Thanks savannah- My fan clutch was disengaging just fine up until my water pump busted. After that, my clutch stopped working. I assume from getting thrown into engine compartment.) Also-my understanding of how the clutch should work is after initial startup, the clutch should disengage until engine gets hot enough to cause it to engage. Both of the new ones I put on will not disengage at all.

 

Total garbage.

Copied directly from the Rave;

However within a very short period of time, after
starting the engine, the fan speed and noise will
decline indicating that the fluid is being centrifuged
into chamber B (as seen in RR3757M) causing the
drive to slip.

What this means is that as soon as you give the motor ANY gas in the morning it will disengage, no jet fan noise. Your not hearing it disengage so I would question who the hell your buying your viscous units from and for what vehicle?

Buy from a reputable company a viscous unit that BELONGS on your water pump shaft not some crappy aftermarket junk. Rovahfarm, Atlantic British, PT Schram, Will Tillery all have the OEM viscous. I would not put anything other than OEM on because as you've witnessed....you got what you paid for twice. Spend a few bucks for quality and you get a better return on your investment. This is one of the few times I highly, highly recommend you go OEM. The water pump is my other.

 

I stand corrected. What I meant to say is that it won't engage at the hotter temp without the faceplate getting hot, no matter what the coolant temp actually is. It should roar at start up, relax, then roar again if facelate temp increases and the valve operates (or the concentric spaced disks warm the fluid up on the non-valve designs). It is heat that makes the clutch operate from quiet to roar, after initial startup.

As stated, never stopping the roar is a problem with the clutch.

I agree that your source of supply is questionable. But I have used both the aftermarket fits a chevy model and currently being the cheapskate I am have a $19 special from the boneyard off a 2000 Blazer.

I was taught to store viscous clutch units on edge, like they are mounted. That may come from older units with poor seal quality. But... if that old wive's tale has any truth to it, a whole pallet of them packed wrong means each one you get from that supplier could have same problem.

Rovers, as royal bred as they may be, are not the only vehicles on the planet with a viscous clutch, and right now in a drive thru at a burger joint they are doing what they are supposed to in Chevys, Fords, Dodges, and even Mitsubishi and Mercedes. Their design is to make it possible for you to wait for that cheese burger in paradise, no matter where paradise is.

 

I love that roar, it hides the knock.
And..... These things have water pumps??

 

Whatever......your rationalizations fall on my deaf ears. I can change head gaskets in short order successfully. Do you suggest using Buick 215 head gaskets too now? We all read what happened when you used the DII's intake manifold torque spec.

I suggest ponying up for a genuine part and nobody gets disappointed with two returns and no Rover during the wait for their refund. You can modify whatever you want on YOUR vehicle, you have others to take it's place while it sits under a tree unusable.

 

Honestly thought the Buick is oem .

 

OEM what? Good luck with that......your signature, says it all. Maybe SB should copy it. So little knowledge about Rovers. Like for instance if someone has a 3.9 98 and you've got the mod with a bazillion posts asking where they live because he doesn't understand how a 3.9 can be in a 98? Hilarious! It's no wonder this is a noob site.

 

Your formidable skills are of little value on the forum if you do not share your strengths with others. I share, and even document my failures, as a guide to others that might not heed your advice. Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.

Rover does not machine the fan clutch or water pump, these are parts they have made to a range of specifications met by any number of suppliers. And you can buy fan clutches and water pumps that will fit the Rover, but don't come in a Rover box.

I would guess that a new working clutch made for a Chevy will help save the engine temps a lot better than a worn out one that was put on at the factory. Not everyone who buys a $1000 Rover will have the income to treat it to the very best. We don't run back to the UK to buy a battery, etc.

As for the water pump, that design has been eclipsed by the after market suppliers, take a look at these pictures. The one with a larger bronze impeller will do a better job of what it built for, pumping water. The older pumps start to wobble near failure, eat up aluminum inside and eat the pump bearing before they leak out the nose.

I'm not a moderator because I am expert on all details of all Rovers. Just willing to donate time and attention to it. No one person can be expert on everything in every Rover that crawls the earth. But as a forum together we know more than most.

 

You learned me. Thank you o wise one. You should charge for such wit. Curious, How many hg are you going through, to have to turn them out in short order?

 

well, I see this is turning into a pissing match of sorts. true- not all of us have the bucks to spend on 'genuine' parts for our rovers. These are tough times for some. I have bought expensive parts and i have bought cheaper parts in the past. I never dreamed, though, that any auto parts supplier would stock a fan clutch that consistently came defective from the factory. The one I ordered came with a 5 year unlimited warranty so I thought it might be ok. What I would say now is I wish I had just picked one up at the local auto zone and at least could have taken it back for a quick refund if it were defective.
I appreciate everyone's input on this thread.