Early 1FZ Fan Clutch (Black/Blue Hub)

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Tools R Us said:
You should be OK with the late blue hub. They are wimpy compared to the earlier clutches, so require higher viscosity to achieve equal performance. This thread is mainly about the earlier clutches, they are more powerful, especially in the third step, so running third step at cruise speeds can overpower the belts.



The higher viscosity fluid causes more drive, will feel more stiff, this is normal, what you are looking for.

If you have a build able black hub Aisin, why would you move to the late blue? I have yet to see an late blue hub that will out perform an early, the early clutches kick azz!
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I thought I have the old blue hub clutch (pictured on the right). I pulled it off the truck that I got my supercharger from. It replaced an Eaton clutch (on the left) not a black hub. Sorry I stated the wrong clutch in my previous posting.
I suppose I will drain the fluid in Eaton clutch and replace with the other bottle of 10,000 CST that I have and use it as a trail spare after hearing that it would be good for that.

Thanks for the info guys!
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cool breeze said:
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So now to re-adjust mine from 95* back to..... what average temps did you see them normally start to open at? 120f ?
If they're similar to the blue hubs then there was quite a large range at what they were set from the factory.
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I haven't played with setting them for a couple of years, found that it was difficult to get accurate, repeatable readings. Once we put a thermocouple right next to the thermostat the few we played with were close. I don't think it is that important, somewhere in the 110-120F appears to put the idle in the correct place.

The goal was to make them work well at idle, increasing under hood airflow, this reduces heat soak, improves A/C performance. Found that once this was accomplished, everything else was gravy, the fan works well in the other conditions.

cool breeze said:
While im in there would there be a nice gain to move up from the 7k csT in there now?
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I have never been to San Antonino, so don't know what the heat load is or what is needed for good A/C performance? Currently, I putting 12.5K in early Aisin, ~15K in Eaton and 20K+ in blue hubs for our conditions. My guess is you will see a nice performance increase from a 10K change.
 
FirstToy said:
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all the fluid came out of here, poured out pretty quickly
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...
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That will get most of it. If you look around the outer edge there is a small hole where the fluid is pumped back to the reservoir. I stand the parts up with the tops leaning together /\ and that hole at the bottom, to get more of the old fluid out.

The factory clutches are very reliable, so I don't see the need to carry a spare? Unless your just looking for more ballast? :hillbilly:
 
My blue hub has 10k in it now, cooling seems fine. Going to go to 20k though, just because I can.:hillbilly:


You know I did swap a fan clutch on the trail once and FristToy was there to help.

:beer:
 
Cruiserdrew said:
...
You know I did swap a fan clutch on the trail once and FristToy was there to help.

:beer:
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Yep, have also had issues with them on the trail, always on newbie rigs. They almost never fail without a long warning, are very reliable. By simply attempting to spin the fan, cold (check drag) and rock the fan tip forward and aft (check for bearing play) you can be pretty much assured they will work for the foreseeable future, ie a trail run?

:whoops: forgot about rust bucket rigs, they can have the valve stick.
 
Tools R Us said:
Yep, have also had issues with them on the trail, always on newbie rigs. They almost never fail without a long warning, are very reliable. By simply attempting to spin the fan, cold (check drag) and rock the fan tip forward and aft (check for bearing play) you can be pretty much assured they will work for the foreseeable future, ie a trail run?

:whoops: forgot about rust bucket rigs, they can have the valve stick.
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My truck stated to get very hot(in Death Valley-go figure), out of the blue. Had a spare fan clutch, swapped, and no difference. Problem fixed with new radiator.
 
If either would be an improvement than ill go with 10k in case we relocate to a cooler climate. San antonio has miserably hot summers with high humidity so consider yourself lucky..plus you get In-N-Out you lucky bastage:flipoff2:

My calibrating method is placing the clutch on a stone table directly under full sun then using a laser thermometer pointed directly to the outer coiled spring and locking it down when it gets to the temp desired.

Pretty laboratory-ish right haha...that sound good?

BTW, thanks for the help...really

Tools R Us said:
I haven't played with setting them for a couple of years, found that it was difficult to get accurate, repeatable readings. Once we put a thermocouple right next to the thermostat the few we played with were close. I don't think it is that important, somewhere in the 110-120F appears to put the idle in the correct place.

The goal was to make them work well at idle, increasing under hood airflow, this reduces heat soak, improves A/C performance. Found that once this was accomplished, everything else was gravy, the fan works well in the other conditions.


I have never been to San Antonino, so don't know what the heat load is or what is needed for good A/C performance? Currently, I putting 12.5K in early Aisin, ~15K in Eaton and 20K+ in blue hubs for our conditions. My guess is you will see a nice performance increase from a 10K change.
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Well, guess what arrived today? Yup, the 10K oil. It's only been 2 months (ordered March 5th). Quote from the guys at the hobby shop where I got it: "You're going to use this for what?":lol:

Pic 1 = The new fluid
Pic 2 = Draining the old fluid
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I spun my 10K Eaton and it had very little resistance after a few spins and then spun freely-
the blue clutch kept it's resistance.

