Let’s talk fan clutch

[vegas39]

so I know this has been beaten to death already. Anyone who read my axle seal thread, knows I had to drive from Vegas to Cali yesterday.
I replaced my fan clutch a few days ago with one from oreyiles, or however it’s spelled. Anyway, I watched my temp gauge climb all the way to 240 on mountain pass yesterday and the clutch never kicked in. I had to pull over to let the spring heat soak for about 10 seconds and then it engaged.
It shut back off at 225.

Is it worth modifying the spring, or is there a better clutch I can buy?
Thanks!

 

[Noiseydiesel]

Take the spare tire off from in front of the grille. Remove the grille. I did that on my '87. The front tire came off the front of my '68 back in the day when I had that one. Pulling the grille trick will improve air flow. Relocate the trans cooler off the A/C condenser by hanging it off plumbers tape or similar metal strips. I have now done that on two trucks and the engine temp is happier. Have you added "Water Wetter" to the cooling system?
I did not read your prior thread so this is just a good shot in the dark. After that comes the trick I did to my 460 gasser. I dare that sucker to even think about running hot. I cranked the hood up in the rear about an inch.
Flow through ventilation and no more staying hot, passing everything going uphill carrying a camper.

 

[laserjock]

I’ve been fighting water temp issues as well. Seems like replacement clutches are extremely hit and miss. If you have a good one hang on for dear life. Need to come up with a suitable aftermarket solution. @ifrythings is about as close as I’ve seen.

 

[ifrythings]

Best mod I did was using that 6.4 fan clutch. Very easy to control and locks up pretty quick, though sometimes it takes a minute or two to unlock but being able to turn it on and off when you want is something you can’t beat and electric fans just don’t cut it on a diesel. I would never go back to stock after seeing how this performs.

 

[saburai]

Best mod I did was using that 6.4 fan clutch. Very easy to control and locks up pretty quick, though sometimes it takes a minute or two to unlock but being able to turn it on and off when you want is something you can’t beat and electric fans just don’t cut it on a diesel. I would never go back to stock after seeing how this performs.

That sounds like a great solution! Did you do a write up about it?

 

[franklin2]

That sounds like a great solution! Did you do a write up about it?

The kicker on that later model fan mod is the machine work required to adapt the fan to our waterpumps.

If all you do is use your truck to pull heavy loads, you can lock the factory fan solid. Still running mine like that, no more overheating ever. The temp will start climbing if I am pulling a mountain and I am in too high a gear and the rpms are too low. All I have to do is drop it down to a lower gear, the rpms come up and the temp gauge goes right back down.

I would rather be running a clutch setup, but I am afraid to spend the money on one, I see over and over the complaint that started this thread.

 

[saburai]

The kicker on that later model fan mod is the machine work required to adapt the fan to our waterpumps.

If all you do is use your truck to pull heavy loads, you can lock the factory fan solid. Still running mine like that, no more overheating ever. The temp will start climbing if I am pulling a mountain and I am in too high a gear and the rpms are too low. All I have to do is drop it down to a lower gear, the rpms come up and the temp gauge goes right back down.

I would rather be running a clutch setup, but I am afraid to spend the money on one, I see over and over the complaint that started this thread.

I'm mostly using it as a daily driver. However 2-3 times a year I'm pulling our 10k+ modified off grid TT, our home, from Florida to the Catskills in up state NY. The late model fan mod sounds like a good option for me. This is the first I'd heard of it. Do you have any links or more information? Thanks!

 

[ifrythings]

Here’s the link to the thread about the 6.4 fan clutch https://www.oilburners.net/threads/fan-clutch-upgrade.82625/

 

[vegas39]

I ended up having to reach down in there and pop the spring out of its slot before driving home from Cali, otherwise it would’ve fried on baker grade. The fan clutch constantly stayed locked up but at least I got it home. I’m gonna pull it off and take it back this week

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

I ended up having to reach down in there and pop the spring out of its slot before driving home from Cali, otherwise it would’ve fried on baker grade. The fan clutch constantly stayed locked up but at least I got it home. I’m gonna pull it off and take it back this week

That's smart thinking! Never occurred to me that you could do that, or I would have long ago one summer.

 

[Cubey]

I don't know if this really works, but this is a video that YouTube suggested to me the other day.

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[Isaac Ristow]

you can tweak the springs to make them lock up sooner

 

[Cubey]

you can tweak the springs to make them lock up sooner

How? I might be tempted to try, so I can put off changing mine until late winter/early spring next year. I won't be driving much until this fall (Sept probably), then I will be quite a bit. I will be installing a mechanical temp gauge before then, so I can see what the temps are really doing, in the event that the factory gauge is just going wonky which could be. It dropped a lot when tapped at, while driving down the road at full operating temperature (40-45mph with very heavy cross winds from the right). I might just try spraying the spring with WD40 first though. I do think it's probably got a weak clutch through due to a weak spring, fluid loss, or whatever has caused it to be less stiff when cold. I have a new Motorcraft one on hand, but doing such a job in a parking lot might be questionable at best. If it's juat a screwy factory gauge that is suddenly climbing to mid way and slightly beyond, then a real temp gauge will give me a real idea of what it's doing.

 

[saburai]

I don't know if this really works, but this is a video that YouTube suggested to me the other day.

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Seems reasonable. I would caution that products like PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench and the like contain solvents that could potentially destroy or damage any seals it comes in to contact with. I'd be more comfortable using something similar to what ever is inside the clutch itself.

 

[saburai]

you can tweak the springs to make them lock up sooner

As Cubby said, how?