Fan clutches - compatibility - refilling?
 

Hello,

I have 4 fan clutches and all of them are locked up. So I'm looking at either buying a new one or trying to refill one. I'll probably end up doing both, as any attempt I make at trying to save money always ends up failing.

For the refill, I'm going to use one of the fan clutches that have already been tapped out before (plugged with screw) and refill as much as comes out with fresh silicone oil from Toyota.

But If I need to buy a new one, I wondered if anyone can tell me if the Series 3 fan clutches are compatible with the Series 2 fan? I.e. do they bolt on OK? The Series 3 is supposed to be better, with a graduated engaging of the clutch rather than just on/off.

By the way, yes I know I could just replace it with an e-fan, but I want to keep it stock.


Thanks in advance for your input :)

A series 3 fan clutch will work with a series 2. The only difference I've seen is the spacing. The spacer that the goes between the waterpump pulley and clutch fan are different lengths. But it will work.

Nope. Bolt pattern is different - further out.

Refilling is both possible and easy.
The hardest part is actually getting all the silicone into the fan; I ended up using a syringe and a straw from a can of WD-40.
I also flushed out any of the existing gunk by first filling it with a light "silicon lubricant", spinning it by hand, then draining it out to the best of my ability.

Thanks for the replies.

It turns out I had asked about this before in another thread, just over 5 years ago, but didn't get an answer

I've had a look at the parts manual and found that the spacer is different between Series 2 and 3, as KansasCityREPU has mentioned. Does that mean the bolt pattern is different or is it just longer/shorter...

My question was about whether the fan clutch would bolt up to the fan, I hadn't thought about whether the fan clutch would bolt up to the spacer.

Jeff20B - were you referring to the fan clutch bolting up to the spacer, or the fan clutch lining up with the bolt holes on the fan?

PreviouslyPlastic - are you still running your refilled fan with success today? In this thread, someone claimed that refilling their fan clutch only worked for a little while.

I'm going out on a limb, but I believe the "fan clutch bolting to the spacer" has to be the same for all Series 1, 2 and 3's. I say this because the same water pump will works for Series 1, 2 and 3. I haven’t owned a Series 2 so I can't say if the fan bolt holes that attach it to the spacer are the same.

I refilled it while the car has been in storage. I've started the car and warmed it up since. The car does not overheat right now but haven't driven it on the refilled clutch so cannot comment on the longevity.
Sorry.

It was 84-85 that had bolts spaced further out on the spacer. The clutch fan has an iron flange on it and it further forward, thus the spacer is longer for the 12A and short for the GSL-SE due to the 20mm longer engine.

The waterpumps are the same as far as bolt pattern is concerned.

Thanks.

I refilled one of the fan clutches today with fresh silicone oil. It was excruciating dripping the oil in - 2 hours for 10 mLs. Couldn't check if it made it any better as car wouldn't run for some reason - running very rough, like a bridge port (it's a totally rebuilt stock 12A!). So need to look into that now.

BUMP!!! Where do you "fill" at? Are you drilling & creating a new hole? I've got a loud fan at ALL speeds & all RPMs, and I'm too cheap to buy a new one, and it works too well to replace w/ electric...

I've heard of adding a zerxfitting to the front, but, this is only speculation as far as I'm concerned. How did the re-fill work for ya? Thanks!

The unit I refilled had a screw, but I have seen others with no screw, suggesting that maybe untouched OEM fan clutches don't have a hole and you'll need to drill it... without getting swarf inside it!

BTW, after I sorted out my engine drama and tried the refilled fan clutch, it behaved exactly as before - constantly locked. I may not have put enough oil, who knows. It defeated me in the end :)

Bummer!! !At least we know the outcome :P.

Yea, there WOULDNT be a way to avoid getting swarf inside! Even tricks like "coat drill in grease, go slow" would still drop some.

I came up w a solution that I'm about to give a go--

I removed the stock spacer, and am machining a short "spacer ring" so that I can use an FC fan clutch. The FC stuff's yet to go bad on me no matter how old it is, and I've got about 5 just laying around LOL. I'll post pictures once I wrap it up.

Landon

Your welcome for the idea ;)

Does anyone have a pic of where the screw would be? Thanks