One of the things you might ask yourself if you think that your clutch fan is defective is, should a fan clutch spin freely when cold? If you aren’t mechanically inclined with your Jeep, then it’s not common sense in how to tell if a fan clutch is faulty and on its last legs. Sometimes drivers might hear a bad fan clutch noise, and while this may be an indicator that something is wrong with the fan clutch, there are a few other things that can be done to test your fan clutch out.
Learning how to test a fan clutch will help you realize that you may need to do a fan clutch replacement altogether.
What Is A Fan Clutch?
A fan clutch is a coupling that is temperature-controlled and is located right between the water pump and shaft. The fan will be working at lower speeds and will disconnect at higher speeds.
How Does A Fan Clutch Work?
Learning how a fan clutch works depends on the style of the fan clutch. There are non-thermal fan clutches, thermal fan clutches, and electronic fan clutches. What does a fan clutch do? All of the different types of fan clutches relate to the cooling system of a vehicle and are designed to ensure that the vehicle remains at the proper temperature.
Diagnosis Of A Jeep Fan Clutch
Generally, hearing noise from the fan is normal when the vehicle is driving at high speeds where the engine is hitting above 2500 rpm.
- You might notice a noise coming from your fan clutch when the fan clutch is stuck engaged. If you notice that the fan can’t be rotated manually by your hand and if there just so happens to be a rough feeling when the fan is being rotated, then the clutch fan should be replaced.
- If you notice that the fan blade is relatively loose, this is another indicator that there is an issue. There should only be around 1/4-inch lateral movement at the tip of the fan.
- The clutch fan shouldn’t really be affected by tiny fluid leaks that can sometimes occur around the bearing assembly. If you notice that the leakage is severe, then proceed to the next step.
- Overheated engine – If you take your hand and spin the fan and it rotates over five times, then the clutch should be replaced.
Learning How To Tell If Your Fan Clutch Is Defective
Luckily to your advantage, there are a number of different things that can be done by yourself to diagnose if your Jeep fan clutch is defective.
- Take a look at your fan clutch, and see if there are any oil streaks or any dust that has accumulated on the oil streaks on the fan clutch. This is a tell-tale indicator that there is a leak of internal fluid.
- Check to see if there’s a worn bearing. When the vehicle’s engine is turned off, grab each end of the fan blade, and look for lateral movement. If you notice that there’s more than 1/4-inch of movement to each side, this means that the bearing is worn, and it will need to be replaced.
- Ensure that the fan clutch is operating effectively. Turn on the vehicle and get the engine to normal running temperature. Then turn off the vehicle, and spin the fan gently. If the fan spins more than two times, it usually indicates that the clutch is worn out and will need to be replaced. If you notice a noisy sound, or if the fan simply doesn’t turn, this also indicates that it will need to be replaced.