clutch fan gap too short

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R3dplanet

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Ugh.

Okay - I have a Hayden 2764 fan clutch, which as far as I know, is the shortest available. I also had my stock radiator converted to three cores. Add in the aluminum water pump. Little by little losing all of the space between the fan clutch and the radiator fins.

As it sits all put together I only have 1/8" of space between the fan clutch fins and the radiator fins. Not nearly enough. Are there any clever tricks to get at least another 1/4" of space in there? 1/2" would be better of course.
 
Loose the clutch it does nothing to Increase the cooling capability.
 
Ugh.

Okay - I have a Hayden 2764 fan clutch, which as far as I know, is the shortest available. I also had my stock radiator converted to three cores. Add in the aluminum water pump. Little by little losing all of the space between the fan clutch and the radiator fins.

As it sits all put together I only have 1/8" of space between the fan clutch fins and the radiator fins. Not nearly enough. Are there any clever tricks to get at least another 1/4" of space in there? 1/2" would be better of course.

MILL a 1/4'' off the water pump housing , I did to allow for my motor plate -----
also chucked the clutch up and took .060 off of the fins , you`d be surprised at how uneven they are to start with .
 
That Hayden thing is by no means the shortest fan clutch. Read this.

Hey SSD,

I appreciate the read. I like the idea of the clutch fan without a protruding external flange. The article doesn't specify any clutch fan - it just sort of vaguely mentions "Various Mercedes and Toyota cars have a clutch fan where the clutch body forms the central hub of the fan blade."

Yes, but specifically which of the multitudes of Toyota or Mercedes units are we talking about?
 
Loose the clutch it does nothing to Increase the cooling capability.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not so much looking for extra cooling as I am just trying to reduce parasitic loss. I don't mind fabbing something together.
 
MILL a 1/4'' off the water pump housing , I did to allow for my motor plate -----
also chucked the clutch up and took .060 off of the fins , you`d be surprised at how uneven they are to start with .

That's a great idea - but I don't currently have access to a mill. Where I live there aren't really any small job machinists like there used to be.
 
The parasitic loss of the fan is minimal all things considered.

If the fan is pushing 100 CFM ( just a number for illustration) and you are driving fast enough to push 100 CFM past the fan there would be no parasitic loss. If you are going fast enough to push 150 CFM it could be argued that you are actually adding power to the system.

If you have an electric fan plug it in, it pushes air.
Now use your compressor and blow air at its inlet. With enough air you can make the fan spin faster.
If you measure the current it will be higher without the compressor blowing on the fan and lower when it is.
 
The article doesn't specify any clutch fan - it just sort of vaguely mentions "Various Mercedes and Toyota cars have a clutch fan where the clutch body forms the central hub of the fan blade." Yes, but specifically which of the multitudes of Toyota or Mercedes units are we talking about?

Fair point. There are several that will fit. Here is a (long ago expired) ad for such a fan I sold, that was from a Mercedes W116-chassis car. 123-, 107-, and 126-chassis Mercedes are also candidates, those are '70s-early '90s models. Toyota: pickups and 4Runners and such, '80s-'00s. Just make sure the fan blades are curved the same direction as the original fan (for clockwise rotation as viewed from the front). Examples:

this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this super-slim one for Mercedes fans, and some Toyota examples are this (self-shrouded, cool), this, this, and this

NOT this one (blades curved wrong way; this is an opposite-rotation fan driven by a serpentine belt)

With these examples you should get an idea of what's out there and what to look for.
 
Ugh.

Okay - I have a Hayden 2764 fan clutch, which as far as I know, is the shortest available. I also had my stock radiator converted to three cores. Add in the aluminum water pump. Little by little losing all of the space between the fan clutch and the radiator fins.

As it sits all put together I only have 1/8" of space between the fan clutch fins and the radiator fins. Not nearly enough. Are there any clever tricks to get at least another 1/4" of space in there? 1/2" would be better of course.
Can't find a listing for specs on that clutch. What's the distance from back of the clutch mounting flange to the fan mounting flange on yours?...as in pic...

