Blue fan clutch mod...Thread has gone to hell, read at your own risk (6 Viewers)

[landtank]

With complete disreguard to what has been said already due to lack of time to read, could one drain the fluid in their stock original hub and replace with 6k stuff and expect better operation?

yes, just be sure the spring is clean and in good shape.

 

[alkaline747trio]

Does heavier oil make it stay engaged longer?

 

[landtank]

for any given amount of oil that is being sheared the heavier the oil the more drive that is trnsfered. However the heavier oil will flow less freely so that any given valve position there will likely be less oil to shear with the heavy oil.

Basically what I've done has worked out real well for me, What Kevin has done has worked out real well for him. Probably works out to be the same.

I predicted some time ago that this would become something similar to caster correction where everyone will end up doing there own thing, luckily Shots hasn't poked his head in here lately.

 

[Tools R Us]

Does heavier oil make it stay engaged longer?

Not significantly, thicker fluid will take slightly longer to be pumped back to the reservoir.

I have done a bunch of the early clutches on 20r's and 3.slows with complete success.

...luckily Shots hasn't poked his head in here lately.

Your thinking that he would have a clue what we are talking about?

Basically what I've done has worked out real well for me, What Kevin has done has worked out real well for him. Probably works out to be the same.

The way I see it is, we know that it works well using a couple of methods and we have learned some things about how it works. At this point more members trying it and providing constructive input, observations will only improve the collaborative product. At some point the good info in this thread needs to be boiled down and put in a new one that is readable.

 

[semlin]

so alkaline are you trying to win the pokecar or what with that charizard avatar?

 

[Tools R Us]

Rick, how full is the fluid in the clutches that you have had apart lately? clarkrw3 and I did his last night and by my eye it had very little fluid in it.

 

[landtank]

Rick, how full is the fluid in the clutches that you have had apart lately? clarkrw3 and I did his last night and by my eye it had very little fluid in it.

I always check the hub side of the clutch after it has drained into it. It has been level with the "shelf" on that side. The pic on the first page attempted to show that. But yes, very little oil. I was also wondering how you are getting 4 tubes in there. After 2 tubes it looks like I almost double the factory fill and another 2 wouldn't fit, at least on that side anyway.

 

[cruiserdan]

2 filled mine right up.

 

[landtank]

here is what I've drained out of 2 clutches so far, 1 of which had 1.5 tubes added prior to draining, there is a little slime layer still in the drain pan.

 

[Tools R Us]

That's the total from three clutches, what 55-60 ml? My eye guessed maybe 30ml in this one, it was new 4-07. I put ~55ml in mine and thought that looked good, but if you guys are getting good performance from two tubes it's probably more than needed?

 

[landtank]

I'm only draining the oil out, the clutch is sitting on it's side on the edge of a pan so there still is some oil in there, but not much. 2 tubes brings the level very close to where i have a pic of it on the first page.


Edited above as that was for 2 clutches not 3

 

[Tools R Us]

It looks like about two tubes is the factory fill, we added 1+ a bit to Rob's new clutch and it functions correctly, mine is good with 55 ml but it's an older style so that data maybe out.

An easy fix for more performance on a truck that isn't pushed hard and/or in cooler climates may be to simply add a tube of 10000 cst to the factory fill? The blue hub seems to work or close to it in for most, by adding a tube of 10K it would be about 4400 cst, probably about right for most users?

A handy viscosity calculator;

http://www.rohmax.com/en/oiladditives/customer_services/calculation_tools/base_oil_calc.html

 

[landtank]

everyone can do what ever they want, drain and fill with 10k, drain and fill with 6k, just add some 10k, adjust the timing or not. But if you are using this to troubleshoot a problem I'd encourage you to simulate another's successful change in the event that desired results aren't achieved, you can then confidently rule out the clutch.

This was one of my main goals in doing this. Providing a base line to confirm a clutch problem. I can't help thinking that radiators have been replaced do to weak performing clutches. Not that those radiators didn't help but they weren't necessarily the main issue.

 

[semlin]

is there any difference on durability if you blend rather than replace? one comment i have is that maybe the factory 3000 cst stuff is too thin so it breaks down quickly, meaning it should be replaced unless you have a brand new clutch to work with? i do think my blue fan clutch is performing worse now than at first in April even taking into account ambient temp differences.

 

[clarkrw3]

I have done no testing with mine but last night it did seem to be pulling more air, and the sound at start up is more pronounced. I will see if I can't see a change this weekend. I think we might all be coming to the end of useful eval time being the temps are dropping we might have to pick up the topic again next summer. Mine did seem to be obsessively low stock, fluid wise, which could have something to do with the poor performance. We just added to what was already there...hopefully it does the trick.
Thanks Tools!!

 

[alkaline747trio]

Can my original fan clutch be drained and refilled while on the truck? And what is the judges ruling on the amount of oil that should be in the clutch?

 

[cruiserdan]

Can my original fan clutch be drained and refilled while on the truck?

No.

And what is the judges ruling on the amount of oil that should be in the clutch?

It depends on which clutch you have and how well you drain it.

 

[Tools R Us]

is there any difference on durability if you blend rather than replace? one comment i have is that maybe the factory 3000 cst stuff is too thin so it breaks down quickly, meaning it should be replaced unless you have a brand new clutch to work with? i do think my blue fan clutch is performing worse now than at first in April even taking into account ambient temp differences.

If the fluid is too thin it can breakdown and loose some or all of it's properties over time. According the silicone techs that I talked to it's acceptable to blend, he sent the link to calculator that I posted above to use. If your clutch is relatively new I see no problem blending with the original fluid.

 

[Tools R Us]

I have done no testing with mine but last night it did seem to be pulling more air, and the sound at start up is more pronounced. I will see if I can't see a change this weekend. I think we might all be coming to the end of useful eval time being the temps are dropping we might have to pick up the topic again next summer. Mine did seem to be obsessively low stock, fluid wise, which could have something to do with the poor performance. We just added to what was already there...hopefully it does the trick.
Thanks Tools!!

I think we came close to the 7500 cst target, that should work well. Give it a good flogging we can always tweak it a little thicker or thinner it only takes a few minutes.

Yep, we are coming to the end of the good testing time, thank goodness, ready for some nice weather!

 

[PHAEDRUS]

Holy chit, 9 pages of that I read, then realized before I wanted to stop anc pick up some oil tomorrow is the 3FE fan clutch the sme or is it different?? Mine was replaced 3+ years ago from the local stealership.
Oh SHaman lend us your incredible brain.
Dave