Derale Thermal Fan Clutch

Video Transcript for Derale Radiator Fans D22052 Review

Speaker 1: Today we're taking a look at the Derale Thermal Fan Clutch. This is a heavy duty design with standard rotation. This is a general application so it fits various AM General, GM and Ford car and truck models.Now, a thermal fan clutch relies on a thermostat coil to read the under hood temperature. When the temperature reaches a set level the fan will engage to provide the additional air flow for the cooling system. If the temperature drops to a set level than the fan will disengage to save on power and decrease the load against the engine. This allows your vehicle to run more efficiently.

It also saves fuel and reduces fan noise and minimizes belt wear.The unit's made from an aluminum construction. It allows for maximum heat dissipation. Has the multi thin design, which transfers a greater volume of air to dispel more heat. We're looking at the nice heavy duty bearing which creates a more durable higher functioning clutch. So that's internal, but it does feature a heavy duty bearing with the appropriate oil, or grease.

Product's made in the USA.Now there are four main ways to test for a worn fan clutch. If any of these are present then it may be time to replace the fan clutch. If you have excessive fan clutch play. So you can actually manually move the tip of the fan back and forth, if there's a lot of play than the clutch bearing is worn. You're looking for anything more than a quarter inch to a half inch of play.

If you notice a lot of grease build up, you can look for greasy dirt of the fan clutch or a fluid leak around the outer seal, or the thermostat or spring. If you notice excessive slippage, or if the fan spins freely and does not engage that might be a sign that it needs to be replaced. If you experience freezing up, so if the fan blade can't be rotated by hand or if hand rotation makes a harsh rumbling noise the fan clutch bearing is probably worn, if not all the way failed. If there's excessive vibration of the fan clutch or the water pump then you need to look into making a replacement.Doing the replacement really isn't too difficult. What you need to do is remove the fan clutch by loosening the four mounting bolts at the water pump shaft.

Then you'll need to remove the fan blade from the old fan clutch and install it on the new fan clutch using the new bolts provided with this unit. So, it comes with four specially heat treated bolts that are supplied with the fan clutch to mount the fan to the clutch body. So be sure to use the new ones and not the old ones. Then you would mount the new fan clutch to the water pump pad using the existing hardware.That's going to do it for today's look at the Derale Thermal Fan Clutch heavy duty standard rotation.