Clutch Fan

[lhurley]

Hi all,

My clutch fan is on its way out and as its $300 odd for a new 1, im considering options. Ive been told that i can/should take out the old clutch fan and replace it with dual thermo's on the engine side of the radiator. the only reason im looking into this is that, a set of thermo fan is $100 max as opposed to around $300 for the clutch fan.

Is this actually viable given the size of the rad?
Will it be better?
How can i get the thermo's to turn on as required??

Lastly, would it be better to spend the coin and get a new clutch fan and chuck a thermo in for those hot days to keep it cool?

Thanks in advance

[NissanGQ4.2]

IMO the Thermo's will cost you more than a new clutch fan

I have thermo's on my GQ and love them

There has been a fair bit of discussion on here about Thermo's VS Clutch Fan and the majority say clutch fan.

Its usually not just a case of throwing $100 thermo's in, You will also have to look at a custom shroud around the thermo's. Without a custom shroud around the thermo's you will find it will heat up a lot quicker.

I done my best to modify my original shroud on the GQ and yeh it heats up on a hot day while sitting still in traffic!

If you do a search on thermo's you will get a few hits with everyone's view on them.

Cheers

Todd

[Dales300exc]

Yup like has been said. Thermos are great, if you put the time and effort into a well thought out shroud. Otherwise they are pretty useless.

If you need extra cooling on hot days perhaps there is a bigger problem that you are trying to cover up with an extra fan?

My thoughts

[my third 256]

ebay have them for $2oo. and have you tried sprints or auto barn got onr for a 2,8 and was $100, aprox dont need to use nissan product

[Morton]

stay with the fan, thermos havent proven themselves effective enough yet, besides a fan will last your 10-15 yrs, thermos wont, especially $80-$100 thermos, as it was said before, if it is still over heating there is another issue, start with slipping the radiator out & check to see if it has mud/leaves/bugs etc in the cores, cleaning it will make a huge difference

[lhurley]

There's no over heating issues, the needle barely moves, just seeing if I can't knock some temp off. I've also been thinking about putting some washers under the back of the bonnet to get the air to flow through better. Anyone tried this?

[Morton]

if that is all the issue, chase down a high flow thermostat, I put one in my Mav & the best money spent, whether one would be available for your unit I dont know

[NissanGQ4.2]

If the needle barley moves why are you looking at trying to knock some temp off???

[MQ MAD]

Clutch fan ,all the way
Youll only need the clutch hub , and go a new fan while your there, the fan can be had for as little as $65 delivered to well over 100,so shop around
The factory clutch fan set up flows more CFM of air than any 100 thermo set up
Thermos , go the EF/EL falcon route 2nd hand $30 ,1/2 hour on the grinder,few screws and bolts,and its on using the ford thermo shroud
Im doin this on my MK shorty,and ive only just done it , so the costs are current,i only done it due to body lift,the clutch fan wouldnt work correctly,thats the only reason,if i could have stuck with the clutch fan i would have
Thermos youll need thermo temp control switches, fitting, custom or modded shrouds,maybe just manual on/off switchs,a new set of AU thermos, thats all $100 will get ya

As for the temp issue,its been hot lately,and unless the thing is boiling,steam coming out everywhere,its not a bother
If the temp needle goes up and down due to wether temp, hills,range inclines, traffic ,as long as the temp rises and drops from all this ,its fine
When the needle goes up ,and stays there,or takes ages to come back down thats to worry about
IF the temp gets a bit erratic, go get the radiator rodded out, new thermostat, new hoses and itll be good for a few more years
Raised bonnet at hinges,dont get an engine blow up,itll blow all over the windscreen
I think your getting overly worried over nothin .............

[lhurley]

Its not that im worried about the temp, the 4.5 is a hot engine, thats just how they are. Im more just looking at what can be done to better the longevity of the motor. Correct me if im wrong, but having the needle at 2/3 as apposed to 1/2 would be better for the motor??

