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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / September 2005Remove clutch fan from Southwind
Hello All, Have an '87 Southwind with a clutch fan that sounds like a jet engine. Put on 2 aftermarket electric fans to keep the thing from turning on, but it engages anyway, even when it isn't needed. I tried to remove it, but cannot figure out how to get the fan itself out without taking either the radiator off orgoing through a lot of other trouble. I removed the clutch fan base (with the heat sensor coil), so the fan was loose on the bolt stem... ready to be drawn out. I tried removing the shroud below to drop it out the bottom, but no luck. Couldn't get it out the top either. I finally had to put it all back together, but ripped the heat coil off the clutch fan base, hoping that would keep the fan from engaging. I prefer to remove it all together. Anyone know how to slip that baby out? Thanks much. Ken > Hello All, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks much. > Ken I don't know how much help this will be, but here it goes: Remove the shroud and the fan at the same time. Lossen the fan, lossen the shroud, then take them out together. If the fan bolts are too long, you can cut them off after you lossen them. Use a saws-all with a metal blade. 4 bolts takes about 3 minutes. Then replace them. Hank <~~~~just trying to help. Oi, if this were me I would point the car in the direction of ER before I start - lol.  SignatureQuickSilver - Visit my world Searching for a Class A Coach in SoCal http://AustinMini.OsiTech.Net Use a saws-all with a metal blade. 4 bolts takes about 3 minutes. > I don't know how much help this will be, but here it goes: > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Hank <~~~~just trying to help. But if the fan bolts are too long when you remove the fan wouldn't the replacement fan bolts be too long when you go to reinstall it? > But if the fan bolts are too long when you remove the fan wouldn't the > replacement fan bolts be too long when you go to reinstall it? The original poster stated he installed 2 electric fans to cool the engine. Therefore, he doesn't need the original fan. Or, he can reinstall the original fan without the clutch by using shorter bolts. If he wants to replace the original clutch AND fan and remove the electrical fans, you are correct, and he'll have to pull the radiator/shroud. Hank <~~~glad to see people are chiming in with other thoughts/ideas I had the same problem with my '89 Southwind and unfortunately they had to disassemble the shroud and radiator. I had two clutch fan failures in two years! Good luck. > Hello All, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks much. > Ken Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I had removed the shroud but still could not get the fan (blades) out. I could get the clutch fan itself (the unit minus the blades) that the blade fan bolts to. I since talked to Chevy and they tell me the electric fans are not sufficient to cool the engine and "you just have to live with the noise" [of the clutch fan]. In an attempt to disable it I ripped off the heat sensor coil, then reassembled everything... hoping the removed coil would result in the fan staying off. Instead it *stayed* on. Was also told there are three different clutch fans you can get... or rather there are 3 models calibrated to come on at differetn temp. One comes on at 195, another at 205 (IIRC) and the 3rd at 215. I am assuming I had the ne that comes on at 195 since the temp gauge never got past 1/4 and the think would engage. So I'm going to try to find a replacement that's calibrated at 215 and see if it only enages when truly needed. (As in, towing a car uphill on a hot day with the A/C on... as opposeed to coming on even when I'm going DOWNhill!) If that doesn't work, I think I'll just sell the thing and get a different MH that doesn't have this noisy clutch fan. Can anyone make a suggestion as to good MHs/ motors from the late 80s? The wallet won't tolerate a new one. Again, thanks to everyone. Ken On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 11:40:23 -0700, Ken wrote: > I since talked to Chevy and they tell me the electric fans are not > sufficient to cool the engine and "you just have to live with the noise" [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > in, towing a car uphill on a hot day with the A/C on... as opposeed to > coming on even when I'm going DOWNhill!) This sounds like a great plan- I eliminated the motor driven fan on an '84 Ford cube van I had (towing a trailer), and two 16" electric fans could not keep up, plus when they kicked in, it was a noticeable drain on the electrical system. SignatureChris Bryant http://bryantrv.com > On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 11:40:23 -0700, Ken wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > not keep up, plus when they kicked in, it was a noticeable drain on the > electrical system. I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched from the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are efficient and relatively quiet. They are cooling high performance big block engines successfully. I am about to do the switch on my 1989 Winnebago. Re: Loud clutch fan alternatives >I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched >from the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are >efficient and relatively quiet. They are cooling high performance big >block engines successfully. I am about to do the switch on my 1989 >Winnebago. That sounds promising. When do you plan on switching the Winne over? I'd be curious to know how much quiter you find it! Ken I see where someone suggested: >>I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched >>from the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are >>efficient and relatively quiet. My experience with a so-called "flexible" fan instead of the OEM clutch was that it was quieter than a Huey turbine - but not much. I suppose if you have unmuffled exhaust and are nearly deaf, you might not find it offensive. Will Sill The Curmudgeon of Sill Hill > I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched from > the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are > efficient and relatively quiet. They are cooling high performance big > block engines successfully. I am about to do the switch on my 1989 > Winnebago. I'm not a big fan (no pun intended) of flex fans for RV applications- they work well on automobiles, where the largest cooling load is often at or near idle, after a highway run, but in an RV, you usually need the extra cooling while pulling