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Fan Clutches - bohica2xo

Bigchris on Tue August 10, 2004 4:01 AM User is offline

Hayden strongly recommends replacing the water pump and fan clutch together because they share the same shaft and any appreciable bearing wear in either part will cause increased wobble and vibration affecting the service life of the other part. They also spec their clutch life at 50K miles.

Do you think this is worth adding to the FAQ?

bohica2xo on Wed August 11, 2004 1:44 AM User is offline

Chris:

Many aftermarket manufacturers like to lay a trail away from their parts when it comes to warranties....

I have seen a badly damaged fan clutch put an unusual load on a water pump occasionally. Almost always the vehicle had a collision history.

Newer cars with spring tensioned belt idlers place very uniform loads on the drives - they also absorb a lot of shock. It is not uncommon to see a water pump with over 200k on it - usually the seals go before the bearing cartridge. A bad water pump might cause a fan clutch to fail early, but it would be leaking quite a bit before it ran out far enough to trash the fan clutch.

Fan clutches on the other hand have not changed much since the early '60's. I rarely see a fan clutch on a car or truck that is not worn out by 50~70k miles. The bearing in the clutch is still ok, but the viscous drive fluid is sheared so badly it no longer drives very well. Once the fan starts freewheeling all the time, it wears the bearing in the clutch out - but that takes another 30~50k miles.

Back in the bad old days, the local gas station changed your belts - and tightened the crap out of them. Placing huge side loads on the water pump bearings, and alternator bearings..... The newer multi-rib belts will transmit much more power with less tension. So, now your water pump and alternator bearings live much longer.

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"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."
~ Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi, An Autobiography, M. K. Gandhi, page 446.

Bigchris on Wed August 11, 2004 1:24 PM User is offline

Okay Brad, thanks for your reply! I'm facing this very question right now with my wife's Lincoln - fan clutch shot - and I've been deliberating whether to change the pump out at the same time. Sounds like there's no need to double the work and expense.

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