fan clutch removal and replacement for no clutch

[tigercat]

hi i saw in a summit magazine a little thing that replaces a fan clutch so you dont have a clutch and the fan is always the same speed as the engine does anyone know what this is called and where i can find one?

 

[TedJ]

This sounds like a really bad idea. The fan clutch is there for a reason, so the fan is not running when the engine is cold and warms up faster, but even more importantly it disengages the fan at higher rpm. If you've ever driven a car with a stuck on fan clutch you will know instantly why you wouldn't want to do this. It steals a lot of horsepower and it sounds like you're in a turboprop airplane at takeoff. The fan is designed to move a lot of air at idle (so you don't overheat in trafffic) so it is not designed to run at higher rpms.

What is the reason you want to do this in the first place?

 

[Spdrcer34]

This is just a bad idea. Plain and Simple.

Stay with the Fan Clutch.

Ryan

 

[MrShorty]

This is cheaper ($0) than a kit and effectively the same thing: Take the existing fan clutch off. locate the thermostatic spring on the front face of the clutch. Disengage the outer end from its notch and rotate 1/4 turn CCW. Reinstall. This effectively engages the clutch all the time. I've done this several times for diagnostic purposes and as a temporary fix.

 

[Spdrcer34]

What is wrong with the OEM set-up, as designed?...

NOTHING...

If you are looking to 'free up' a bit of horsepower, you are going the wrong direction.

OEM fan, or Electric...those are the ONLY 2 options you should be seeking.

Ryan

 

[Maniak]

If you trying to get more cooling then switch to the hayden severe duty fan clutch. Its a tighter thermal clutch meaning is gets tighter as it get hotter..

~Mark

 

[Dannyboy]

my truck had one of these on it when I bought it, it also had a 7 blade flex-a-lite fan. It sucked and my truck got really hot.

Don't waste your time/money.

 

[likibow]

i bought a new aftermarket fan clutch for my 2006 explorer and it stays engaged all the time i don't know if turning the spring clockwise will help disengage the fan clutch my mileage is poor and my car even though it sound like an aircraft i can feel the power loss does any body has done this before?

 

[TedJ]

If it's not working correctly, and never did, don't be afraid to suspect that it's just defective or the wrong part. Close enough doesn't work that well with these fan clutches. I wouldn't play with it lest they refuse to return/exchange it saying that you broke it. You shouldn't have to adjust it for it to work correctly.

Also make sure you didn't get a "heavy duty" clutch by accident. The factory/standard one is what you want. They spent quite a lot of time designing the internals and the silicone fluid used to make it work right. I've seen the "heavy duty" ones installed on various vehicles and they needed to be replaced with standard ones for the cooling system to work right.

Your best option is to get a real motorcraft one from the dealer or online suppliers like www.rockauto.com or www.fordpartsgiant.com

 

[the1991mazdaguy]

duuuuude. please listen to everyone when we tell its a very bad idea to have a fixed fan (or flex fans is what they like to call them on old cars) is a very bad idea on these rigs, or anything that came with a clutch fan. if the clutch is bad, replace it. thats what i did. or if you dont want the noise, get a 16" electric cooling fan. super easy to install and economy and power ups slightly.

Ey TedJ, you throw a good argument out about the heavy duty fan, but i actually got the heavy cause it works great when i'm running the A/C and pulling my boat at the same time ^.^

 

[Anime]

Another vote for not doing this, effectively making the mount solid, and running the fan at full engine RPM will probably destroy it in short order, I doubt the metal/plastic attachment will handle it for very long. Could be a wreck waiting to happen, when the fan blows apart it usually takes the radiator with it. Could be bad if it happens when driving.

The Hayden Heavy or Severe Duty is what you want if you want the fan engaged the majority of the time, otherwise a standard fan clutch is the best balance for power/mileage/cooling.

As a sales plug, I happen to have a brand new Hayden Severe Duty fan clutch for sale in the for sale section;

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=246777

 

[Jason94sport]

I learned something new. I thought the fan was always turning. I have never seen my fan stop turning for any reason.

 

[Maniak]

I learned something new. I thought the fan was always turning. I have never seen my fan stop turning for any reason.

They don't "stop". They slow down.

Here are the numbers from Hayden for the 3 levels of clutches you can buy.

Here is the info about the clutches.. I got this from a Hayden catalog.
In Southern Az where it gets 110F+ the Severe Duty ones works best BUT, it does affect gas mileage. We could probably get away with the Heavy duty since the engaged speed is about the same as the Severe duty.

Standard duty thermal clutch..
60%-70% when engaged (hot)
20%-30% when disengaged

Heavy Duty
70%-90% when engaged
25%-35% when disengaged

Severe Duty
80%-90% when engaged
20%-30% when disengaged.

~Mark