a long grade- where the engine is turning at relatively high rpm's- this is where a flex fan is useless, as it has flattened out, providing no extra cooling. The clutch driven fans are loud, and use a fair amount of power, but when you need the air flow, you need the air flow, and noise and power just have to take a back seat. SignatureChris Bryant http://bryantrv.com snipped > The clutch driven fans are loud, and use a fair amount of power, but when > you need the air flow, you need the air flow, and noise and power just > have to take a back seat. I'm with you Chris. I'd rather hear the fan than ruin a motor and/or a transmission. HD in NY >> I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched from >> the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >you need the air flow, you need the air flow, and noise and power just >have to take a back seat. Of course, but the clutch fan in this RV comes on when it *isn't* needed. When the engine isn't even registering 1/4 on the temp gauge... when I am actually _coasting downhill._ And this was a clutch fan I had Chevy install *after* I bought the motorhome. (About 1 year ago.) When I got the RV the original clutch fan came on every time I pulled away from a stop sign (even when the motor was cold right after starting it up)... until I'd hit 3rd gear or so. Then it would cycle off and on continuously every few minutes, regardless of riding or temp conditions. So I installed 2 electric fans, hoping that would keep the clutch fan from cycling on when it isn't needed. Didn't work. So I had the clutch fan replaced with a brand new clutch fan one year ago, thinking the old one must be faulty to cycle on constantl.. This fan is not much of an improvement. I took ti back to Chevy who said said that's the way they work. So now I found out from another mechanic that they make CFs calibrated to come at different temps (as I said in an earlier post). This might account for the fact that some people on this ng over the past year have said that after installing electric fans, their clutch fan never engages unless they are towing up a grade; while others have the same problem I have had. The maddening thing is it comes on when it isn't needed. Ken >>> I have some friends with high performance cars and they have switched from >>> the clutch fans to Flex A Lite high volume aluminum fans. They are [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > >Ken You do realize that the temperature that controls these fan clutches is the temperature of the engine compartment and not the engine temperature. SignatureFrank Tabor >> Ken said: [snipped to salient point] :) >>The maddening thing is it comes on when it isn't needed. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >is the temperature of the engine compartment and not the engine >temperature. No I didn't realize that. But even so, it cannot be needed when the engine is cold, or coasting downhill in cool weather. It just doesn't make sense. Ken >>> Ken said: [snipped to salient point] :) >>>The maddening thing is it comes on when it isn't needed. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > >Ken I have a 2001 Powerstroke and when I first start up, even in winter time the fan clutch engages for the first 4 or 5 minutes. As far as you fan running coasting downhill, where do you think all the heat from the radiator goes? It goes into the engine compartment. Hot air coming off your radiator heats the engine compartment. I think you probably need your radiator cleaned and flushed. If it's constantly putting that much heat into the engine compartment, then the radiator is allowing the engine to run too warm. If you have the properly set fan for your application, and the fan runs all the time or too much, it's not the fans' fault, it's the amount of heat in the engine compartment. The clutch operates on a variable viscous fluid. The hotter it gets, the thicker it gets till the clutch engages. When it cools down, it thins out and released the clutch. You've got to get the heat out of the engine compartment. SignatureFrank Tabor >I have a 2001 Powerstroke and when I first start up, even in winter >time the fan clutch engages for the first 4 or 5 minutes. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > >You've got to get the heat out of the engine compartment. Hm. I'll have to noodle that around a bit. :) Thanks, Frank. Ken >On Sun, 28 Aug 2005 11:40:23 -0700, Ken wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >not keep up, plus when they kicked in, it was a noticeable drain on the >electrical system. ... noticed how so? This is what I was really wondering though... has anyone out there removed a clutch fan from a Southwind and been okay with 2 electric fans? If someone reading this has, I'd appreciate hearing from you and what kind of electric fans you're using. Thanks again, Ken On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:17:07 -0700, Ken wrote: >>This sounds like a great plan- I eliminated the motor driven fan on an >>'84 Ford cube van I had (towing a trailer), and two 16" electric fans [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > someone reading this has, I'd appreciate hearing from you and what kind of > electric fans you're using. At idle, the engine would drop several hundred rpm's when the fans kicked in- and while driving, I could see the system voltage drop. My big problem was pulling long grades- the electric fans simply could not handle the added heat load- the temperature would keep rising, until I would have to pull over to let it cool down. IIRC- (this was 20 years ago <g>)- I used dual 16" Hayden fans- they were actually *almost* as loud as the motor driven fan. SignatureChris Bryant http://bryantrv.com >On Mon, 29 Aug 2005 14:17:07 -0700, Ken wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >IIRC- (this was 20 years ago <g>)- I used dual 16" Hayden fans- they were >actually *almost* as loud as the motor driven fan. Thanks Chris. Yeah, some of the fans can be loud. But the good thing about the electric fans is that with a manual switch you only have to hear them when you need them -- in that case the noise is fine! :-) Ken I had an 87 Coachmen with the same problem. I cut the bottom of the shroud out to allow the fan to be removed from the bottom. After I removed the fan it was quiet but boiled over within two miles. I put it back on and put up with it till I traded it off for a 2003 Fleetwood Terra on a Workhorse chassis - best move I ever made. Except now I have to listen to my Wife lol > Hello All, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Thanks much. > Ken |
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