Fan Clutch.jpg
 
Technically, the jag clutch is a tad shorter. Problem is, they aren't designed for heavy steel fans. Plenty of folks have used them successfully though. FYI - I have 1/4" from my clutch to the radiator. It's never rubbed.
 
Here is what I found on my car, in part, thanks to @waggin. While he was here picking up some things, he noticed that my core support was pushed back a little. Not much mind you but just enough to make things tight between the fan and radiator. So I measured....and he was right. So measure yours. From the corners of the inner fenders all across the radiator support. Mine needs pushing out about 3/4 an inch. It's never been hit from the front that I can tell......it could simply be an assembly glitch, who knows? I haven't pushed mine yet, but it's coming.
 
Can't find a listing for specs on that clutch. What's the distance from back of the clutch mounting flange to the fan mounting flange on yours?...as in pic...

View attachment 1715517344

No answer , but mine is so tight there , I can barely get nuts on the studs , that I cut down .
A real bit-- trying to get them started !
 
MILL a 1/4'' off the water pump housing , I did to allow for my motor plate -----
also chucked the clutch up and took .060 off of the fins , you`d be surprised at how uneven they are to start with .
That 1/4" was taken up by your motor plate, but if he did it, that would throw his pulley/belt alignment off, no?
 
That 1/4" was taken up by your motor plate, but if he did it, that would throw his pulley/belt alignment off, no?
Yes, any material taken off the mating surface or the hub surface would throw off pulley alignment.
 
Can't find a listing for specs on that clutch. What's the distance from back of the clutch mounting flange to the fan mounting flange on yours?...as in pic...

View attachment 1715517344

Here is a CarQuest one 2 9/16" height.
20200427_124503.jpg


20200427_124523.jpg


Can check Summit also for Hayden 2765: 2.67" height.

Was also going to suggest like @RustyRatRod is talking. Take a Porto-Power and push the core support forward 1/4" at the left and right radiator mounts.

Core support is just a tin stamping that can move pretty easy. Should be plenty of room at the hood latch adjustment to allow for it to move forward. Loosen the bolts on the radiator mounts as you don't want to tweek that when adjusting the core support.
 
Here is a CarQuest one 2 9/16" height.
View attachment 1715517563

View attachment 1715517564

Can check Summit also for Hayden 2765: 2.67" height.

Was also going to suggest like @RustyRatRod is talking. Take a Porto-Power and push the core support forward 1/4" at the left and right radiator mounts.

Core support is just a tin stamping that can move pretty easy. Should be plenty of room at the hood latch adjustment to allow for it to move forward. Loosen the bolts on the radiator mounts as you don't want to tweek that when adjusting the core support.
That's the Jaguar XJ6 application.
 
Hey gang -

I found a possible solution for a Mercedes clutch and fan. I ordered parts from Rockauto and will report back my findings once they arrive. If it works I'll provide part numbers. Useful for early-As with aluminum water pumps and /6s.
 
I used a volvo 1969 fan clutch and moved the radiator core backwards 1/2 inch, honestly i didnt like it went back to my flex fan
 

That's about the best current option from Hayden. It has a 2.7" length, but the distance I have in total is 2.875, leaving about 1/8" of gap. I looked through their entire catalog comparing specs and I might be able to center and weld something together but I'd rather have something replaceable. The Mercedes unit I ordered measures 2.38" according to the spec. Eagerly awaiting the package.
 
That's about the best current option from Hayden. It has a 2.7" length, but the distance I have in total is 2.875, leaving about 1/8" of gap. I looked through their entire catalog comparing specs and I might be able to center and weld something together but I'd rather have something replaceable. The Mercedes unit I ordered measures 2.38" according to the spec. Eagerly awaiting the package.

Be sure to keep us posted on the results. I'd love to see what it looks like.
 
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