Impending doom?

[farmerfred]

I noticed the circled (below) curl of metal wedged in my fan clutch. It does move around, but it won't come out. I didn't mess with it too much in case it's supposed to be there. Can anyone tell me what it is? I'm concerned that it's part of the fan clutch that somehow lathed itself.

[sodak69c10]

that looks like part of the back of the clutch bearing, might want to look into a fix, flexalite fans are a good deal but fan clutchs aren't bad either

[TheSasquach]

Id say your clutch is going bad. replacement isnt bad at all. dont bother with flex fans they dont cool worth a darn, and the replacment clutches arent expensive. David

[sjarrett71]

Can you move your fan front to back very much? Not to insult your intelligence....but make sure the engine is NOT running before you try.
If your fan moves front to back, I'd replace it. But beware, if the bearing has been out in your fan clutch for very long you might want to go ahead and replace your water pump too as the vibration sometimes damages the pump bearing.

[krue]

Looks like a good time to go with electric fans.

[farmerfred]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'll have to check the fan bearing. No insult, sjarrett71. Besides, I'd rather be insulted and still have all my fingers!

I've been looking through the board archives and it looks like a thermal fan clutch is the way to go. Are there any tricks to replacing it or is it just unbolt the old one and bolt on the new one? Yeah, like anything is ever that easy on an old truck.

[sodak69c10]

eletric fans? would it be better to run eletric only, or as pusher along with mechanical , i have a 20" electric off grand cherokee from work, just wondering?

[truckdude239]

i agree about the flex fans they are trouble although i don;t know but my 71 has a solid fan spacer and a solid metal fan that just spend all the time

[sodak69c10]

i guess i've had good luck with my flex fan , i made my own shrowd for it so it pulls more than enough but i have heard that if they aren't spaced just right they don't cool very good, as for how easy a fan clutch is to replace they aren't bad for the most part just unbolt

[shifty]

Electric fans work fine. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably has zero experience using them, has never installed one before, installed one improperly before, or knows one or more people who never installed one and/or installed one improperly before.

There are dozens of members here running electric fans with absolutely zero problems. They do the same thing as a clutch-based fan, only they don't tax the engine, so you free up a few horsepower using electric. There is wiring involved, but it is minimal.

[Spray-Bomb]

Originally Posted by shifty

Electric fans work fine. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably has zero experience using them, has never installed one before, installed one improperly before, or knows one or more people who never installed one and/or installed one improperly before.

There are dozens of members here running electric fans with absolutely zero problems. They do the same thing as a clutch-based fan, only they don't tax the engine, so you free up a few horsepower using electric. There is wiring involved, but it is minimal.

Are there any threads that have tips for installing electric fans ?

I have some dual electric fans I got out of a salvage yard, & was wondering how close they need to be to the radiator

I know closer would prolly be better, but I'm just curious as to what I could get away with

[IvelDesigns]

everything you need to know is in this link:

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...highlight=fans

[shifty]

Thanks, Ivel.

One thing about that link and that writeup - some people argue that the product shown in there needs to have holes drilled to allow outside air to pass through the radiator. I don't know why the original manufacturer did not decide this was important - I asked, and the answer given was "never had overheats, even when towing in in the mountains" and I believe it. But ... your results may vary depending on your computeration.

Summit and Jegs both sell kits that just bolt to either side of your radiator tanks or similar - pretty simple setups, and they come with fan controls. Flex-A-Lite makes great kits like this! www.summitracing.com -- www.jegs.com

[Pyrotechnic]

I had a flex fan on my 78, it worked out pretty good.

It had a standard fan with a bad clutch to begin with, so I replaced the clutch, but every time I started from a standing stop the truck sounded like a vacuum cleaner or a turbocharged big rig...WHOOOOOSSSSHH!!!!!!!

I had about enough of that so I got a solid spacer and a flex fan.

[farmerfred]

I replaced the fan clutch today, and sodak69c10 and TheSasquach were dead on. The clutch bearings were exposed and frozen. I'm looking forward to the increased MPG. Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone and let you know how it turned out.

[67sub]

Originally Posted by sjarrett71

Not to insult your intelligence....but make sure the engine is NOT running before you try.

That is no joke. I can promise you the engine will not slow down a single rpm if you stick your hand in the fan. Been there, done that and have the scars to prove it.Fan shrouds are a real HANDy thing to put on also. Always pay attention to where your hands are under the hood if you aren't running a shroud.

Public service announcement now over.

farmerfred - It's always nice when things go smoothly with no problems isn't it?