Fan clutch

[Beef52751]

I noticed my temp gauge was pretty high tonight on the ranger so when i got home i popped the hood and spun the fan by hand (with the engine off) and it spun freely. My question is should it do that or should it be locked up since the engine was completely warmed up???
Thanks
Beef

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

There should be some resistance to it when spinning it by hand. Sounds like time to replace the clutch.

 

[Beef52751]

thats kinda what i thought, after 25 years i suppose its about due to be replaced

 

[4.0B2]

lol yeah.. safe bet you need one!

just watch out and do NOT buy the heavy duty one that the Zone sells.. it sounds like a dang jet air plane and puts a load on the motor. even for a 4.0.. i hate that thing!!! standard duty will work fine! lol

 

[shane96ranger]

lol yeah.. safe bet you need one!

just watch out and do NOT buy the heavy duty one that the Zone sells.. it sounds like a dang jet air plane and puts a load on the motor. even for a 4.0.. i hate that thing!!! standard duty will work fine! lol

I bought one from AutoZone that did the same thing. I took it back and went to Kragen and got a Hayden clutch (USA Made) and it's perfect. Both were HD Cooling too. Mine makes noise for about 2-3 minutes, then it's very quiet.

I also have a Hayden on the Stang, which has been on it for a good 10-12 years. It still works flawlessly.

 

[Rose2300]

Sorry to sorta thread jack, but i noticed that on mine today also. so if the fan spins freely than i need a new fan clutch?
Except my temp gauge is always low no matter what but after driving for a while the engine feels verrry hot. the fan hasn't kicked on at all this summer, only when I first start the truck. would that mean that I need to replace the thermostat as well?

 

[4.0B2]

Sorry to sorta thread jack, but i noticed that on mine today also. so if the fan spins freely than i need a new fan clutch?
Except my temp gauge is always low no matter what but after driving for a while the engine feels verrry hot. the fan hasn't kicked on at all this summer, only when I first start the truck. would that mean that I need to replace the thermostat as well?

it wouldn't hurt, just in case. but if the temp gauge is good, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. your engine is gonna feel HOT in the summer. we are having heat indexs of 119 here, so my truck is running a little warmer than usual, but feels A LOT HOTTER..

go feel a fan clutch of a truck/car that you know it works.. it should have a little drag on it, its not a lot.. doesn't have to be much.

 

[Rose2300]

Ok, thanks. like the fan is spinning and goes faster w/ rpms, but i never hear the fan when I rev unless i just started the truck. I've heard than rangers are really great at staying cool, so i'm not to worried, but even after an 80 mile trip @75-80 mph, the rpms were fairly high and the temp guage didn't raise at all but idk, i'm still pretty new to the ranger scene so i'm trying to suck in all the info i can lol.
So when you say feel the fan clutch, do you mean like spin the fan with your hand and see how much resistance it has?

 

[adsm08]

Ok, thanks. like the fan is spinning and goes faster w/ rpms, but i never hear the fan when I rev unless i just started the truck. I've heard than rangers are really great at staying cool, so i'm not to worried, but even after an 80 mile trip @75-80 mph, the rpms were fairly high and the temp guage didn't raise at all but idk, i'm still pretty new to the ranger scene so i'm trying to suck in all the info i can lol.
So when you say feel the fan clutch, do you mean like spin the fan with your hand and see how much resistance it has?

If your temp gauge doesn't come up at all you have an electrical issue.

And yes, with the engine at temp and off you should be able to grab the fan by hand feel resistance when try to turn it. After sitting and cooling off over night it should spin freely though.

 

[Rose2300]

well the temp guage comes up to about 1/2 cm up after the truck warms up, but no matter how long i drive it or how hard i push it the temp doen't go up any more. does that just mean my cooling system is doing its job?

 

[adsm08]

If it isn't hitting the "Normal" range, or in your case probably pointing right at the middle line then it isn't doing it's job because it isn't getting warm enough.

 

[noahkenny]

I had an odd problem with my temp gauge on my 89 ranger. It would get to a certain point and just stop no matter how hot it got. So after troubleshooting it I took it apart and found that at some point the sticker in the gauge cluster had got hot enough that it slid down just a touch. The temp needle would get to a point that it was touching the sticker and would stop moving. A little trimming of the gauge sticker and the gauge went back to working normally.

 

[Rose2300]

thanks for the advice guys.
I got my oil changed today and now when the engine warms up, the needle gets to its normal spot, and then goes up and down a few mm each direction. Also, after driving, i turn off the engine and it sounds like the oil is boiling, or sounds like oil in a deep frier.
this can't be normal. I got it changed at a shop cause it was only 20 bucks and they put 5w30 oil in. Is it not thick enough or something?
And this wasn't happening till I got the oil changed. never before

 

[adsm08]

I assume you are still somewhere in the area of 60,000 miles on the clock?

5-30 should be plenty thick for that. A lot of the time those 2.3s get run on 5-20 with no problems. Not sure what your issue is, unless maybe they had a spill and some is stuck under a heat shield yet.

 

[Rose2300]

alright cool. as long as its not going to destroy my engine lol.