New fan clutch installed, way too loud.

[LaGrasta]

I had the fan clutch replaced at the advice of the A/C repair tech. The damn thing is so loud, it's embarrassing. My wife keeps thinking the tranny isn't shifting because as it does, the fan is so loud. I'm told it will get more broken in and not be so loud afterward. It's now been over 2k though. Thoughts?

[Smiliesafari]

There are two styles of fan clutches. The best one has a thermal devise on the outside. It faces forward and is centered on the clutch. If yours is the cheap one, that may be the cause of the noise. I'm not aware of any break in period required to quiet them down.

[LaGrasta]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check into it.

[doyoulikeithere]

Thoughts?

Take it back to the AC Tech who installed it, tell him you are not confident that the part is issue free, and ask him to replace it with one that doesnt sound like it has issues.

[v8famvan]

I have run into this issue before other customers. What I suspect is that an aftermarket economy version of the clutch fan was installed, not an OEM. This was likely due to the fact that it was probably less than 1/2 the cost of the OEM one.

The saying goes that you get what you pay for & it is true with this part. If the you cannot swallow the price of an OEM one, go the used route & get one from a wrecking yard (making sure it is an OEM one) & give that a try. You will probably be satisfied with it.

BTW, has this noisy one that you have installed corrected your a/c concern?

[LaGrasta]

old thread i ran across again today.

update: the clutch installed by the AC shop all that time ago was bad, never worked correct. Upon returning the same shop for something else they mentioned the clutch was bad. I reminded them of their replacement a few years prior and they replaced it again for free. I cannot believe I drove it that way for a few years. It is now so quiet again.

[Astrophysics]

Hi,

After watching You Tube How to.. Videos, I bought a strap wrench set at Lowes. Used the 6" rubber strap on the water pump pulley to keep it from turning while I used a 1 7/16" open end wrench (or 36 mm) on the fan clutch hex fitting. Turned CCW and wow it worked to pop the torque so I could un screw the fan to get it out of way to change power steering pimp on AWD 2003 Astro.

AP