Landtank Modified Fan Clutch (1 Viewer)

[jonheld]

1997 LX450. 4" IronMan lift, 315 Duratracs, 4.88, lots of armor.

I installed the modified OEM blue hub fan clutch from Wits End/Landtank about a week ago and I thought I’d post a bit of feedback regarding engine temps as monitored by my Ultra Gauge. I have been doing weekly trips between Jersey and Boston with lots of hills, traffic, varying weather conditions, basically everything, with the notable exception of the intense heat and humidity that we had during August.

There was a newish OEM blue hub clutch in the truck when I bought it 30K miles ago and the engine temps would vary between 185 around town with no AC to 207 on the highway with the AC on.
With the weather cooling over the last month, I noticed that she would sit around 202 on the highway with no AC when pulling a long hill when I put my foot into it. There was also none of the startup fan roar that I've grown to love from my 3FE.

Since the installation of the new clutch with no other changes other than normal maintenance (motor oil, gear oil, transmission fluid, grease) the temps have dropped to 179 around town to 186 climbing hills with a lot of right foot. The cold engine startup roar is back and it could probably hold a small cat against the grill now.

There has also been almost zero change in fuel consumption which I was concerned about with the new clutch, but it has also been relatively cool out. We’ll have to see what happens in the summer time.

I think the key thing here is the much smaller window of temperature fluctuation. It went from a 22 degree spread to a 7 degree spread. That HAS to be a good thing.

 

[fj40z]

Good information

 

[Tedward]

The cold engine startup roar is back and it could probably hold a small cat against the grill now.

Nice.

 

[rblain82]

@jonheld is there a version of a scangauge or digital readout that we can use on our 3FE's??

 

[retrofive]

@jonheld is there a version of a scangauge or digital readout that we can use on our 3FE's??

Pretty sure no ODBII for anything with a 3FE. For coolant temps you could run a Koso gauge and adapter like I did my '94 (1fzfe) w/ ODB1 (not that the ODB matters at that point)

 

[jonheld]

@jonheld is there a version of a scangauge or digital readout that we can use on our 3FE's??

Nope. If it is a concern to you then follow @retrofive suggestions. However, a properly maintained cooling system on a 3FE with all OEM parts should have no trouble keeping cool. The green hub (aqua) OEM clutch is very robust.

 

[LS1FJ40]

@jonheld is there a version of a scangauge or digital readout that we can use on our 3FE's??

Nah, the 3FE don't need no stinking scan gauge! Just listen for the roar!

 

[NLXTACY]

Nah, the 3FE don't need no stinking scan gauge! Just listen for the roar!

Yeah it sounds like, "Hey wait for me!"

 

[LS1FJ40]

Yeah it sounds like, "Hey wait for me!"

If anyone would know overheating it's you Joey! HAHAHA

 

[rblain82]

Nope. If it is a concern to you then follow @retrofive suggestions. However, a properly maintained cooling system on a 3FE with all OEM parts should have no trouble keeping cool. The green hub (aqua) OEM clutch is very robust.

When I bought my '92 it already had dual electric fans and I've never had any issues. My factory gauge has never gone above half and I've ran the old girl hard a few times... but I'm kinda one of those guys who doesn't like knowing exact temps and pressures.. haha.

 

[landtank]

Given that the 3F-E makes 155hp and the 1FZ-FE makes 212hp, your 92 probably does run cooler.

 

[dogfishlake]

I had a similar experience with my 97, but going from stock blue clutch to Landtank orange clutch (for supercharged application). Temps with the blue were OK, except for expressway running at 75+ with the AC running it would creep up to 204 or so and I'd slow down to cool down.
Now with the Landtank clutch, the highest I've ever seen is 194. Love it.

 

[jonheld]

Just a quick update to this thread now that the weather has cooled off a bit more.
I am seeing the same temperature spread as previously stated and warm-up time is quick with ambient temps in the 30s and a very light right foot until she comes up to temp.
Hammering it on the way home up a 2 mile steep grade and keeping her around 65-70 in 3rd gear sees a max of 186 by the time I reach the top.

In short I am still very pleased with the results.

 

[NLXTACY]

I just drove from LA to Las Vegas last night. ~70/75 the whole way. There are a few looooong grades along the way. The engine temp never got higher than 182 and on the flat it normally sat at 179. Ambient was between 50-57.

Typically the grade around Zzyzx I would be hitting 204/206.

 

[sea bass]

I have two green fan clutches i run in my 3fe 1 with 30,000 oil for the summer and one with 12,000 oil for the winter i just changed it out a month ago in the summertime it sounds like a 747 all the time I can actually hold a cow against my grill I also have it set to open at 100 degrees the winter clutch opens normally at about 140 and it roars for was just for a minute or two like normal, even in 115 temps it never has gone over 205 degrees

 

[jonheld]

Another update on this...
My wife and I just completed a 7600 mile road trip over 3 weeks. From Jersey to Cruise Moab, Seattle, Vancouver, through the Canadian Rockies to Jasper and Banff, back east across Canada to Ottawa and down into New York.

I pulled my M416 up and over the Rockies, dragged the truck through Pritchett Canyon in Moab and ran into every possible weather condition along our trip, with the exception of burning hail.

