No "Roar" from my cooling fan. 1987 FJ60

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JLH911

JLH911

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I replaced my 60's fan clutch maybe ten years ago with an authentic Toyota unit. My 60 has maybe 5k miles in that ten years and I've noticed that I don't get the "roar" that we're supposed to hear upon startup or when it demands it.

Just today I ran it with the A/C on full blast in 85f ambient temperature and although it didn't overheat, it was running around 190f, but has run hot while driving it in the past month or so(boiled over). This has been an ongoing issue with my 60 for years and now I'm wondering if it went bad in those ten year, but then again, I only have maybe 5k miles on it. What do you guys think?
 
With the engine cold, spin the fan. Note the amount of resistance. Let your truck idle & warm up. Take a roiled up newspaper, like you’d hit a fly or obnoxious kid with, and slowly feed it into the fan blades. It will stop the fan but should make you think twice about getting a finger too close. Turn off the motor & spin the fan. I shouldn’t move more than a few inches.
 
It should roar at cold startup and at start up a few minutes after shutdown after driving when everything is up to temp . If it doesn't — it's not working correctly. Once the AC gets turned on on a warm day, the thing should roar frequently on & off.

For what it's worth, I replaced my 14 year old fan clutch as part of a cooling system overhaul and though it sort of worked, it didn't lock up like the new fan clutch did. Old clutch didn't have any leaks either. I think the silicon oil inside breaks down over time.
 
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Another possibility is that the bi-metallic coil, which actuates the center valve in the clutch (on the front face of the clutch) is disconnected, broken, jammed with debris, or missing. Mine was missing entirely, and for a year or two I used a small screwdriver to open or close the valve to make the clutch lock or freewheel.
(It took a lot of searching to get the correct replacement clutch for my 3B, as the water pump spindle must be a proper fit to the clutch bore to ensure vibration free operation. ( .010” clearance doesn’t cut it.))
 
190 is NOT hot. the stock thermostat is 88 deg C, which equals 190.4 deg F. That said 10 years is a good life for it. Replace it.
 
Dynosoar said:
190 is NOT hot. the stock thermostat is 88 deg C, which equals 190.4 deg F. That said 10 years is a good life for it. Replace it.
Click to expand...
But that was with it just sitting. Once I drive it, it gets hotter than that. Maybe I need to address that intake/exhaust manifold leak (running lean maybe?) soon. Still though, I'm not hearing that 'roar' at all.
 
Dynosoar said:
190 is NOT hot. the stock thermostat is 88 deg C, which equals 190.4 deg F. That said 10 years is a good life for it. Replace it.
Click to expand...

Even with less than 5k miles in that ten years? I guess the oil might have deteriorated.
 
you should clearly hear the fan clutch engage given present ambient temps with a/c on and under load, generally during acceleration....from a dead stop when you get around 1500RPM or so as you accelerate. Not every instance but once the truck is warmed up and under load.... On a nice "toasty" day, get the truck up to temp and warmed up, go find a nice long increasing grade hill that has some distance to it. Give the truck hell going up the hill , under good load...you should clearly hear the fan clutch engage. I would just buy a new one if me...
 
Is it a stock clutch? When shopping for a replacement clutch for a pickup that I owned, there were choices with different percentages depending on how fast I wanted it to spin vs how much of a mileage hit. IIRC, I went from a 75% to an 85% because that truck ran hot, and noticed a significant increase in "roar". If you went the other direction, you might notice less noise than before.
 
roalco said:
Another possibility is that the bi-metallic coil, which actuates the center valve in the clutch (on the front face of the clutch) is disconnected, broken, jammed with debris, or missing. Mine was missing entirely, and for a year or two I used a small screwdriver to open or close the valve to make the clutch lock or freewheel.
(It took a lot of searching to get the correct replacement clutch for my 3B, as the water pump spindle must be a proper fit to the clutch bore to ensure vibration free operation. ( .010” clearance doesn’t cut it.))
Click to expand...

Want to try this, but how did you get to it? Did you remove the fan shroud?
 
No, but it was on a stock 3B Engine/rad set up, so your may vary, and there was just enough room if the fan was in the right position to snake an arm through And use a stubby flathead screwdriver. Use a mirror to check out the bimetallic coil visually, first. I only engaged it on hot days or pulling heavy loads.
It’s kind of a Braille, stand on your head with a mirror job the first few times, but it does get easier...
 
Eyedaho said:
Is it a stock clutch? When shopping for a replacement clutch for a pickup that I owned, there were choices with different percentages depending on how fast I wanted it to spin vs how much of a mileage hit. IIRC, I went from a 75% to an 85% because that truck ran hot, and noticed a significant increase in "roar". If you went the other direction, you might notice less noise than before.
Click to expand...

Stock red hub fan clutch.
 
Hi, I just replaced my red clutch with the larger green clutch my 1991 uses. Works great. Mike
 
Also how long ago did you completly flush your cooling system ? Mike
 
Michael Hanson said:
Also how long ago did you completly flush your cooling system ? Mike
Click to expand...


Yup, flushed and burped about six months ago, but this wouldn't cause the clutch fan not to "roar" upon startup.
 
UPDATE:

Removed the Fan Clutch and it looks completely fine and when holding the plastic fan(still attached to the fan clutch)it has good resistance and the FC looks fine, no leaks or anything like that.

Assuming the FC is fine, what else could be the cause of not hearing the roar upon startup and it locking up when it's supposed to(when reaching the proper temperature)?

Could it be maybe the belts wasn't tight enough? I wasn't getting any belt squeal or anything.

Again, I don't think the FC is bad. Very strange!
 
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Maybe it's in "roar" mode all the time, and that's what you're used to hearing. That's unlikely because the resistance would be really high even when cool.
I can hear mine start to roar quite clearly even on the freeway, and my hearing is just average.
You have a strange puzzle .
 
With the truck at operating temp, is the resistance of the fan dramatically increased, compared to when the motor is cold?
 
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