Yep, Same one..oh well, I'm back together with a new alt belt and life is good! Thanks to all!
Fan Clutch Too Close to Radiator
- Thread starter dmoore
- Start date
It's not a fan clearance issue Dave..its a fan clutch to core issue..less than 1/2". As far as engine/trans mounts and everything else this car is bone stock. The 3rd core in the Glen Ray radiator is the issue.
Daves69
Well-Known Member
Thanks. Understood. You might want to be wary of panic stops you may have to make.
Kinda' ironic, I had the water pump off and was going to upgrade the 2765 to the 2947 because it just never seemed to have much resistance/air flow, saw this thread and decided to "adjust" the the new one.
You just filed a new slot and unwound the spring by 1/8"? How much change will that make do you think?
Being's I'm a "noob" fan clutch adjuster, I don't know, but when you pop the spring out, it will only turn the shaft about 90° and when you put a lil' heat on the spring, it's amazing how much it moves. I don't know if I even needed to do it, but I definitely needed more "wind" than I had, I was going to put a solid hub in but thought I'd try this first, so far so good, I blocked the rad. to get it up to temp so the thermostat would open, got up to 185, pulled the cardboard and went right down to 170, I'm only running a 22 radiator and slow moving/idle is where I had my concerns.
And yes, hack sawed a new slot.
And yes, hack sawed a new slot.
- Local time
- 8:15 PM
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
- Messages
- 33,770
- Reaction score
- 53,621
- Location
- South Louisiana
One half inch space to the radiator with a clutch fan may find your clutch chewing into the radiator just deep enough to require radiator replacement.
Been there, done that. As the clutch heats up, that gap gets smaller.
Been there, done that. As the clutch heats up, that gap gets smaller.
I run solid motor mounts on all my cars, and still would want more than 1/2" clearance. No way I would chance it with rubber mounts.
I've been driving this car for two years like it...it's fine. All this came about when I needed to replace the alt belt and couldn't get it over the clutch without destroying the core. So I just pulled the rad and slipped on a new belt that in all reality I will never have to change again. Like I said I previous post, the 3 core Glen Ray is a necessity and it's staying.
warm enough too close a 1/2" gap?? I don't think so!
- Local time
- 8:15 PM
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
- Messages
- 33,770
- Reaction score
- 53,621
- Location
- South Louisiana
Neither did I, but it certainly happened on my wife's GTO, with the factory clutch fan and a brand new Cold Case aluminum radiator that now has a lovely, oh so slight "circular swirl" in the center of it. Just enough to make it leak in about 6 spots in that circle. My new CC radiator is wall art now. Had plenty of space in that ½" gap for a 10 minute test drive, right up to the point that it didn't.
YRMV/JME
'Soft' motor mounts maybe?
Absolutely with you on that one. It's not so much the movement in the motor mounts (side-to-side) that get ya...it's the flexing of the front end and core support area. Hit a bump or dip
(or RR tracks
) hard enough and stuff can flex just enough to cause 'intimate relations' between the radiator and fan/clutch.DON'T ask me how I know 'cause I never ever had it happen
- Local time
- 9:15 PM
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 17,235
- Reaction score
- 32,416
- Location
- On the Ridge, TN
I was specifically referring to the metal flex fans when I said they DO, in fact, sometimes explode...
and yes, I mean explode. Seen it more than once in my life, once on my own car (and in those days,
I had bought the more expensive "name brand" which had a lifetime warranty on it - think it was a
Flex-A-Lite or some such?). Yeah, guess who didn't honor their warranty...
Shards wound up spearing through the radiator and shredding the alternator/fan belt - and even
dented the hood from underneath - a pretty damn violent explosion, turns out, and at only about 4800RPM.
I can only imagine what would have happened had that occurred shortly beforehand, when I was under
the hood working on the carb and had been goosing the engine a bit...
There's plenty of similar stories online out there of others who suffered similar fates, too.
I don't care how efficient they may be - it's not worth the risk to me.
- Local time
- 9:15 PM
- Joined
- May 14, 2011
- Messages
- 17,235
- Reaction score
- 32,416
- Location
- On the Ridge, TN
I'm confused - if you have the same unit, why do you need someone else to measure it for you?
Lookit, bottom line:
- You're hard set on the radiator you have; that's a set point of the equation, short of modification of the
radiator support.
- Your engine, without something getting modified there, is the opposing set point when added to the shortest
known fan clutch (the Hayden "Jaguar" unit you have now).
- You've stated you're fine and dandy with the 1/2" clearance between clutch and radiator (despite repeated
advice that you shouldn't be).
- The whole point of the thread (I think?) is that you can't service your fan belt at that spacing, though.
So....either you're fine with things the way they are or you're going to have to be willing for something
in the equation to change; one of those "set points" has gotta give in order to gain more clearance.
That's where we are here. So....what's the decision?
Because after the comparative measurement was posted it was confirmed. Go back and read my previous post where I said I have reserved myself to just pulling the rad if I ever need to replace the alt belt in the future. Thanks to all who replied.
Yeahrightgreer
Well-Known Member
Clutch fans just don’t work for me. Flex fan and whichever spacer works great and nothing to grenade. Less weight and fewer moving parts. Just my opinion and experience and that’s all.
View attachment 1090515 View attachment 1090516 View attachment 1090517 View attachment 1090518 View attachment 1090519 View attachment 1090520
After seeing a flex fan tear a whole straight through a hood at the drag strip and hearing dozens of stories of flex fans come apart - itll make you rethink.
Similar threads
