New clutch fan not working

Electric vs clutch fans?
Took my gq td42t away over the weekend. Towing a 5m long tandem axle trailer loaded with 3 full size and 2 small bikes. 35 plus degrees day towing there and back. Had just replaced the clutch fan, flushed rad and new coolant as i installed an aftermarket temp gauge. Now the thing just ran hot the whole time. 90 at a min but usually around 105-110 degrees and over when going up hills. The first hill i hit i ended up pulling over to let it cool down and i heard the fan kick in and temp dropped quickly. Thats the one and only time i could here it work. Got to the point that it just wouldnt cool down much even when coasting down hill or or at idle. it actually increased at idle. It all came to a head when trying to reverse the trailer into the backyard and needing to have a few goes at it dues to size of trailer it spat the dummy and all it coolant with it. Pop bonnet and couldnt hear the roar of the fan either. Cracked the rad cap let it explode out then started her up with cool water and coolant and temp dropped straight to 80.

Now how or why isnt the fan working? its brand new. How can you test the fans functioning? Considering going twin thermo fans now so i have control of when they come on. Also going to scrap the standard rad in favour of a pwr unit $1275 delivered. Will look at replacing thermostat again as well.

Car never ran hot without the turbo hottest it got was half way towing camper. I know there's hepa of threads on this but just annoying buying a new hub and it making things worse then before. Also I might point out it was a genuine one I replaced it with if that makes a difference

Hey mate, I just got a new HD radiator in my TD42 GQ for $660 from Natrad. I didn't put a new clutch fan in but I reco'd mine, it's a real easy job, a $10 tube of fluid from Toyota, something like 12 bolts and it's done. Where did you get the clutch from? Did it have warranty? Sounds like it's faulty.

You may of had an air lock in the system , next time you fill up
park the Patrol nose up and invert a coke bottle with the bum cut out into the radiator.
This will raise your fill point, and hopefully remove any bubbles

I cant edit my last post but only use OE thermostat,
Get your radiator rodded as chances are its blocked internally and
check bottom of radiator between the fins could be blocked with mud and dust
Go easy with the car wash sprayer don't pull the trigger, you might be surprised
how much gunk is trapped

Is it possible the new clutch fan has no fluid in it? When you spin it with the engine off, is there resistance?

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Originally Posted by Winnie

Hey mate, I just got a new HD radiator in my TD42 GQ for $660 from Natrad. I didn't put a new clutch fan in but I reco'd mine, it's a real easy job, a $10 tube of fluid from Toyota, something like 12 bolts and it's done. Where did you get the clutch from? Did it have warranty? Sounds like it's faulty.

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if I get a new radiator it'll b a pwr unit as I've had trouble in the past with others including natrad with my old Holden striker. Also the old fan is stuffed and not rebuild able.

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Originally Posted by threedogs

You may of had an air lock in the system , next time you fill up
park the Patrol nose up and invert a coke bottle with the bum cut out into the radiator.
This will raise your fill point, and hopefully remove any bubbles

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I will giv it a go but still doesn't explain why the fan won't engage.

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Originally Posted by threedogs

I cant edit my last post but only use OE thermostat,
Get your radiator rodded as chances are its blocked internally and
check bottom of radiator between the fins could be blocked with mud and dust
Go easy with the car wash sprayer don't pull the trigger, you might be surprised
how much gunk is trapped

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I have washed and blown out the radiator. If it was blocked wouldn't it of got hot before putting the turbo on as well.

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Originally Posted by Parksy

Is it possible the new clutch fan has no fluid in it? When you spin it with the engine off, is there resistance?

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Possible yeh I guess. Will split the hub and hav a look.

It was still getting up near the last marker with the old fan on which was permanently on, only difference now is it doesn't kool down quick enough once over the hill as fan is not on

i would say the fault is with the viscous fan hub for sure, as winnie said get a tube of toymota silicone hub oil and throw it in, can only help and you will soon see when you pull it apart,

Nah bull crap, if it's brand new and is faulty get a replacement one.

if its new and not working then by all means take it back, is there any resistance
when you try to spin it

Lol this is exactly the same fault i had with my trol, couldn't hear the clutch fan engage. I removed the radiator cleaned it inside and out with the hose, I also put 2 thermostats thru it and a new viscous hub but the auxiliary fan would continually stay on plus if i was going up hill the temps rise, i had to drive with my heater on flat out to keep the engine cool.

