pissedoff92

How do I tell if my fan clutch is going bad? When I start my truck when its cold I can hear the fan engaged and blowing air. I do alot of offroading and figured that my fan is going bad or i just never noticed this before and its normal, just looking for second opinions.

Tyler.172

Does it stay on alot? Or turn on for no reason? Mine is going bad too and that's what it does I have the 4.6l v8

akdoggie

All thermostatically controlled fan clutches engage when cold. They release when they warm up. The noise you hear is so common on the Fords. It means that the clutch is working correctly. The fan clutch is still working. The only reason to replace is to get rid of the low speed engagement noise. If you can live with the sound, don't worry about it. It doesn't effect your cooling. It's just an old fan clutch, that has gotten dirty and makes noise. You will still have a whine with a new one. You just won't notice it as much.

I went with the Taurus/Lincoln radiator fan system from a 94-5 with the 3.8 and AC. It fits the radiator almost perfectly, with a slight angle. Works like a champ. I used an aftermarket controller from ebay with the screw in sensor and used a relay for the low and another for the high speed side of the Ford fans. Many use the radiator fin style sensor. You have to tap the housing to install the screw in type but you will always have a true reading to the controller. There are a couple write-ups on here on how to do the electric radiator fan change overs. Believe me, you won't believe how quiet these 4.6's can be. More lower end power and the fact that your engine doesn't sound like a float plane trying to take off on a quiet lake. Deafening. lol

Wondertwin1

Easy way to tell. Go wiggle the fan blade. If t moves. Replace before it goes through our radiator.

pissedoff92

Im liking the electric fan conversion, the only reason I havent done it yet was due to the fact that summit only had one for like $500 smackers, does the 3.8 fan pull enough cfm?

mr7confused

its supposed to be 3000 cfm isnt it? or 5000?
x2 on wanting to convert to electric, just dont know if my truck can electrically handle it...

pissedoff92

im not exactly sure how much cfm a v8 needs but im deffinatly going to do this if the 3.8 fan pulls enough

akdoggie

The 3.8 (early 90's to 95) and the Lincoln 4.6 fans both pull about the same cfm. Over 4000 with the high speed engaged. (2 speed fan). This system is so sweet and clean, and NO friggin' NOISE. That is the best part. I did play it safe and install 2 start up (Bosch style) relays, so that the draw wouldn't be too excessive.

A couple other guys earlier were going to install this on their trucks also. One did for sure, and had good luck, the other, I haven't seen his results. Using the Taurus/Lincoln Mark style fans is far superior to the fan clutch system, that comes from the factory, and so much quieter. You have more room on the front of the motor to work on if necessary.

If you have doubts, don't. Using a Ford electric fan (from the Taurus 3.8 or Mark's), is by far the best way to go. You should decide how much you can do mechanically, when ordering the probe. If you are decent, then tapping the housing for the probe wouldn't be hard, but if you think you might have a problem go with the "thru-radiator" probe. It goes thru the fins and read by the temps that go thru the fins. I personally like the screw in sensor. I don't like taking chances with something falling off or out of the fins, and not turning on the fan when necessary.

akdoggie

I did this change over on my 90 F150/5.0 also. I used a Crown Vic fan for this application. The late model electric fans are plenty big (enough CFM) to work on these trucks (your 92, my 90). They fit the radiators closely, so minimal trim removal is necessary. I only had to cut one tab for the 150 to work and fit perfectly. I also used the intake style sensor, instead of radiator sensor, since the engines in the F150's of this generation are tapped already. The 4.6's in the 97's up are not.

pissedoff92

Thanks for the tips. Where can I find the bosch style relays you refer to? I planned on adding lights to my truck and when I roll my windows all the way up then press the button to roll them up my headlights dim and my rpm's drop when idling. The alt. is brand new and its always done this. But id like as little draw as possible.