hmmmmm....I'm not seeing any good news here. Hard to believe gas mileage could get any worse than it already is but i understand the darn fan uses a lot of power when engaged.

Since the fluid couldn't have leaked out and it's too new to have disintegrated, i'm wondering about tinkering with the bi-metal valve.
this is ,of course, assuming the clutch isn't so out of balance that it is ruining my new waterpump

 

I tinkered with the bi-metal valve on the face of the clutch. It seemed to be neither open all the way nor closed all the way. So I 'adjusted the spring to close it all the way to see if i get any change. But i'm skeptical and started looking at new clutches online. Whats the difference between a Thermal and non-thermal clutch? I understand that my current one is thermal but how would a non-thermal one work? And can I put a non-thermal one on this rig? I'm getting more confused as the day wears on.

 

The non-thermal clutch works by heat expanding the fluid inside that then increases coupling between the metal parts. The thermal has the outside spring gizmo. You can put either kind on.

 

I appreciate your help Savannah. Looks like I'm gonna order a new one online just to be safe.

 

I ended up ordering a new fan clutch online. After waiting a week for delivery, I installed the new one and I'll be darned if the thing howls just as bad as the busted one!!
I figured it would howl for a short time after initial startup and then die down as the silicone/fluid dispersed but nope! after driving around for 2 days it never did disengage and was as annoyingly loud as a bad clutch could be. So I will be sending it back for a replacement. hard to believe a brand new clutch with a 5 year warranty could be bad right outta the box. Anyone had this much trouble with fan clutches?

 

Yep. Not every factory has good QC standards, and not every distributor keeps clutches stored on edge (like they will be mounted). Hope you did not change serpantine belt route.

 

Good question about serpentine belt route. I wondered that myself but no.everything is spinning in the right direction. I guess I will just have to wait for the replacment and hope for the best. The good news is.. it's easy to swap out.
Never thought about storing them on edge. seems like any marketer offering a 5 year warranty would be aware of that.

 

You could just have a bad one, they slip thru.

 

Man oh man oh man! I can't believe this! I ordered a new fan clutch from auto parts warehouse. They sent me one that didn't disengage like I said before. I finally got a replacement from them yesterday and put it on. The blankity-blank thing is just as defective as the 1st one!! It will not disengage no matter what temp or RPM. It just howls all the time. I tried holding a rolled up newspaper to the fan blades to see if I could make it stop but it just shredded the paper.
I can't believe they sent me 2 bum clutches in a row so I looked again at the belt to be sure I routed it correctly and made sure the fan blades are facing the right direction. Am I missing something here? Now I have to send both clutches back and wait to have my money refunded. This (by the way ) is a thermal fan clutch. Any ideas???

 

If radiator is sludged up, the air that hits the face of the fan clutch may not be hot enough to activate the clutch. Has to be like 170F and above (air temp, not coolant temp). Sludge blocks the coolant from the tubes, either all or some of it. Measure rad top to bottom on fins with an IR thermometer, should be within 10F.