Hi,
I just bought my 04 blazer, I owned a sedan before. I notice that th engine sound is very loud and deep at the low gears (1st and 2nd). It is automatic, it idles quietly, and doesn't hesitate at any gear or make that sound at high gears. Is this normal? Or is there something wrong I should fix?
Thanks

 

Check and see if the fan is running all the time , sounds like the fan clutch might be on it's way out ?
With the motor OFF and warm try and spin the fan , if it is hard to turn it's the fan clutch , if it spins freely it's something else ...

Zed

 

x2 on the fan clutch.

Although I thought the test was engine off and cold the fan should spin freely. If warm, the viscous clutch should be engaged right? Meaning it's hard to turn?

 

Hi,
Is the test with the engine hot or cold?
I just checked with the engine cold and off to spin the fan, and it was hard to spin. It rotates at most one full rotation, and mostly less than one rotation. I can definitly feel resistence. I didn't get a chance yet to test the fan with the engine hot.

Any thoughts?

Many thanks

 

Well I've got a bad fan clutch, had it for a while, but mine only spins to the next blade (1/6th of a rotation?) when I give it a pretty hard spin with engine off and cold or hot...both cause the resistance.

I gotta replace mine before summer's fully here...haha...I should probably jump on that..

 

So do you think it is the clutch fan that is causing the loud noise. If so should I change it right away? Or can i just let it be? Is it something I can do on my own (the most I've done is change spark plugs).

Is there another test?

 

Well the loud noise is from the fan clutch not disengaging correctly. The way it should work is the fan clutch is engaged at low speed when the engine is hot, and the fan cools the engine. As you speed up, air flow through the radiator takes over the cooling and the fan clutch disengages. The problem with not fixing it is that it blows all the time or not at all. This could either cause overheating when you're stuck in traffic (no air flow) or hurt engine preformance and possibly interfere with cooling (fan runs all the time and inhibits smooth air flow at speed).

It's a pretty straight forward repair, you just need a very large crescent wrench (two inch square nut I believe) to get the fan clutch bolt out. They also have a special removal tool you can use instead.

Not sure if there's another test...but I believe if you had that much resistance, the clutch is bad. Hopefully someone else will post with a confirmation of the test method

 

I sometimes hear a similar noise. I already replaced my fan cluth once and still no solution. Good Luck

 

Well you should hear it...just not at all speeds. I think the cut of is 15 or 25 mph...?

When I first start off in a parking garage...it sounds like I'm packin a 8.0L monster . The key is that the fan eventually cuts off when you have good air flow.

 

Thanks for the advice?
It feels as if the 4WD is engaged. Is there a way to know whether the 4WD is engaged or not (other than the lights on the switch)?