Highest temp was 202 when painfully struggling through some obstacles in Pritchett in the heat of the day in the desert, but other than that, she just didn't change at all from what I have mentioned earlier in this thread. The overall temperature fluctuation is tight and has remained this way since installation. This is a good product and a very worthwhile investment IMO.

Thank you to Joey @NLXTACY at Absolute Wits End for making this available.

 

[jonheld]

We just completed a 3000 mile road trip to eastern Canada. From Jersey to Quebec City, around the Gaspe peninsula, down through New Brunswick into Nova Scotia, and back down the Maine coast to home.

Yes, we like to cruise the land in our Land Cruiser.

I have noticed that the temperature spread is starting to widen a bit. It now swings between 179 to 188 without AC. With the AC on it sits just at 190 to 192.
No changes to the truck other than regular maintenance. I routinely clean out the radiator fins with an HVAC wand. I'm wondering if the VC fluid is starting to break down. It's still well below what the OEM clutch was giving me, but I will continue to monitor.

 

[fj80pb]

I would like to add my 2 cents to what @jonheld shared.

Couple of weeks ago, and after a shipping/logistics hiccup, I finally replaced the regular OEM blue clutch by Landtank's (BTW, kudos to both Joey and Rick for their quick and efficient response. Very much appreciated!)

To begin with, I have never experienced an overheating issue, but like so many other 80 series owners I'm a bit OCD with coolant temps. Therefore I regularly and periodically clean, flush, etc..in order to keep it in good shape. My rig is a 97', 40thAnniversary edition, trail-ready, triple locked, front and rear bumpers-and some other sinful goodies. It has “only” 176K miles and still the original radiator-which I will replace for a new OEM rad on the next coolant flush I have planned at 180K miles....I figured that 21 years of service for the original rad is a pretty good run.

Here in the Southeast our normal ambient temps this time of the year fluctuates from high 80's to mid 90's. Being late June the A/C is permanently on. I haven't done as yet much mountain driving nor serious off road-just mild family-oriented forest roads. I have put only around 600 miles since the install. However, there are some take-aways:

• At city traffic, stop-and-go at 96F ambient temp, the coolant temp picked, just once, to 195F.
• Once the engine revs up to 2.5K RMP or higher the coolant temp quickly drops to 184-186F. Then it runs, for the most part, around 188-190F, as compared to 195-200F with the previous clutch
• During interstate driving at 65/85 mph the coolant temp has never peaked over 193F
• The air out of the A/C vents is noticeably cooler and, so far, without turning on the aux Spal fan I installed couple of years ago to supplement the A/C at low speeds.

In short, this clutch moves serious amount of air. It's safe to assume my current rig's running temp has been reduced by up to 10F and, most importantly IMO, the spread is significantly narrower relative to the previous OEM blue clutch.

Only time will tell indeed. But it looks like a winner mod and, if you ask me, worth every penny. This is a good product, fairly priced, offered and backed up by good guys.

Cheers!

 

[nigelsiam]

I would like to add my 2 cents to what @jonheld shared.

Couple of weeks ago, and after a shipping/logistics hiccup, I finally replaced the regular OEM blue clutch by Landtank's (BTW, kudos to both Joey and Rick for their quick and efficient response. Very much appreciated!)

To begin with, I have never experienced an overheating issue, but like so many other 80 series owners I'm a bit OCD with coolant temps. Therefore I regularly and periodically clean, flush, etc..in order to keep it in good shape. My rig is a 97', 40thAnniversary edition, trail-ready, triple locked, front and rear bumpers-and some other sinful goodies. It has “only” 176K miles and still the original radiator-which I will replace for a new OEM rad on the next coolant flush I have planned at 180K miles....I figured that 21 years of service for the original rad is a pretty good run.

Here in the Southeast our normal ambient temps this time of the year fluctuates from high 80's to mid 90's. Being late June the A/C is permanently on. I haven't done as yet much mountain driving nor serious off road-just mild family-oriented forest roads. I have put only around 600 miles since the install. However, there are some take-aways:

• At city traffic, stop-and-go at 96F ambient temp, the coolant temp picked, just once, to 195F.
• Once the engine revs up to 2.5K RMP or higher the coolant temp quickly drops to 184-186F. Then it runs, for the most part, around 188-190F, as compared to 195-200F with the previous clutch
• During interstate driving at 65/85 mph the coolant temp has never peaked over 193F
• The air out of the A/C vents is noticeably cooler and, so far, without turning on the aux Spal fan I installed couple of years ago to supplement the A/C at low speeds.

In short, this clutch moves serious amount of air. It's safe to assume my current rig's running temp has been reduced by up to 10F and, most importantly IMO, the spread is significantly narrower relative to the previous OEM blue clutch.

Only time will tell indeed. But it looks like a winner mod and, if you ask me, worth every penny. This is a good product, fairly priced, offered and backed up by good guys.

Cheers!

Have you noticed any change in MPG?
And maybe more importantly is there any consensus on what is safe temps to be running? I mean if 210 is the highest a rig ever gets is that even a problem? Does it really matter to have temps in the high 180s instead of mid to upper 190s?

 

[COYS]

I'm running this same fan clutch. No diff in mpg.

I'm more amazed at how some of you guys go 70 mph+ with these trucks. On 35" 4.88s, 85 mph is actually 90+mph on the speedo!