Well, I have been wondering what the heck was making my squealing noise. I always thought it was the belt and it always went away in a few seconds, so I ignored it. Then here lately (since the cold snap)it has gotten much worse. I checked it out several times and counld't decide if it was the Alt, tensioner, water pump, or the power steering. It was just hard to pin point down. Then today I noticed that when I shut the engine off the squealing could still be heard for a few seconds. So I had someone start and stop the engine. I then turned the fan by hand and you could hear it coming from the water pump. At this point I am pissed off at having to replace a water pump that I don't have time or money to do. Then I got to thinking, the water pump should not be turning when you turn the engine off, at least not as long as the sound is. So my conclusion is that it must be the fan clutch, as your fan still spins for several seconds after the eninge is cut off. Does all of this make sense? How hard is it to replace the fan clutch on the 4.6?

 

My '97 4.2L makes the same noise and with the extreme cold we've had this past week, it's been terribly annoying. After I turn off the engine, I can hear it wind down for a few seconds.


A high quality electric fan is only about $200.00. A new fan clutch costs about the same but takes more effort to change then installing an electric fan. If you go with an electric fan, not only will you extend the life of your water pump but you'll also get some added performance and get rid of that annoying sound of the fan clutch turning when pulling away from a stop.

 

Yep that's just how mine is, worse when it is cold out. I found a few things out about them. You can check it by grasping the fan blade and rock it back and forth and watch the movement. Another sign is that there will be silicone oil leaking from it (a fan clutch is a fluid coupling). With engine cold the fan should spin freely, then after the engine is warmed up the fan shoul a a little resistance as you try to spin the fan. Mine has little resistance and a slight movement when you rock it back and forth, no leaking yet.

I figured everyone would just say to switch to a electric setup and while I would like to I don't think I have the time or money. A aftermarket Imperial fan clutch is around 70 bucks. The only Ford I checked wants 155 for the clutch and 1 hr labor at $60 or 245 total. I am going to check with a few other places.

To go electric I will need to do tons more research on how to hook one up and what works best, plus the fact of locating parts and possible shipping times. I figure if I have to buy new fans I could be looking at $200-300 unless I can find a Mark8 fan cheap somewhere. I seen that the Blackmagic fan in Summit produces what we need but was told it consumes massive amounts of electrical power.

How are you guys getting the old fan assembly's off, to fix something or switch to electric fans? Manual says you need two special flat metal wrenches. One to hold and the other to back the big nut off with. Before we always just braced the fan, used channel locks or a strap wrench and backed the nut or fan off (last one on the Bronco 2.8 was left hand threads). If the only way is with the tools, does anyone know where to get them and how much?

 

Just waiting to hear the advice on how to take the fan clutch off. Still trying to find someplace with the wrenches.