Hi there,
I've been searching this forum and the internet for some info regarding the water pump and fan clutch repalcement and couldn't really find much related to the need of a new clutch if the water pump is being replaced.
I'm working on the LX450 coolant system and the idea is to refresh most of it. I got the rig 4 months ago and the PO has never done it, the truck has 233k miles on the clock. Fortunately, everything is going well so far, full flush done, new thermostat, new "Denso" rad, new phh, new rad hoses and water bypass pipe, all ready to be installed. Just finished the crank seal and oil pump cover gasket....
However, after a month of research, I have decided to replace the water pump as preventive maintenance. To my surprise a LOT of people are commenting that if the water pump is replaced, the clutch should be too, not sure about that. None of these 2 parts are falty at the moment and after more research, it looks like the new AISIN blue fan clutches are coming out of the factory with not enough oil also not sure about that but it looks like there are tons of posts in here about modding the new AISIN blue clutch.
So my 2 questions are:
1. If I replace the water pump, does the fan clutch really need to be replaced as well? It looks like the one that came with the truck is an Eaton clutch but I might be wrong. I'm attachig some pics in the end of the post for reference.
2. Is it really needed to mod the new AISIN blue fan clutch out of the box to have it working properly? It doesn't really make sense to me seeing people buying a new oem fan clutch just to open it, remove the oil, adjust the valve and replace more oil than it came with. I get that people are doing that to trigger the clutch earlier, more frequently and for longer periods to fight 100F+ heat but other than cool the engine under extreme usage and in very hot weather, I don't really understand the benefit of doing that job. I'm in the NW and don't really see a need for ultra-cold cooling system.
Any light or advice on this subject would greatly help. Thank you!
I've been searching this forum and the internet for some info regarding the water pump and fan clutch repalcement and couldn't really find much related to the need of a new clutch if the water pump is being replaced.
I'm working on the LX450 coolant system and the idea is to refresh most of it. I got the rig 4 months ago and the PO has never done it, the truck has 233k miles on the clock. Fortunately, everything is going well so far, full flush done, new thermostat, new "Denso" rad, new phh, new rad hoses and water bypass pipe, all ready to be installed. Just finished the crank seal and oil pump cover gasket....
However, after a month of research, I have decided to replace the water pump as preventive maintenance. To my surprise a LOT of people are commenting that if the water pump is replaced, the clutch should be too, not sure about that. None of these 2 parts are falty at the moment and after more research, it looks like the new AISIN blue fan clutches are coming out of the factory with not enough oil also not sure about that but it looks like there are tons of posts in here about modding the new AISIN blue clutch.
So my 2 questions are:
1. If I replace the water pump, does the fan clutch really need to be replaced as well? It looks like the one that came with the truck is an Eaton clutch but I might be wrong. I'm attachig some pics in the end of the post for reference.
2. Is it really needed to mod the new AISIN blue fan clutch out of the box to have it working properly? It doesn't really make sense to me seeing people buying a new oem fan clutch just to open it, remove the oil, adjust the valve and replace more oil than it came with. I get that people are doing that to trigger the clutch earlier, more frequently and for longer periods to fight 100F+ heat but other than cool the engine under extreme usage and in very hot weather, I don't really understand the benefit of doing that job. I'm in the NW and don't really see a need for ultra-cold cooling system.
Any light or advice on this subject would greatly help. Thank you!
Last edited: