Any experience good or bad with clutch fans on your mopar?

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71DodgeDemon340

71DodgeDemon340

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Just trying to get a feel for how much an improvement a clutch fan is over a fixed fan. Anybody notice a difference good or bad making the switch? Just curious if i put one on if it will run warmer than the fixed fan setup. Anyone notice any temp differences between the two?
 
Frees up glorious, glorious horsepower.

Didn't change anything else on my cars.
 
Clutch fans haven't gotten any different since your first post with 29 replies. It doesn't help to make duplicate posts. It makes me just click right over it.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Clutch fans haven't gotten any different since your first post with 29 replies. It doesn't help to make duplicate posts. It makes me just click right over it.
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Don`t think he got an answer to his question . Which one cools better !!?!! My vote says a mech. belt driven fan will cool better than all others for the money spent. He doesn`t have a cooling problem to start with , he`s just wondering about more or less cooling and h.p. gained .
 
If you do not have cooling problems then you will be happy with a clutch fan.
 
Thanks guys, i was more concerned with if there was any issues anyone had with running a clutch fan, just trying to weigh the pros and cons before i decide to make the switch
 
Not a Mopar but I built a 70 Monte Carlo with a 454 and Hydro roller cam about 10 yrs ago. ( traded a dirtbike for it) and while I was setting the timing I blipped the throttle and the water pump shaft sheared off!
That was exciting! Lucky to be hear today....
I think the fan was out of balance and/or cheap waterpump
 
famous bob said:
Don`t think he got an answer to his question . Which one cools better !!?!! My vote says a mech. belt driven fan will cool better than all others for the money spent. He doesn`t have a cooling problem to start with , he`s just wondering about more or less cooling and h.p. gained .
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He did on his other thread! IMO, the only drawback to the clutch fan is the space required in some applications. The early A can be a tight squeeze, especially if you are running a copper/brass radiator wider than two rows. The aluminum radiators can be a little more forgiving, although I have seen people have trouble with them as well.

From your other thread though, it sounds like you have plenty of room!
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Thanks guys, i was more concerned with if there was any issues anyone had with running a clutch fan, just trying to weigh the pros and cons before i decide to make the switch
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They were factory equipment on the later Hemi cars. I think you're ok. LOL
 
Sounds good lol just cant ever be too sure, im one of those guys who asks the same question just worded differently, i have to be over informative on anything new i dabble in, just like to learn and sometimes it takes me getting the same answer in more than one form to completely understand
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Sounds good lol just cant ever be too sure, im one of those guys who asks the same question just worded differently, i have to be over informative on anything new i dabble in, just like to learn and sometimes it takes me getting the same answer in more than one form to completely understand
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It's called bein a tech nerd and that's cool too! lol
 
In the world of Hot Rods it's always trial & error.Sometimes it works;sometimes it don't. That's what makes it fun as a hobby!
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Thanks guys, i was more concerned with if there was any issues anyone had with running a clutch fan, just trying to weigh the pros and cons before i decide to make the switch
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Do a "search" on "overheat" in the "cooling" section
.. You will quickly find most probs occur with elec fan users, and a lot revert to the mechanical clutch fan. There are some fantastic shroud and fans designs that get tossed. Every spring there is a page full of overheat concerns.
 
71DodgeDemon340 said:
Thanks guys, i was more concerned with if there was any issues anyone had with running a clutch fan, just trying to weigh the pros and cons before i decide to make the switch
Click to expand...
I put a non-thermostatic clutch on My built /6 '72 Swinger, but on thinking about it I loosened ALL of the eng. & trans mounting fasteners & pried it back as far as it would
go, held it in place and cinched it down. As far as function, I wouldn't run anything else off the front of a water pump, period. Electrics should not be inadequate, but they
are usually not installed & activated properly, incl. sensor placements.
Make sure the fan You are using is not damaged, it will cause the pump to seize &/or fracture the shaft, I have experienced both.....this is the same for non-clutch units too.
I used My Pop's '76 heavy 3/4ton GMC 4X4 to go get My '64GT 'vert in OK, I bumped the timing up 3* from the spec, tuned-up, new hoses, 195* thermo, & added a clutch
fan to top it off. That 350 4bbl. pig never did better than 12mpg, but My neighbor & I almost touched 14mpg on the way out, and avg. ~11.75 draggin' the car back. I was
able to make it to around St.Louis before I had to step up to "Silver" grade, saved Me $150 in fuel on that trip,(fuel was high in march '08). That truck definitely runs better.
 
Thanks for the input, are there easy ways to tell if the fan is good or not? I bought a 5 blade off ebay, states the fan is straight but we will see monday
 
1974 dart sport. I put a hayden thermal clutch fan set up and a copper brass radiator with 3 rows. It's somewhat tight but works great!! Also keep your fan shroud it is part of your cooling. You need need it!!
 
Other than dog-eared blades & signs of impact/damage, it's difficult to tell just looking at them, even spinning them can be less than conclusive. Some fans have the blades
intentionally "staggered" a tad, so You need to be tuned into Your engine before & after You install any used fan for any new/unusual vibrations.

EDIT: And to back up what QuickDart360 and inertia mentioned, the fan & shroud
work together, the shroud should engage the blades 1/3 to 1/2 of their sweep, &
this won't be a problem for A-body guys....but the fan should ideally have the
blades 3/4-1 1/2" from the cores. Now on a '73 Charger..............lol!
 
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Good you mention fan position within shroud. When i 1st put my car together, i only found an Aspen fan shroud. This is deeper than the a body shroud so my fan is pretty much all in shroud. However, I am lucky I have not had overheating issues. I recently found an original a body shroud. So may eventually put in.
 
I am still waiting to hear if the Mopar performance five-blade viscous drive fan ever really locks up enough to hear that "roar" from the fan. Has anyone experienced that?

My last road trip included freeway driving at over 100 degrees outside ambient temperature and also some long, slow, bumper to bumper traffic in the same temperature range. Although the coolant temperature never exceeded a little past the half-way mark, i never heard the fan really lock-up as I expected it to during that real hot spell driving.

DSC01099.JPG
 
Thats a good thing lol

I know my fixed blade fan makes some noise but over 3k rpm and rear tires spinning its kinda hard to hear lol
 
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