Engine/Fan Roar - Sluggish

[Cruiserhead05]

I've been driving my 450 for about two months now and had always thought it was a little sluggish and the fan just roared too much. It never stopped. I do have the blue fan if that helps at all.

I got behind the wheel of a friends 95 80 series today with nearly double the mileage and what look like the original fan clutch. His truck hardly roars at all in normal driving and is a night and day difference in power.

The only major difference is he's 275' and I'm on 295's. I realized the 295 Nitto's will eat up a little power but this seems overboard.

Any connection between the fact that my truck seems to roar non-stop and that it is overall really sluggish.

 

[CJF]

Any connection between the fact that my truck seems to roar non-stop and that it is overall really sluggish.

Well, it's certainly a possibility that your fan clutch is seized up.

Happened to me recently on my old Cressida wagon; it felt as if I was constantly driving into a head wind or pulling a trailer, and my mileage dropped considerably.

Curtis

 

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks to the previous owner, I currently have a direct drive fan on my 80. The fan roars like crazy, especially at high RPMs. Try revving the engine at rest and see if the sound is RPM or speed based. If RPM based, your clutch is probably seized.

 

[jonheld]

I got behind the wheel of a friends 95 80 series today with nearly double the mileage and what look like the original fan clutch. His truck hardly roars at all in normal driving and is a night and day difference in power.

That my be because his fan clutch is toast. They have a lifespan of around 100K miles. There are many many many many threads about this.

While it certainly shouldn't be locked up all the time, especially if yours is new, it may indicate an issue with your cooling system.

 

[landtank]

the viscous clutches should roar when you first start the truck for a little bit and then die down.

I'd suspect that your buddies clutch is bad and your's is just bad on the other end of the spectrum.

How long have you had the truck?

If not that long then someone could have monkeyed with the settings and the weight of the oil in it which is documented in a thread.

In that same thread it was advocated to just add some oil to what was in there all ready and if the clutch now has too much oil it, it will roar all the time.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

Thanks for the input. My roars at startup and never goes away. While it does have the blue fan clutch, I've only owned the truck for 3 months so i can't say how long its been on there.

The fan turns when the truck is turned off but its certainly not very free. If i give it a spin, it might make one rotation before coming to a stop again.

There are no other signs of a cooling system problem. I am running toyota red and even in stop and go city traffic with the A/C on, the dummy temp needle stays where it should.

I'm leaving saturday morning on a long distance trip so will have to make a point to swap in a new fan clutch or examine the existing one.

I just wanted to confirm the continues roar was in fact a result of a fan clutch.

 

[landtank]

the continuous roar is not correct. But making an entire rotation on a single spin would indicate it's not working either as when it is hot or before the morning's first start it should only move maybe 3 blades worth on a good spin.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

Rick,

To correct my earlier post, I just ran out to double check and the fan spin on my truck and the other 80 I addressed earlier in the thread.

My fan spins closer to a half rotation or 3-5 blades.

The 80 with no roar and a lot more pep than mine spins only about 2 more blades than mine.

Not sure if this helps at all. Hopefully swapping in a new clutch will do the trick.

 

[91Cruizer]

Just go down to O'riley or autozone or whatever and swap a new fan clutch in. See the result. If it is the problem remove it and return it, then get a new Toyota fan clutch.

 

[landtank]

this really isn't the most scientific way to troubleshoot this. So replacing the fan clutch is the best way to go. If you do replace the fan clutch I wouldn't mind looking into the blue one to see what's going on.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

I'll report back when I find something. Thanks guys

 

[Tools R Us]

...
I just wanted to confirm the continues roar was in fact a result of a fan clutch.

What type of belts are on it? I have Gates Green Stripe; they have cooling teeth on the inside and make a roar. An idler pulley bearing going bad can also cause noise in the same area.

…
The 80 with no roar and a lot more pep than mine spins only about 2 more blades than mine.
...

I doubt that fan drag is the cause of the performance difference. Mine has 10k fluid in an earlier type clutch (has more shearing ribs, killer performance) and the motor performance isn’t significantly/noticeably changed when it’s on.

Your clutch spins when the motor is off, so the bearing isn’t seized, that leaves two failure modes. The thermostat is rusted, not properly sensing temp, the valve shaft is stuck holding it on all of the time. Or it’s been overfilled. The blue hubs have proven to be very reliable, other than fluid going bad, mechanical failure has been rare.

I apply drag to the fan to test. Get a rolled towel or heavy glove like a welding glove. With the motor cold open the hood, start the motor, allow it to idle for a minute or so, using the towel or gloved hand apply drag/pressure to the back side of the fan, you should be able to stop it relatively easily?

I wouldn’t put a generic clutch on it, all that I have seen are poorly constructed when compared to the factory clutch and the factory clutches are easily serviced.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

What type of belts are on it? I have Gates Green Stripe; they have cooling teeth on the inside and make a roar. An idler pulley bearing going bad can also cause noise in the same area.



I doubt that fan drag is the cause of the performance difference. Mine has 10k fluid in an earlier type clutch (has more shearing ribs, killer performance) and the motor performance isn’t significantly/noticeably changed when it’s on.

Your clutch spins when the motor is off, so the bearing isn’t seized, that leaves two failure modes. The thermostat is rusted, not properly sensing temp, the valve shaft is stuck holding it on all of the time. Or it’s been overfilled. The blue hubs have proven to be very reliable, other than fluid going bad, mechanical failure has been rare.

I apply drag to the fan to test. Get a rolled towel or heavy glove like a welding glove. With the motor cold open the hood, start the motor, allow it to idle for a minute or so, using the towel or gloved hand apply drag/pressure to the back side of the fan, you should be able to stop it relatively easily?

I wouldn’t put a generic clutch on it, all that I have seen are poorly constructed compared to the factory clutch and the factory clutches are easily serviced.

My roar is definitely the sound of the engine pushing large amounts of air. Even when the engine idles down, the fan is still going strong. I've done the towel test and it WILL NOT stop the fan. I'll be looking for fan clutch tomorrow at the local T dealer.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

UPDATE:

I got on the horn Monday to locate a new fan clutch. My local Toyota dealer couldnt get one for 3 days and with their escalator clause wanted $205.

I called around and was able to source one from Napa. I would have preferred a factory part but wasnt sure if I could wait for shipping from american toyota.

I swapped out the fan clutch and within 30 seconds of driving the truck is noticeably better. Fan runs the first few seconds and then fades out. Even with the A/C blasting, the truck has better power.

Rick, if you want my old fan clutch or just want pics of the inside, let me know and I'll get you what you need.

 

[landtank]

I'd like the clutch to tear apart and see what's going on, I'll PM my address.