Hey guys....just wondering how i can test my fan clutch. Should it spin freely or have some resistance?

 

What I know about them is they should spin free or really low resistance when cold, and have some resistance when hot.

 

Yes, that's right. When the temp goes up it locks the fan in more, which provides more cooling. Don't know of an actual test, but I'm sure one existed at one time. they had to be tested at manufacture.

 

well i know that the cold test is good b/c it has no resistance when cold. Ill try the hot test and post back

 

it should have resistance whenever its cold or hot.

 

I remember Ray sticking his hand on the clutch fan while it was running.

 

these clutch fans have no temp sensor at all so they should be the same whether its cold or hot. they just have silicon inside them. if you dont have resistance whenever its hot or cold that means your clutch fan it busted. there are different models of clutch fans. some you can refill it with silicon some you cant. but you can modify them by drilling through the clutch which i did to my car few weeks ago. then tap a bolt into it for future refilling. enjoy

 

My fan has quite a bit of resitence all the time. And it dosnt seem to spin faster then the motor. It slows down at the same speed as the engine and picks up at the same speed. If its not running I can spin it with a bit of resitence and as soon as my hand is off the fan its stopped.

I dont know how well I explained that if you need any more info just ask. And I have belt probems Im wondering if thats it. I tighten the belt at least every 2-3 weeks maybe a little more. and it wearing my belt down fast Im having to replace it almost every 3 months I have checked to see if its rubbing somewhere and I dont see anything. When I do thighten it me and my dad tighten it to the point that it squeels at about 5000 rpms just so it takes a little long till we do have to tighten it again.

 

u shouldn't have to keep tightening the belt. check and make sure there's not a problem with pulley alignment. usually ppl misplace the spacer for the alt and try to use washers in it's place. also make sure it's actually the right belt. i once got a belt the was too wide for the V groove in the pulleys.

 

It doesn't need a temperature sensor to change resistance with temperature. The fluid changes viscosity with temperature. So when it gets hotter, the fan spins faster

 

@ theNeanderthol

So basically, when cold+some resistance.....when warm=almost no resistance

 

More resistance when hot, so the fan has its full cooling effect. Less resistance when cold. Never no resistance or almost no resistance.

85 FSM Chapter 3, page 4. "When engine is cold , turn fan by hand to be sure that resistance is felt."

My experience. Cold engine. Spin the fan as hard as you can by hand. It should be hard to get it to spin more than 1/2 way around.

 

When the engine is cold for me it wont spin anymore then what I push it not any extra spin at all

 

I took a class put on by Factory Air, who manufactures AC & cooling system parts. They said you should crank the engine and have someone watch the fan. Do not let the engine reach operating temperature. When you turn the engine off the fan should only rotate once and then stop. If it continues to rotate the the fan clutch is defective.

 

I found it:

 

Are you saying you permanently locked your fan? Sounds like a good way to burn up a water pump.