Fan clutch question

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I noticed when i rev my motor or accelerate it sounds like its roaring so the mechanic told me i have to replace the fan clutch but the car is not over heating should i be worried? Would this be causing my cars performance to be weak when accelerating or any other issues if i continue driving it like this?
 
We are still going on about this?

Yes, you will take a fuel economy hit. Running the fan all the time through the locked clutch takes energy. It won't overheat since the fan is turning all the time instead of only when it is required.
 
sorry i figured out what it was today since i took it into the mechanic and just wanna make sure i will be ok driving it until the part comes in.
 
Yes, it will be fine. My BMW had the clutch fail like that, and besides my daughter's embarrassment at the car sounding like a truck coming down the road it was fine. All it is doing is pulling air with the fan at all times instead of only when it is hot enough to engage the clutch. Your thermostat will compensate for the additional cooling if any.
 
Every car or truck I had where the fan clutch was stuck on eventually gave out on me. One time piercing my radiator in sub zero weather.
 
Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Every car or truck I had where the fan clutch was stuck on eventually gave out on me. One time piercing my radiator in sub zero weather.


If it was seized his engine wouldn't be able to rev above 2grand from the drag.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I went the other way on my Cherokee.

Put on a fan clutch that roars all the time.


On a Cherokee, I sure would too.

The first thing to do when approaching a fan that "roars too much" is to check engine temps at the time when it is doing the roaring. If the fan clutch is doing its job, nothing is wrong.

When the AC is on, the fan will engage even when the engine is not so hot, since it reacts to the combined heat of the air behind the radiator, rather than engine temps.

The whole thing changes up once you get into electronic fan clutches. The can engage due to any one of multiple parameters.
 
Engine temps are normal but i dont think the car should be roaring when accelerating or revving so i need to replace the fan clutch....
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I went the other way on my Cherokee.

Put on a fan clutch that roars all the time.


I had the same on my Monte Carlo SS. The OEM clutch gave out so I replaced it. I got the heavy duty option from the parts store. It roared all the time. I changed it out for the standard one, and it quieted down.
 
Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
Engine temps are normal but i dont think the car should be roaring when accelerating or revving so i need to replace the fan clutch....


Yes you do.
 
Oh great i hope i dont get one and then it sounds the same
smirk.gif
I been hearing stories of people buying a new fan clutch and it still making a roaring noise...
 
Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
Oh great i hope i dont get one and then it sounds the same
smirk.gif
I been hearing stories of people buying a new fan clutch and it still making a roaring noise...


Some cars have a "heavy duty" cooling option listed at the parts stores. I know my Monte Carlo did. It consisted of a heavy duty fan and clutch. I had roar when I got the heavy duty clutch and put it on my standard duty fan.

Get a standard duty clutch and you should be fine. You are REALLY overthinking this.
 
Originally Posted By: boostedtsiawd
Oh great i hope i dont get one and then it sounds the same
smirk.gif
I been hearing stories of people buying a new fan clutch and it still making a roaring noise...


Then just leave it as is...
 
Fan clutch roaring constantly can mean a couple of things:

- It has failed in the 'locked' position, in other words, the working fluid is not restricted from entering the working chamber and thus allows the viscous coupling to occur at its maximum efficiency
- The vehicle is running hot for some reason, perhaps an electric pusher fan on the front of the radiator is not working with the A/C when its supposed to? Or perhaps isn't engaging at the correct temperature to augment the engine fan?

Unless the vehicle has always been like this, best to replace it. If the engine mounts, pulley or waterpump (if the fan is mounted to this) go bad, you could have a wonderful exploded fan.

Of course, there are plenty of vehicles where the engine fan is the only source of cooling for the radiator and A/C (larger vehicles, older sedans & wagons), in this case, I would expect it to start making at least a bit of roar when the vehicle is stationary in anything from moderately warm weather.

When I replaced the cooling system in my BMW E36, I replaced the 21y/o fan clutch with an equivalent Sachs unit. This one seems to lock up significantly more than most BMW's I've seen at startup, and in general operation. One blog writer noted the E36 he has owned from new "never has a roaring fan." Guess that is the difference between different types of clutch!

Initially, it had some 'characterful' behaviour when the A/C was running (with the front pusher fan) and wouldn't lockup enough, triggering the high speed of the electric fan when stationary. Not using the A/C in this heat would result in the fan locking up fully and roaring. This soon passed and no longer seems to occur, so I assume it is now working correctly.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I went the other way on my Cherokee.

Put on a fan clutch that roars all the time.


I had the same on my Monte Carlo SS. The OEM clutch gave out so I replaced it. I got the heavy duty option from the parts store. It roared all the time. I changed it out for the standard one, and it quieted down.


The 4 cylinder Cherokees use a traditional water pump mounted clutch and large fan. 4.0L Cherokees have a small fan run off of it's own pulley next to an electric fan. Both clutches have the same bolt pattern so the 4 cylinder fan clutch is a direct swap. But there isn't enough resistance on the 4.0L fan to make it "slip". Always engaged.

Sure is nice to be able to run the AC when it's 95 out, in the direct sun while rock crawling, without overheating or running "warm"
 
Now im confused about replacing the fan clutch since i drove the car tonight and it wasnt roaring while i was accelerating but it was colder outside seems like it does it when its hot outside hmm i dunno what to do? Maybe its normal for this car for the fan to roar for a few seconds on a cold start? Roar when its hot outside and engine is warmed up while accelerating?
 
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