fan clutch

[Hvymetlclo]

My fan clutch got stuck and I have been riding around with it for 1-2 months. Earlier this morning when I punched it have rpms go upto about 4500 I notice a lot more power and no more of that vacuum like noise from the fan, especially when climbing the rpms. Could it b possible that the fan clutch fixed itself??? So far it runs like it did before the clutch got stuck.

 

[martin]

The fan clutch can fail either locked or free. Sounds like it originally failed locked, it may have now decided to fail free. I doubt it has fixed itself but anythings possible. I would suggest testing it before you are stuck overheated in traffic.

 

[Hvymetlclo]

How would i go about that? I have popped my hood with engine off and turned the fan a qtr. turn, it had resistance with no looseness, but i dont know what i'm looking at.

 

[firenexx]

At start up, the fan should blow a ridiculous amount of air and make a lot of noise.
After a few minutes when the engine has warmed up, it should tone down it's act a bit.

During idle or street driving, you shouldn't be able to stop it with a thick wad of newspaper. It should be somewhat engaged. (Be careful!)

During highway driving, it should NOT be engaged - it should spin freely as the air flowing past the radiator at 65mph is more than the fan could ever hope to output in it's wildest dreams, so if it engages it is slowing down the air coming in and thus not cooling your engine properly.

Using this knowledge, you may be able to determine whether or not it is broken.

 

[Hvymetlclo]

Well this moring i had the hood popped to check the fan when cranking up the engine from a cold state. i se n hear the fan (WHOOSH) and then quiets down after a little bit. i have also been monitoring the temp from a cold start to where engine operating temp is reached and it is normal time frame from when i remembered b4 the locked fan. I have not been in heavy traffic yet to c if it overheats, but evrything seems fine...weird.

 

[firenexx]

Well if your engine is maintaining normal operating temperature at idle, on the highway, and in heavy traffic, I see no reason to replace the fan clutch.