Long story short my radiator was 40% blocked internally the only way to clean it properly is to remove the tanks and get the tubes cleaned correctly.

Ally radiators are not serviceable so if it gets blocked internally you can try get it cut open and re welded but you'll most likely clog it up again with slag. Get your radiator cleaned out and price up a 3 core copper/brass unit.

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Originally Posted by Alitis007

Lol this is exactly the same fault i had with my trol, couldn't hear the clutch fan engage. I removed the radiator cleaned it inside and out with the hose, I also put 2 thermostats thru it and a new viscous hub but the auxiliary fan would continually stay on plus if i was going up hill the temps rise, i had to drive with my heater on flat out to keep the engine cool.

Long story short my radiator was 40% blocked internally the only way to clean it properly is to remove the tanks and get the tubes cleaned correctly.

Ally radiators are not serviceable so if it gets blocked internally you can try get it cut open and re welded but you'll most likely clog it up again with slag. Get your radiator cleaned out and price up a 3 core copper/brass unit.

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I understand what your saying but how does my radiator end up being blocked overnite. it was working fine when i pulled it into the garage to add turbo. Drive it out with turbo and went straight on a 4 day trip and it got hot the whole time. Lucky the fan was running all the time that it kept cool enough to not overheat and spill it coolant. New fan wasnt coming on at all to even help cool it down after cresting a hill. Didnt drop below 105 degrees before the next incline came along.

What are your pyros like? With my old turbo setup the pyros were fairly high and the car ran a lot warmer than what it does now with the new turbo setup because pyros are so much lower.

car is getting to 500 plus on the gauge. its isnt tuned yet ive been lazy just drive of the guage. once it hits 500 i back of but usually if i can keep the revs fairly high it takes ages to get that high and can usually crest most hills without backing of.

ALso in regards to an airlock. When filling with coolant the car was slightly facing down hill. Whats the chances of it causing an airlock like this?

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Originally Posted by BLKWDW

I understand what your saying but how does my radiator end up being blocked overnite. it was working fine when i pulled it into the garage to add turbo. Drive it out with turbo and went straight on a 4 day trip and it got hot the whole time. Lucky the fan was running all the time that it kept cool enough to not overheat and spill it coolant. New fan wasnt coming on at all to even help cool it down after cresting a hill. Didnt drop below 105 degrees before the next incline came along.

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How old is your coolant? When was the last time you had the radiator cleaned ? When was the last time the welsh plugs removed to clean all the scale from the block ? What condition is the water pump impeller ??

Your radiator may have been blocked back when you installed the turbo kit over 6 months ago and you didn't know. Understand how a viscous fan hub works, the air passing thru the radiator heats the element ( a coil of flat bar ) in the hub to create a larger surface area to utilize the viscosity of the oil in the hub to lock the fan close to a 1:1 ratio with the engine rpm, if the radiator is blocked the bottom half wont heat up enough to head to heat the element for it to engage.

Assuming your water pump is circulating the water and you don't have any water leaks thats what i think your fault is.

If you do end up getting a new radiator you still need to reverse flush the block and heater core to remove as much scale as you can to keep you warranty.

You might get an air lock at the back of the block,
go get your tune/dyno you might just be getting too much fuel

As Alitis say you may want to run some radiator flush through the system,
and with all this hot weather your cooling system will need to be spot on.
Winnie got a great deal on a bigger radiator. You have "Goat Syndrome"

Do Nissan 4.2 have a block bleedscrew on the back of the block???

He's not around anymore [retired] but he enhanced any water pump by removing factory press steel fan/and replacing it
with a proper impellor, John Bennet is the GURU of all things to do with cooling a motor. I think the V8 supercars use his system.
He puts the thermostat in the bottom hose, He made two stages for cooling, I had his water pump in my SBC troopy, would never overheat.
Shame he retired and never passed on his knowledge

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Originally Posted by threedogs

You might get an air lock at the back of the block,
go get your tune/dyno you might just be getting too much fuel

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Not by the sounds of his pyros

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Originally Posted by Alitis007

How old is your coolant? When was the last time you had the radiator cleaned ? When was the last time the welsh plugs removed to clean all the scale from the block ? What condition is the water pump impeller ??

