as I leave our house, on a deep cul-de-sac about 1000 feet from the main road. By the time I reach the stop sign, the fan is quiet. No problem. Has never overheated standing idling with A/C full-on, despite summer here involves 120` F commonly. Whew! imp

But does the A/C stay cold enough to keep you from sweating at all...

 

[imp]

"But does the A/C stay cold enough to keep you from sweating at all..."
It gets us by. I remember that thick honey stuff, never tried it.

Soon, we all be sweatin' as they phase out 134a........imp

 

[imp]

It doesn't leak out out. It just leaks within itself, as if it was hot enough to warrant it to engage. I've not heard the roar of fan clutches on any other vehicle quite like ours.

You do know, I'm sure, that sometimes the clutch locks up mechanically, and then the fan is driven constantly, sounds like an airplane! imp

 

[TechGuru]

It doesn't leak out out. It just leaks within itself, as if it was hot enough to warrant it to engage. I've not heard the roar of fan clutches on any other vehicle quite like ours.

You do know, I'm sure, that sometimes the clutch locks up mechanically, and then the fan is driven constantly, sounds like an airplane! imp

My Mercedes one is about just as loud as the Explorer one, if not louder (I think it turns faster than the engine), when going 75 on the interstate in 106 degrees I can hear it cycle on and off. It also has a two speed electric fan too that is quite loud.
I've probably just never noticed my Explorer one while driving because I can't hear anything over the damn rear differential.

 

[imp]

My Mercedes one is about just as loud as the Explorer one, if not louder (I think it turns faster than the engine), when going 75 on the interstate in 106 degrees I can hear it cycle on and off. It also has a two speed electric fan too that is quite loud.
I've probably just never noticed my Explorer one while driving because I can't hear anything over the damn rear differential.

You could take out the rear driveshaft, use 4-HIGH, and listen to the fan!

 

[TechGuru]

Soon, we all be sweatin' as they phase out 134a........imp

Already have my EPA licenses to buy R12 and R22, so if they restrict R134a in the future I should be covered.

 

[imp]

Already have my EPA licenses to buy R12 and R22, so if they restrict R134a in the future I should be covered.

Geez, I "like" everything you write! I don't do anything for a living, but did squirrel away 2 jugs of 12, in case some future resto bites me! Have a 1972 Ranchero right now, had factory air, but some A.H. ripped out condenser, compressor and brackets gone, all hoses gone. It sits now waiting for November. 108` today. imp