Thanks for the info guys, really appreciate it

[GQ TANK]

If the clutch fab us starting to play up - it might need re-oiling.

Some fan hubs can be pulled apart and the oil can be replaced.

I done this on my MK partol - worked a treat.

You can get the oil from a ford spare part dealer,

[Alitis007]

You need to put a thermometer or a scan tool to read your coolant temp correctly, my 4.5 sits under half no matter what the conditions are and on my scanner it says its between 80 and 90c. As far as fans go the AC fan kicks in as a back up for the clutch fan. I have thermos in my toy and i cant keep the temp below 88c on a 25c day and i have a 16" and a 12" davis craig thermos that have a combined rating of 3,000 CFM thats controlled by a Drift digital thermo switch, as a package cost me close to $600. EF and AU fans flow only around 2,000 CFM if that. You have to think about your driving conditions like if you like plowing thru muddy bog holes or just dusty, rocky/grassy hills coz the thermos to suck some batt voltage which saps the motors electrics of some juice!

[timbar]

this link may help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACx7GTCn7Y

[mudski]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it...

[Morton]

could be your sender unit reading false, I would be testing ur thermostat first, this could be a sticky thermostat, it could be stuck open permanently, does it take a while to warm up to operating temperature? throw it is a pot of boiling water & watch it open, if it is notchy when opening toss it, sometimes they open very suddenly, like they crack open, this means its sticky, toss it, put an original thermostat in, same issue swap it out for a high flow thermostat, works extremely well on my Mav, I doubt it is hoses as the temperature is to consistant, throw in a new sender unit, all of this is cheap easy work, always go the cheap easy things when it is unknown, dont be spending your hard earned coin, is there a shroud arond the fan, does one come with that model/motor, get one if it doesnt have one

[lhurley]

could be your sender unit reading false, I would be testing ur thermostat first, this could be a sticky thermostat, it could be stuck open permanently, does it take a while to warm up to operating temperature? throw it is a pot of boiling water & watch it open, if it is notchy when opening toss it, sometimes they open very suddenly, like they crack open, this means its sticky, toss it, put an original thermostat in, same issue swap it out for a high flow thermostat, works extremely well on my Mav, I doubt it is hoses as the temperature is to consistant, throw in a new sender unit, all of this is cheap easy work, always go the cheap easy things when it is unknown, dont be spending your hard earned coin, is there a shroud arond the fan, does one come with that model/motor, get one if it doesnt have one

It takes about 3 mins for 'normal' temp on the gauge. Im doing the hoses on the weekend, so ill do the thermostat and sender while im there. Yea mate there is a shroud on my rad.

[Alitis007]

It takes about 3 mins for 'normal' temp on the gauge. Im doing the hoses on the weekend, so ill do the thermostat and sender while im there. Yea mate there is a shroud on my rad.

So does mine but doesn't move from under half no matter how hot it is out side or with both A/C's working unless its under 10C then it sits on a quarter. How clean is your coolant is it rusty? What condition is the water pumps impeller? Its not uncommon for the impeller to be chewed away from electrolysis in motors that haven't had coolant in them for a long time.

[lhurley]

So does mine but doesn't move from under half no matter how hot it is out side or with both A/C's working unless its under 10C then it sits on a quarter. How clean is your coolant is it rusty? What condition is the water pumps impeller? Its not uncommon for the impeller to be chewed away from electrolysis in motors that haven't had coolant in them for a long time.

We dont get to many 10C days up here. The coolant is as green as the fresh stuff. Cant comment on the water pump, i havent taken it off. The car is at the auto mechanics getting a check up after the reco and it will be next week till its back so its hard to check things atm.

[Alitis007]

If you have the cash, pull the radiator off and get the core cleaned out you have nothing to loose plus it will give you peace of mind, in the mean time you could change the water pump as well. Thats what i would do and you dont have to worry about that side of the cooling system for at least 2 years.

[lhurley]

Thanks for the advice mate

[Alitis007]

No dramas mate any time