Your radiator may have been blocked back when you installed the turbo kit over 6 months ago and you didn't know. Understand how a viscous fan hub works, the air passing thru the radiator heats the element ( a coil of flat bar ) in the hub to create a larger surface area to utilize the viscosity of the oil in the hub to lock the fan close to a 1:1 ratio with the engine rpm, if the radiator is blocked the bottom half wont heat up enough to head to heat the element for it to engage.

Assuming your water pump is circulating the water and you don't have any water leaks thats what i think your fault is.

If you do end up getting a new radiator you still need to reverse flush the block and heater core to remove as much scale as you can to keep you warranty.

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Coolant is new changed it as well as flushing the block and radiator when installing the temp gauge you got me finally. I see your point will get a costing on getting the rad looked at. Will also pull the hub apart as i have the oil i was going to use to rebuild the old fan here anyways so wont hurt to look. Might go get another new thermostat as well and check the current one as well was thinking of a tridon highflow one repco stock them. if i dont HAVE to get a new radiator i dont want to. The car will be tuned asap i have been trying to get a hold of the bloke for over 2 months and being the only one in town to tune ill have to keep trying

To get the rad core cleaned shouldn't cost you more then a couple of 100 but that and new thermostat would be a winner mate. Those tridon highflow units are ok to use.

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Originally Posted by BLKWDW

car is getting to 500 plus on the gauge. its isnt tuned yet ive been lazy just drive of the guage. once it hits 500 i back of but usually if i can keep the revs fairly high it takes ages to get that high and can usually crest most hills without backing of.

ALso in regards to an airlock. When filling with coolant the car was slightly facing down hill. Whats the chances of it causing an airlock like this?

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Almost certainly your problem. The radiator cap must be the highest point to bleed properly. A TD42 can take a long time to bleed as it runs so cool. You need the nose up and the Heater On and a funnel sealed over the cap and on High Idle. Fill the funnel and go and have lunch. You want at least 2 or 3 cycles through the thermostat actuation.

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Originally Posted by Alitis007

How old is your coolant? When was the last time you had the radiator cleaned ? When was the last time the welsh plugs removed to clean all the scale from the block ? What condition is the water pump impeller ??

Your radiator may have been blocked back when you installed the turbo kit over 6 months ago and you didn't know. Understand how a viscous fan hub works, the air passing thru the radiator heats the element ( a coil of flat bar ) in the hub to create a larger surface area to utilize the viscosity of the oil in the hub to lock the fan close to a 1:1 ratio with the engine rpm, if the radiator is blocked the bottom half wont heat up enough to head to heat the element for it to engage.

Assuming your water pump is circulating the water and you don't have any water leaks thats what i think your fault is.

If you do end up getting a new radiator you still need to reverse flush the block and heater core to remove as much scale as you can to keep you warranty.

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My thoughts exactly. Given this has happened directly after fitting the turbo are you sure the thing is actually hot? Is the a turbo Water cooled too? Where is the return line? Right next to the temp gauge sender into the thermostat housing I'm tipping.

With an Air Lock the Viscous Fan element might not be getting hot enough to engage and is relying on radiant heat to engage intermittently.

Although nice to look at the PWR Alloy Rads can also cause a Stray Current is sure and electrolysis, I certainly know someone that spent 6 months chasing the stray current before ripping the PWR back out and fitting a copper for the fix.

Given your description that this has happened immediately after the turbo fit and the radiator flush I'm tipping an airlock. If you flushed your own radiator while still on the car then removing it and having it professionally cleaned is also a cheap insurance.

I would be re bleeding the system first and foremost. Nose up, heater on for an extended period on high idle.

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Almost certainly your problem. The radiator cap must be the highest point to bleed properly. A TD42 can take a long time to bleed as it runs so cool. You need the nose up and the Heater On and a funnel sealed over the cap and on High Idle. Fill the funnel and go and have lunch. You want at least 2 or 3 cycles through the thermostat actuation.




