Hi!

I'm having issues with the engine temperature. I live in a very hot place. The temps are 110 average at mid day in the shade, and often goes up to 120. 140 in direct sunlight. A couple of weeks ago I changed the coolant, thermostat (195°), and radiator cap (16PSI) with no improvement.

The temp needle usually stays at 210. However once I get in the stop and go traffic, it climbs to 230, 235. Getting in the freeway lowers it a little, but it doesn't get back to 210.

In the morning before starting the car the fan feels stiff, so I'm guessing the fan clutch is shut.

I have access to Autozone (torqflo severe duty) and Napa (napa own brand?). Which would be better of the these two?

 

I have the same problem with my 2000 blazer 4x4 lt 4.3 and I live in AZ. I have replace my clutch fan 3 times now and they are all from Auto zone. But I did get the heavy duty with a "Life time" warrt. If I had it to do over again I would put a electric fan kit in there and replace that Clutch fan all together.

 

I replaced my clutch fan last year my temp was normal but when I was checking out the fan it had side play in it so I replaced it. You don't want one of these to come a part on you while driving they can do a lot of damage.

 

Pull the rad and make sure its front is clean and the fins aint all bents up. After its drained look down the fill and make sure the tubes don't have a bunch of buildup. I have to clean between the rad and condensor once sometimes 2 times a year. You will be surprised at the crap that gets stuck between them.

I run electric fans and they don't cool any better than a working mech fan. They do however seem to help out the ac at lower speeds. Mine isn't some parts store bolt ons tho. They are twin 11 inchers from a intrepid that are mounted in a full aluminum shroud sealed to the rad so they only pull through the core. I only run them cause they open the engine bay up and I can turn them off in water/mud so it doesn't spray the engine and drown it. On 2wds or something that never sees water crossings I would stick with a mech fan.

Might also try a 180 degree t-stat. Just don't go any lower cause it will give the ecm hell and effect mileage.

 

This link explains how the clutch works:

Learn about how the fan clutch works from howstuffinmycarworks

Imperial part #215140 severe duty fan clutch would be a good choice. A complete cooling system flush & fill, along with making sure the radiator and condenser cooling fins are not damaged or restricted with debris will also help.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I don't have access to the Imperial part (I live in Mexico), and the only ones readily available are the autozone and napa ones.

I did think at first of doing the conversion to an e-fan, but I decided that more parts, increases the risk of a failure.

dman001948>
All the failures of the AZ fan clutch were in a short period of time? bad batch or just bad design?

 

I totally agree with the increase in possible failure points with electric cooling fans. The fan clutch is an inexpensive, reliable set up, that's why it's used so much. Electric is less reliable and more expensive, it's a no brainer. With transverse engines, they have no choice but to use electric.

I'd go with the NAPA clutch. AZ is fine if you want basic, entry level parts to get a vehicle back on the road, but not necessarily keep it on the road for long

 

I agree with Captain hook NAPA is better then AZ in my opinion and i also feel that they are more knowledgable about parts and how to servce veichles. AZ was not able to help me with my 1956 Farmall 300 but NAPA knew exactly what i needed and how to properly check if it worked correctly