Fan Clutch on a 9/78 Pig

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Joined
Jul 10, 2005
Threads
5
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54
Location
Fort Collins
Looking for advice on a water pump Fan clutch issue.
I blew the water pump in the 55 and need to replace.
Looked around and bought a no oil cooler '76-'78 that
seemed to be correct, from what I researched here and
around the web.

So the fan on the 55 is a direct drive and I have factory
AC also and no PS. So 3 belts in all.
So the fan is the typical nylon 6 blade.

The issue here is that the water pump that was on there
is taller and has a different fan bolt pattern than a clutch setup.
The pump actually appears to be a pre'76 model from
the specs that I find and pics on the web (taller).

So the issue is do I keep the new water pump that requires a fan clutch?
And get a used fan clutch.
Do I send it back and get an older or different model
pump that is direct drive?
Is the Fan Clutch better than a direct drive?

Pumps from Cool Crusiers and they have found another direct drive
that I can swap out.
SOR say they have a driect drive also. SOR also said that NO FJ55
ever came with a Fan Clutch. Does anyone know if this is true?
I know that '78 FJ 40s do come with a fan clutch.

Thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
my set up

I am replacing single F in my 1976 FJ55 (obviously not the original motor) with a Dec. 1976 2F and also bought the Cool Cruisers waterpump (withOUT oil cooler) but I bought the clutchfan assembly with it and a late model 7blade fan.

I have done the measurements and it appears as though I have about .25 to .50 inch clearance from the radiator. plus its a twin pulley like the crank pulley so I can add fj60 powersteering later.

I would recommend the clutchfan set up instead of the direct drive (I think it equates to faster fan rpms more often because it can travel faster when engine is at low rpms at fast speeds.

I will let you know how it goes.
Engine assembly Thursday, install shortly thereafter
 
Sounds good.
Hope the install goes smooth.
 
You can't fit a clutch fan in a '55. Just a little too close to the rad. BTDT. Lasted about two miles when I tried. Cost me a rad. :(

Before I tried, I assumed that it must be possible and that I had just never run across it. Apparently not.


Mark...
 
I am replacing single F in my 1976 FJ55 (obviously not the original motor) with a Dec. 1976 2F and also bought the Cool Cruisers waterpump (withOUT oil cooler) but I bought the clutchfan assembly with it and a late model 7blade fan.

I have done the measurements and it appears as though I have about .25 to .50 inch clearance from the radiator. plus its a twin pulley like the crank pulley so I can add fj60 powersteering later.

I would recommend the clutchfan set up instead of the direct drive (I think it equates to faster fan rpms more often because it can travel faster when engine is at low rpms at fast speeds.

I will let you know how it goes.
Engine assembly Thursday, install shortly thereafter

.25 to .50 inches of clearance is a recipe for disaster.


You lost me on the "faster fan rpm" thinking. The fan can never turn faster than the engine is trying to turn it. Only slower when it unlocks and freewheels.


Mark...
 
cant the freewheel make it travel faster than engine when airflow drives the fan faster than the motor?

IF it was out in a location where you could get that sort of airflow, then at some point there would be enough to spin it like a pinwheel. But in the engine compartment, behind the grill and radiator it will never see that much air passing over it.


Mark...
 
and if the assembly fits at all, only front impact will change position over half an inch, wouldn't it??

Unfortunately, no.

The engine wil flex some on the mounts. The frame will flex some over uneven terrain (even uneven roads, potholes, curbs and such). When the fan clutch locks, the plastic blades will flex forward at the ends when under load.

In actuality, these and other factors offer enough changes in the relationship of the fan and radiator that it will not survive for more than a small amount of on road driving before the two contact each other.


Mark...
 
8 blade Fan direct drive ! Just a thought on my 10/78 FJ55 with oil cooler factory A/C and No power steering :confused: this is what came with it

P1010002-1.jpg


......Dusty
 
You can't fit a clutch fan in a '55. Just a little too close to the rad. BTDT. Lasted about two miles when I tried. Cost me a rad. :(

Before I tried, I assumed that it must be possible and that I had just never run across it. Apparently not.


Mark...

Wow, I learn something everytime I read a Whatley post...
 
So take the drive flange off an old water pump and put it on the new water pump.
 
Well thanks for all of the insight.
How much clearance should there be between the radiator and the front of the fan?
Well regardless, it looks like I need to exchange the water pump for a fan clutch and go back to a direct drive pump.
Thanks everyone for your input.
Michael C.
 
I'm comfortable with an inch or two.

Not that is comes into play with a 2F in a Cruiser, but more clearance works fine so long as you have a nice tight fitting fan shroud. The fan can be quite a distance away from the rad so long as it is in the "mouth" of the shoud.


Mark...
 
well what about....

Hey Mark, if one already has the whole assembly, can the clutch be taken off and the waterpump run as a direct drive? If so, which fan would fit? just a theory. (Cool Cruisers of Texas still swears up and down that this will fit) I cant say one way or the other but it would be nice to have an option short of total replacement.
 
Not to put words into the mouth of the FK, but, A fan-clutch fan won't bolt onto the waterpump without the fan clutch. And the drive flange on the fan-clutched waterpump won't fit the usual landcruiser direct drive fan. But, you can pull the flanges off both water pumps and swap them. In other words, you can fit a direct drive fan onto a new water pump, just gotta change flanges first.
 
There are FJ55's with fan clutches. I helped a friend part out the drivetrain on a 1979 FJ55 with factory powersteering, and in that particular application there is a fan clutch, as well as a skinny 2 core radiator. I have the radiator, and its OEM. So, to answer the question at hand, do not run a fan clutch with a 3 or 4 core radiator.

Pay particlar attention to the depth of the fan in relation to the crank pulley on a 2F, as they can be close. I am not sure what he combo was on the 1976 FJ55 I have but the fan looked stock, and was only about 1/4" from the crank pulley...
 
Not to put words into the mouth of the FK, but, A fan-clutch fan won't bolt onto the waterpump without the fan clutch. And the drive flange on the fan-clutched waterpump won't fit the usual landcruiser direct drive fan. But, you can pull the flanges off both water pumps and swap them. In other words, you can fit a direct drive fan onto a new water pump, just gotta change flanges first.

Yep, what he said.
;)


Mark...
 
There are FJ55's with fan clutches. I helped a friend part out the drivetrain on a 1979 FJ55 with factory powersteering, and in that particular application there is a fan clutch, as well as a skinny 2 core radiator. I have the radiator, and its OEM. So, to answer the question at hand, do not run a fan clutch with a 3 or 4 core radiator.

Pay particlar attention to the depth of the fan in relation to the crank pulley on a 2F, as they can be close. I am not sure what he combo was on the 1976 FJ55 I have but the fan looked stock, and was only about 1/4" from the crank pulley...

This is absolutely right. I had forgotten about the skinny radiator in the '79s.

But that's what it takes. Won't work with the earlier rads. And IIRC, the mounting bolts are different on the '79s too, so if you do have the '79 rad it is not a bolt in replacement for the earlier ones. IIRC anyway.


Mark...
 

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