My thoughts exactly. Given this has happened directly after fitting the turbo are you sure the thing is actually hot? Is the a turbo Water cooled too? Where is the return line? Right next to the temp gauge sender into the thermostat housing I'm tipping.

With an Air Lock the Viscous Fan element might not be getting hot enough to engage and is relying on radiant heat to engage intermittently.

Although nice to look at the PWR Alloy Rads can also cause a Stray Current is sure and electrolysis, I certainly know someone that spent 6 months chasing the stray current before ripping the PWR back out and fitting a copper for the fix.

Given your description that this has happened immediately after the turbo fit and the radiator flush I'm tipping an airlock. If you flushed your own radiator while still on the car then removing it and having it professionally cleaned is also a cheap insurance.

I would be re bleeding the system first and foremost. Nose up, heater on for an extended period on high idle.

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Well the car is now facing up hill so will dump the fluid and put in a new thermostat at same time. its a water cooled turbo (dts kit) and yes water is taken from up near the thermostat. I know its getting hot the gauge was reading 115 degrees when it boiled over and spat all the coolant out and that was only at idle trying to reverse trailer into the backyard. Fan was not on. I had the turbo fitted last easter so i didnt fit last weekend. It has ran hot ever since especially climbing hills but since the old fan was seized and running at same speed as the engine rpm it was keeping it somewhat cool but still heating up going up hills but was also cooling straight down when over the hill.

Yep still thinking air lock then, at Idle your car should sit all day and lucky to get to a operating temp let alone to a temp that requires the viscous fan to engage.

I have the same turbo setup on the GQ. I assume you have an after market gauge fitted to read those temps. I have Never seen my GQ at 115c even after sitting in a Bog Hole revving at 3000 for an hour trying to get charge into a pair of flat batteries so I could do a triple line pull winch out. My Fan was not functioning either and I rebuilt it after that trip. But 115 is at the high end of happy.

Bleed her out and see what happens, I do not think this is a problem with the Turbo, if there is a problem it's either in your cooling system or the engine. If the bleed works then at high idle you should not see over 100 while bleeding I would not expect?? Yet your description suggests you might see 115? Hope the bleed sorts it out mate. The TD should run fairly cool, the fan hub is not the be all and end all, it's just a treatment for an symptom. Hopefully the bleed sorts it for you mate. Either that or it will present with continuos bubbling that does not desist or reduce and then there is your answer.

Good luck with the bleed.

Just out of interest, how much boost are you running mate?

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Yep still thinking air lock then, at Idle your car should sit all day and lucky to get to a operating temp let alone to a temp that requires the viscous fan to engage.

I have the same turbo setup on the GQ. I assume you have an after market gauge fitted to read those temps. I have Never seen my GQ at 115c even after sitting in a Bog Hole revving at 3000 for an hour trying to get charge into a pair of flat batteries so I could do a triple line pull winch out. My Fan was not functioning either and I rebuilt it after that trip. But 115 is at the high end of happy.

Bleed her out and see what happens, I do not think this is a problem with the Turbo, if there is a problem it's either in your cooling system or the engine. If the bleed works then at high idle you should not see over 100 while bleeding I would not expect?? Yet your description suggests you might see 115? Hope the bleed sorts it out mate. The TD should run fairly cool, the fan hub is not the be all and end all, it's just a treatment for an symptom. Hopefully the bleed sorts it for you mate. Either that or it will present with continuos bubbling that does not desist or reduce and then there is your answer.

Good luck with the bleed.

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I have always filled it up with coolant and waited for the bubbling to stop which it always has. If it doesnt head gasket? my oil changes have never been milky and i just did one at same time as changing the coolant.

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Just out of interest, how much boost are you running mate?

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Its running at 14psi atm no cooler.

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Originally Posted by BLKWDW

Its running at 14psi atm no cooler.

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Once the the bleed is sorted then take it for a drive. Watch your pyro temps and check them on a good hill. Then increase your boost to 16 for the test and do the hill again and see what difference it makes, you could be over fuelling slightly too mate, you have not done the Dyno so increasing boost will compensate for over fuelling and you may see a drop in pyro temps with the increased boost. If this is the case then run at 16 or turn back the fuel a little. Do all this with a clean air filter though.

