New Fan Clutch - Is it Defective?

[Btaztic]

Originally Posted by feito

Props for wanting to keep the clutch fan, nothing beats it and most people do a shitty job at installing e-fans.
How is the temperature on your car behaving? When was the last time you replaced your thermostat? We have to remember that our fan clutches are activated with the temperature of the air that goes through the radiator. The temperature of this air is ultimately controlled by the thermostat.

The temp gauge when the car warms up, rests right halfway in between cold and hot (not sure what temperature that relates to exactly). It doesn't fluctuate once the car is warm, the needle sits right in the middle.

I had the thermostat replaced recently, at the same time I had the fan clutch replaced. Here's a little back story if it means anything. I had the radiator replaced at the same shop with a new OEM radiator. Drove it for a few days and noticed that the temp gauge started to not rise. The noise from the fan clutch was not present at this time. Then one day after I had already driven the car earlier that morning, the fan clutch started making the loud whooshing noise that followed the RPMs.

I brought this to the attention of the shop, and he said that my fan clutch is not working properly as it is fully engaged, in which case it is 'over cooling' my engine so to speak. He said I needed to replace the fan clutch. So cool, I have him replace the fan clutch and he called me later that day and said that the temp gauge still wasn't rising after the new fan clutch had been installed. He looked at the thermostat and he said that it needed to be replaced as it was stuck open. Again, I said cool, go ahead and replace it. Now the gauge is working again as it should, but the sound of the fan clutch is still excessive, nothing like it had been prior to any of this.

Again I bought this to his attention. He said that this is how it is suppose to sound and operate. All parts are Nissan OEM replacements. I got a second opinion from another shop saying the exact opposite, and he is saying that the fan clutch is possibly defective and that I should get a replacement for this one as it is not suppose to sound like that.

Now IF in fact this is how it is suppose to sound and work, then it would mean that my old original fan clutch was not in need of a replacement and that it was only my thermostat that needed replacement, however it would not explain why it suddenly started making excessive noise out of no where, which continues with the new fan clutch. So I don't believe that this is the situation, but just for the sake of this argument, I am willing to consider it.

Originally Posted by mr.nismo.

When a fan clutch goes bad, it will be constantly locked up (hence you hearing more fan noise). At higher rpms, when it finally starts to slip under rotational force, it will squeel like a slipping belt. The squeel at high rpm is your clue.

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Thank you, this is exactly my understanding of it! Now, this part is new so I should not be having the symptoms and issues of failing fan clutch that I am currently experiencing. I can't keep shelling money out for this and it is becoming quite frustrating to say the least. I'm no mechanic nor am I super knowledgable about all this stuff, but I am not stupid. Maybe, just maybe I got a bad part. If the next one behaves the same, I don't know what I'm going to do next.