So, I put the blue clutch back in and will bring my 10K eaton along on a trip to talk about at the campfire.
 
So if one was to buy a new fan clutch which would it be? I am planning on replacing all the cooling system components on my cruiser over the summer and one of the items that I wanted to buy new was the fan clutch. I will be ordering all my parts from Dan so all will be oem, I am just confused about how many clutches are offered for the 80 series.
 
packetstormin said:
So if one was to buy a new fan clutch which would it be? I am planning on replacing all the cooling system components on my cruiser over the summer and one of the items that I wanted to buy new was the fan clutch. I will be ordering all my parts from Dan so all will be oem, I am just confused about how many clutches are offered for the 80 series.
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It's my understanding that the only "new" OEM clutch available for the 1FZ-FE engine ('93-'97) is the adjustable blue one. Cdan has them and you might order one, just in case. But, if your '94 has the stock OEM fan clutch, and it's in good shape (bearings and thermostat spring), just replace the fluid in it. You can post pics of it here if you need help deciding. Looks like you live in the Phoenix area. Get ahold of the Copper State Cruisers. Kevin Patterson (Tools R Us on MUD) specifically, is a guru on the performance of the 80's cooling system down in that climate.
 
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I got at least 45 ml of the old fluid out of the clutch. That's what got measured. So I put 45 ml of 10K new fluid back in. I had good results cleaning up the silicone fluid residue with acetone. The old fluid was discolored - kind of orange - and had black specks in it, so I figure it was time to replace. If you recall, I wasn't having any problems with the fan clutch, I just wanted to avoid having it fail on the trail or on a trip, being AFAIK, it was original and 16 yrs old. The new 10K fluid is definitely thicker than what I drained out. The only difference that I'm seeing so far is on engine startup. With the old fluid, I got the roar and the clutch would quickly (roughly 10 - 15 seconds later) allow the fan to freewheel. Now, on startup, I get the roar with the clutch engaged at the most powerful step for roughly 30 - 45 seconds. Then it steps down to the middle step for 3 - 5 seconds and then down to the weakest step (almost freewheeling). You can hear the engine speed up from the reduction in load when the clutch releases to the lowest step. I don't remember such distinct differences in clutch operation with the old fluid, so I'm assuming it is now operating as designed???!!!:meh: After a 500+ mile trip I noticed no difference in performance or gas mileage, which I think is a good thing, since all was well before. As the weather gets warmer, I'm curious to see if I notice any other differences.
 
Ok, This my sound ass holish but dont take it that way please. Its not intended to do so. But isnt this overthinking stuff. My 93 cools well even when towing up 7% grades. As far as i know its the factory fan clutch. It had a head gasket replace somewhere in its recent past.

From what little ive read, and my experience with other toyota vehicles, the factory gauge leaves alot to be desired. But even when i didnt have a fan shroud on it was cooling just fine.

I understand that most that are doing this live in arizona or texas, or a hotter climate. So maybe here on the east coast i dont need to worry as much?

Not trying to questions others or be an ass. Just not sure what all the fuss is about.

Thanks in advance, and yes ill be sure to read deeper on the subject.
 
I think it's a concern out west where temps can be 105°F and almost zero humidity.

If you don't have any issues, I would just forget about it. I'm sure there are about 1000 other mods you want to do
 
The black hub rocks, the green hub (3FE, shorter snout) with 7000cst. blows every one I've seen away. I don't adjust the internals. Thanks for the info on the Eaton hub, I pulled one off the 95, and replaced it with a reborn black hub that came off the 94, now running 10K. One year later both are still sucking a large volume of air at idle and warm, which is what I want. Lower condenser temperatures=lower a/c vent temps. Gas mileage sucks regardless.
 
zukinut said:
Ok, This my sound ass holish but dont take it that way please. Its not intended to do so. But isnt this overthinking stuff. My 93 cools well even when towing up 7% grades. As far as i know its the factory fan clutch. It had a head gasket replace somewhere in its recent past.

From what little ive read, and my experience with other toyota vehicles, the factory gauge leaves alot to be desired. But even when i didnt have a fan shroud on it was cooling just fine.

I understand that most that are doing this live in arizona or texas, or a hotter climate. So maybe here on the east coast i dont need to worry as much?

Not trying to questions others or be an ass. Just not sure what all the fuss is about.

Thanks in advance, and yes ill be sure to read deeper on the subject.
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Yes, I agree. You need to do quite a bit more reading, especially in this lengthy thread , which was referenced at the beginning of this thread. If nothing else, to gain an understanding and appreciation of the time and work some folks here on MUD have put in for our benefit. For example, in post # 418, on page 21 of this thread, Kevin (Tools R Us) answering the question: What could possibly wear out in one of these older clutches mentions that black dust or black fluid indicates possibly a bearing going out. Something I might be interested in.
 
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