Fan clutch replacement?

[phasmid123]

I think my fan clutch needs to be replaced. My a/c dont blow as cold when stopped at a redlight and the temperature gauge shoots up fast. The radiator is a year old so I'm pretty sure it's not it. What do you think? If you think it's the fan clutch, have you replaced it yourself? was it easy? any special tools i need? much obliged!

 

[shamaal]

The temp will go up a little while stationary, but should never overheat.
Fan clutch is easy. You'll need loaner tools from a car place. For me, Autozone had an easier to use fan clutch removal tools than O'Reilly. The O'Reill tools however are adjustable.
Unscrew the two bolts holding the shroud, let it drop in place. Use the two wrenches and unscrew like any other bolt, they are not reverse threaded.
Other cooling system possibilities would be a weak thermostat.

 

[Darrman]

Its very easy, you just need to rent the tools to do it. Go to the local auto store and rent fan clutch tool kit. then just pull the intake tube out, hook the handle tool to two of the water pump pulley bolts, and put the wrench on the fan clutch base and loosen, then hand spin off the shaft, pull the top two fan shroud bolts, then pull the whole thing out at the same time. Four bolts hold the clutch to the fan itself, swap the clutchs out and reverse steps for install. That does sound like your problem, do a search here on how to figure out for sure if thats it.

 

[Jason94sport]

You may want to replace the fan as well. I'm sure it's like ALL X's & cracked at the hub area.

 

[ma96782]

When cold (engine off) try spinning the fan....it will spin freely or with a little resistance. If it won't spin....replace.

When hot (engine off) try spinning the fan....it will be like there is glue holding it back, tougher to spin than when it was cold. If so, It's OK. If, it spins like a top.....replace.

As for the broken plastic fan.....it's your call.

Aloha, Mark


PS....something I kept from another thread:

I went to advance auto parts to buy the fan, mine had the cracking around the base of the clutch. I bought the premium fan they had after looking at it compared to the stock fan. Frankly, the advance fan(cannot remember the name brand) was superior is quality, plus the blades had a better angle to the ends to suck in more air. The clutch was bad too so I purchased a premium unit from napa, as I have had two other Ford's with bad clutches and the napa units have always performed perfectly. The T-stat was replaced too along with the temp sender when I did all this, and these came from autozone, mainly because it was convienant. They had a choice between a 195 or 198 so I went with the 198. No real reason for this other than the engine might be a little more effecient with a slightly higher running temp, just thought I would try it out(I thought that I could always put a 195 back in if it presented a prob) and the needle stays right between the "O" and "R" in NORMAL. If I am idling the truck for 10 minutes or so with the A/C on the gauge will slowly creep up between the "R" and "M", as soon as I start driving the fan clutch is engaged for a bit and the gauge goes right back down. All the parts, which include the clutch, fan, temp sender, and thermostat ran about $110. Hope this helps.

And,

Luckily it wasnt a DO part. I went on line and fianlly found one at NAPA. Only $31 online and $36 at the shop. It was a little larger than the orig part, but it fit fine. Really easy install, too. Got all the info on this site. Thanks. Didn't need a fan clutch tool, just an open end 1 7/16 wrench (mine had a thin profile and I used a cheater) and a 12 or 13 mm (can't remember) wrench to keep the water pump from spinning. It released with no problem. Just remove the air intake line after the MAF (5/16 socket) and fan shroud first. After that remove the serpentine belt. This will help when you remove/replace the fan clutch (free spinning). I found using a 1/2 drive with a 5/8 socket worked fine to release the belt.