What brand?

 

That I do not know... it was done last summer by PO

 

fan clutch is cheap and easy to replace, so if you've never replaced it, that would be my first move. same goes for the thermostat. i also did tests like you talked about, seeing if there's resistand when hot or cold, etc and from the looks of it my fan clutch was fine. ended up replacing it because only the water pump was left to do in my cooling system, and it magically solved my idle overheating troubles.

if that doesn't cut it, since you know the e-fan kicks on, i'd follow that by a flush if it hasn't been done either, and if that also doesn't work time to check the water pump.

 

You clearly didn't read the thread,,, BUT thanks for playing

 

oh i think i read the thread fine. so much for trying to help.

 

If you read it so well... you'd know the stat is new, my high temp occurs only at interstate speeds with AC on, not at idle, and the system is clean and recently flushed. WP is less than a year old as well. So short of your first line suggesting I replace the clutch EVERYTHING else you suggested I do has all been done.


Which is WHY I felt the fan clutch was the only thing left to possibly consider even though it really doesn't match my issue and appears to be operating as it should. $45 is $45 and I'd rather not throw money at the problem just for funsies. The purpose of the thread was to determine if there was something I was missing that could point to the clutch being weak aside from the obvious checks. Thanks

 

These fan clutches seem to be a mystery in themselves. When I got my one owner well maintained '96 (98k miles) 9-10yrs ago from a personal friend all was good. No signs of a cooling system problem at all. I live at the foot of the Alleghany Mts. To the top is a 3mi climb at a 9% grade but the speed limit is only 50mph. 3/4's of the way up my temp light comes on (went to a gauge cluster shortly there after). Pulled over and let it idle to cool. Had to do the same trip the next day so I replaced the fan clutch since there were no records of it ever being replaced. Problem solved.

Here's a pic of the original w/p at 160k miles:

 

Well. Just replaced fan clutch. In the garage it seems to be no change. Still can't hear the fan even. Think I may replace belt tomorrow. Looks due.

 

Think I'll order a new shroud as well. Just cause like 40% of the bottom half is gone.

 

Remember that the fan clutch won't engage just sitting idling after a cold startup. You've got to get it good and hot then let it idle for a few minutes to get the clutch to engage. Once it does, there's no mistaking it's working when you rev it up a little.

 

Yeah, that'll do it.

 

I've read the details, and I would agree that fixing the shroud and replacing the fan clutch are your next steps (I'm assuming you have made sure your radiator is clean and not covered with grime, bugs, debris, etc).

At 75mph on a 90deg day with AC on, is at the high end of what the system can cool. It does leave the possibility that your fan clutch isn't quite reaching the speeds it should when the temperature gets hot from the radiator.

You may not be able to do it at 75mph, but until you try a new fan clutch you can also try running in 3rd gear when it gets too hot (out of over drive). Typically, this will help things cool down. Somewhat depends on the terrain and your driving style.

Keep in mind, that if you are pushing big AT tires, with tall gears, you could just be reaching a limit, where the cooling system can't remove energy as fast as it is picking it up. Especially if the air is humid and isn't allowing the radiator to work as efficiently.

 

I had it at op temp for 30 ish min.

 

how much does the fan do at 75 mph??
i had a junkyard e fan on a 460 mustang, rigged an air flow switch to kill the fan at about 50+mph.
also in 59 yrs driving 31 vehicles, never once changed a fan clutch, none

 

Nothing. It's not the fan clutch. It never was.