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Originally Posted by MudRunnerTD

Once the the bleed is sorted then take it for a drive. Watch your pyro temps and check them on a good hill. Then increase your boost to 16 for the test and do the hill again and see what difference it makes, you could be over fuelling slightly too mate, you have not done the Dyno so increasing boost will compensate for over fuelling and you may see a drop in pyro temps with the increased boost. If this is the case then run at 16 or turn back the fuel a little. Do all this with a clean air filter though.

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WIll give it a try. Air filter is brand new replaced the oil, fuel and 2 air filters for the trip. Actually boost gauge only reads to 15psi

Drained the coolant added some rad flush then top up with coolant. started adding the coolant then pretty much straight away coolant starting coming out the little hose that sits above the thermostat and goes to the filler neck on the rad as i could see it flowing into the rad. My guess would be it shouldnt be doing this if the thermostat is closed so maybe the thermostat is stuck open?

Also filled it up to try and get rid of the bubbles like u's said but all it did was fill up the over flow bottle. The rubber on the rad cap looks a bit dodgy as well so might replace it.

Got it running now ata bout 1500rpm and temp is still climbing an the fan is on and has been on since the start and isnt turning of. not sure what iits problem is but temp is still climbing. The stock temp gauge was at 0 but the aftermarket one was still on 60 degrees not sure if its faulty or bcos the car was sitting in the sun with bonnet up and shining on the rad? It did drop bout 5-10 degrees before starting to climb again. I still have car running so will give it a bit more time then drain coolant pull rad out and clean again and change thermostat. I ended up buying a highflow dayco thermostat with an opening temp of 73 degrees i think it was or maybe 76

It has seemed to have stopped and sit just before 80 degrees now.

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Originally Posted by BLKWDW

It has seemed to have stopped and sit just before 80 degrees now.

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Is that with the radiator cap off or on?

I use a funnel and have wrapped the pipe section with electrical tape until its a snug fit into the radiator cap opening then fill the funnel to hold half full and let it run at high idle. You should to be draining to the overflow ?

with cap on. when it filled up and overflowed out the overflow bottle i put the cap on. i have pics to show u the thermostat. when i took it out and put it in cold water in a pot it didnt close up either.

this is the thermostat after pulling it out at 80 degrees
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...psf54e9e56.jpg

this is it after 5 min in pot of cold water
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...psfd0640ad.jpg

Looks like its cactus mate. What did you replace it with?

I bought a dayco highflow. supposed to open up at 77 degress. that other one is less then a yr old. wonder how long it has been stuffed for.

Hay mate. A stuck open thermostat can happen. Happened to me.. So worth a check..

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Originally Posted by Westy's Accessories

Hay mate. A stuck open thermostat can happen. Happened to me.. So worth a check..

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i checked it mate and posted a photo

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Originally Posted by BLKWDW

i checked it mate and posted a photo

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Sorry mate missed that.

I'll say what I've posted many times before. Don't fark with temps.
Engineers don't spend millions designing and testing engines and then say, Augh fark it, an 80 degree thermostat will do...

By lowering the engine temp the block, pistons, bearings etc won't get to optimum temp. Which could cause huge issues.

If you change out the thermostat with original part and still have issues, then your issue is else where..

This all reads like airlock and bad thermostat.
mixtures cause problems
m2cw

When filling the cooling system a very slow pouring time can help big time.
Maintenance manuals can give you a time flow rate etc, the engineers have worked this out all for you,
As Westy points out.

Even fill 1 ltr in a say 1 minute go away to let it settle ,come back 1-2min later and repeat.
sometime air lock happens just filling system up, "slow and steady wins the race", they say.

Humm, Just a thought,
Is it possible the interior heater could be blocked and causing issues with the bleed process?.

Was talking with a self employed rad specialist yrs ago, a mates neighbour.
between us blokes over the fence,
Fortron was his recommended flushing product.
It's not caustic, a nice and friendly product, can leave in a week, even whilst driving.
I did what he said, no problem accured.
But you guessed it, cant seem to find it any more.