Will a seized fan clutch cause overheating?
A stuck fan clutch will cause excessive, unnecessary drag on the engine, which can cause a drop in power, acceleration, and fuel efficiency, sometimes to a quite noticeable degree. When it fails, the engine can be put at risk of serious damage due to overheating.
Can you use a flex fan with a clutch?
Flex Fans do not need a clutch. At high rpm, the blades “flatten out.” This achieves the same function as disengaging the fan. However, flex fans require a Fan Spacer. The spacer Properly Locates the Fan in the Shroud to optimize airflow.
What is the advantage of a flex fan?
The biggest advantage to flex fans is their ability to pull more air through the radiator at an idle than a clutch-operated fan. This is particularly useful on engines running high compression ratios that are more difficult to cool.
What happens when you have a bad fan clutch?
A stuck fan clutch will cause excessive, unnecessary drag on the engine, which can cause a drop in power, acceleration, and fuel efficiency, sometimes to a quite noticeable degree. As the fan clutch is one of the main cooling system components, it is very important to the proper operation of the engine.
How does a torque limiting fan clutch work?
A torque-limiting fan clutch reacts to engine speed. A centrifugal valve opens to allow the flow of heavy silicone fluid, locking the fan blades to the pulley. At idle and low engine speeds, this fan clutch is fully engaged, gradually disengaging as engine speed increases.
What is an electric fan clutch?
The fan clutch is a cooling system component that controls the operation of the engine cooling fans. While many newer vehicles now use electric cooling fans to keep the engine cool, many older vehicles used a mechanical fan clutch to control the fans.
How does a thermal fan clutch work on a car?
When the fan clutch engages, it spins up greatly, increasing air flow through the radiator and over the engine. A thermal fan clutch reacts to temperature of the air rushing over it from the radiator. As the radiator heats up, the air passing through it also heats up.