can someone explain what it does and is supposed to do?......when i yank the throttle it doesnt speed up very fast.im beleiving its gone out since ive been having overheating problems the last couple of days


and also...i was driving my car and the temperature was a little past 220.everthing else was fine...and the rpms dropped.then the car cut off and stranded me....i try restarting but the starter was really slow...so i push it to a gas station and leave it for 4 hours...i come back to it and it cranks and starts....

any help to these problems is really appreciated...
Dan

 

B84,

The hydroviscous clutch on the fan hub is supposed to slip. It allows the engine to increase RPM without the additional load of the fan.

In theory, the fan should clutch hub act like a torque converter that is sensitive to temperature instead of RPM. The hub is supposed to be thermostatically controlled, so that more oil is allowed to flow through the coupling when the temperature is higher. This creates a more direct drive, but still allows slippage.

Make sure the front of the fan clutch is clean. There may be a coiled bimetallic spring on the front of the hub - this senses the air temperature and varies the fluid flow. A lot of dirt buildup on this spring can act as an insulator and cause binding, not allowing full free movement.

If the hub has any appreciable wobble to it, it may be worn beyond service limits. If there is only a slight amount of play, it should be O.K.

If the hub is cleaned and still will not create a good fan speed at higher temperatures, you may have leaked all the oil out and it is useless. A remanufactured unit can be installed, of you can convert to a flex fan or electric fan setup.

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Later,
Vader
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"Let the bodies hit the floor!"
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

The purpose of the fan clutch is to decouple the fan from its drive when the air coming across it is cool, and to hook the fan up when the air coming through the radiator becomes hot enough to need cooling. It allows you to use a massive fan without creating an equally massive horsepower and gas mileage drag. If it fails, it can definitely lead to overheating.

When it's working right, you'll hear the fan roar for a little while when you start the car up cold; then after it's been running for a short while, it will decouple and allow the fan to free-wheel. If it doesn't do that, then you need a new one.

Get the thermostatic kind, not the "centrifugal" kind which is nearly aleays much cheaper. They don't work well at all. Spend the $35 for the right thing. Resist the temptation to put a "flex fan" on it, they do not work, especially when the A/C is on, but also in a car with alot of gear.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

ok i got more questions....since ive had this car it hasnt had a fan shroud cause it was destroyed in a wreck the car had *shrugs*....if i put one on and changed the fan clutch u think i would run cooler?

 

Most likely, yes.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports