Author Topic: which fan clutch  (Read 1379 times)

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390owner

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which fan clutch
« on: March 20, 2020, 05:47:45 PM »
Which fan clutch do I need. I had a heavy duty and the 7 blade fan roared all the time instead of only when the engine was heating up too much. So now I have a standard duty and  it works fine now but I am afraid it will not work this summer when I run the ac a lot. This is for my 390 in my 79 bronco

GerryP

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Re: which fan clutch
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2020, 06:01:01 PM »
I'm not sure if you know of the fan clutch differences.  There are thermal and non-thermal clutches.  The thermal clutches do a better job of being sensitive to engine temperature and ramping up speed as the engine heats up.  Either will cool the engine at stopped or slow speed.  The thermals are more efficient.  The HD clutches are for a fan with a deeper pitch.  It should tell you that in the specifications.  You can run them with a shallower pitch but they don't cool as well like that.  They cool fine, but they are designed for higher cooling capacity you get from the fan and clutch.  As you have observed, they sound like a hurricane.

If you go to Hayden's site, they have a fan and clutch specification tech sheet that can be very helpful in picking the right setup for your application.

EDIT:  I wanted to add that I am using an HD clutch on one of my cars and it does roar initially, but that it goes into more of a freewheeling mode after a minute or so.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2020, 06:03:12 PM by GerryP »

390owner

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Re: which fan clutch
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2020, 06:26:05 PM »
The one I am using is a thermal. I am looking for the set up that will roar for just a few minutes then stop

machoneman

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Re: which fan clutch
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2020, 06:43:32 PM »
Thermal. CC ran a test years ago and it topped all other fans for HP gains (or less of a loss) than all others save an electric fan. Have had them on my Stangs for years now. It's also why Ford used them on most luxury cars as well.

Much (!) more here: http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=4879.0
« Last Edit: March 20, 2020, 06:47:05 PM by machoneman »
Bob Maag

GerryP

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Re: which fan clutch
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2020, 07:01:47 PM »
Are you using the steeper pitched fan with the HD clutch?  If you go to Hayden's site, they have a nice tech sheet that explains the differences in their clutches.  Basically, a standard clutch runs the fan at around 60-percent shaft speed when engaged.  The HD runs at around 80-percent shaft speed.  If you don't use the right fan, it's possible the clutch is going to run the fan at speed since it doesn't have the right resistance.