Question about the clutch fan

[Indiana Jeep]

Not sure if this would fit in here or in the OEM section. I have never worked on the clutch fan before so I am not sure wich of these is correct. I came across a video on youtube (Jeep Cherokee XJ Fan Clutch Check and Serpentine Belt Tension Check - YouTube) when I was checking for the proper tension on the serpentine belt. He says that if you can turn the fan easily the clutch is bad. I couldn't find the other source but I remember reading somewhere that the clutch fan should turn freely when the engine is cold. I checked mine and it turns but not very easy. I didn't mess with it much because I didn't want to screw it up. It definitely does not turn as easily as the one in the video. So finally my question is what is a good way to check to see if the fan clutch is going bad? I should mention that I have no overheating issues whatsoever. I rarely go over 55 and have not had any problems with the needle going past the middle (my mind is blanking out on the number) of the temp gauge. It wavers sometimes but pretty much stays in the same spot upon reaching operating temp.

[Mudderoy]

Not sure if this would fit in here or in the OEM section. I have never worked on the clutch fan before so I am not sure wich of these is correct. I came across a video on youtube (Jeep Cherokee XJ Fan Clutch Check and Serpentine Belt Tension Check - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vihj0nL97G4)) when I was checking for the proper tension on the serpentine belt. He says that if you can turn the fan easily the clutch is bad. I couldn't find the other source but I remember reading somewhere that the clutch fan should turn freely when the engine is cold. I checked mine and it turns but not very easy. I didn't mess with it much because I didn't want to screw it up. It definitely does not turn as easily as the one in the video. So finally my question is what is a good way to check to see if the fan clutch is going bad? I should mention that I have no overheating issues whatsoever. I rarely go over 55 and have not had any problems with the needle going past the middle (my mind is blanking out on the number) of the temp gauge. It wavers sometimes but pretty much stays in the same spot upon reaching operating temp.

I never could figure out a good way to test. A friend of mine grabbed his with his fingers and stopped it. Good thing he was right. Unless you just can't afford a new one right now, replace it and keep the old one as a backup if this doesn't help your cooling issue.

[4.3LXJ]

It is really kind of counter intuitive. A loose fan means it works right. If it is too stiff, it doesn't. The reason is that the clutch fan is not supposed to do much when cold air is coming through the radiator. So the idea is that in warm air, it stiffens up. But for some reason, if it is stiff to start with, it won't work as well when it is hot. We have a member here, Nismo5 who had this happen. I checked it and told him he needed to replace it. When he did, it quit overheating.

[cpttuna]

If you do replace the clutch fan(I do not know what year your jeep is), a popular upgrade is the larger fan off of a grand cherokee(like 98 w/0 super cooling-NAPA # 272310. There are about $44.00. The space is there so you ought to consider the larger fan.

[jeepxj95]

the one i have is a 97 with hd cooling. maybe thats why i was hitting the rad so bad????

[saar]

if you replace the fan, you may consider to upgrade it to an electric one.
btw, I can't move mine easily by hands.
Saar

[stanger351]

Well, if you aren't overheating, particularly when you are idling the engine after driving for a while, your cooling system is functioning properly so, no worries! My favorite method is the "drive-thru test". Get the engine nice and warm (drive around for a while) then go into a place with a slow drive-thru (in my area, its usually McDonalds), or just go home and park and let it idle. If it doesn't overheat, you're okay.
Basically, the clutch fan is going to fail in one of two ways: its going to be locked up, in which case you won't be able to turn it at all by hand. This is bad because you want it to spin freely just after the engine starts cold (you want the engine to get to operating temperature quickly) and when going down the highway (you've got plenty of cool air coming through the radiator and the fan is just dragging on the water pump and wasting fuel). You won't overheat, but you'll waste fuel driving and your heater may not work as effectively when you need it the most.
The other way it can fail is if the silicone leaks out and it just free spins all the time. That's what looks like happened to the guy in the video. The fan there still has some resistance, but not what it should have. The problem is the fan can never build up enough fluid pressure to lock up and operate when you need it to; like when you've been driving around then stop but keep the engine idling. From my experience clutch fans are more likely to fail this way than the "lock up" way.
If the fan/engine is cold and the clutch is operating properly, you should be able to push it around with some resistance, but by no means should it even be close to going a full rotation if you try to spin it. It should turn fairly smoothly with no grinding.

[Indiana Jeep]

Thanks guys. Was a little confused on it. I looked into the electric fan upgrade and that's most likely what I'll be doing. Appreciate the help!!

[Mudderoy]

Thanks guys. Was a little confused on it. I looked into the electric fan upgrade and that's most likely what I'll be doing. Appreciate the help!!

Have a look at xjtalk vendor dirtboundoffroad.com (http://www.dirtboundoffroad.com/featured/xj-%E2%80%93-electric-fan-conversion-kit/). He has a very nice 3 electric fan and custom shroud set up. Both msmoorenburg and I are considering it for our rigs.