psychoboy
05&06 Dodge Longs & Talls
I've searched the threads, and I'm not totally sure what should be happening when, but this is what I've gleaned:
When the van is cold, the blade should turn with just a hint of drag (it won't freewheel, but it won't really fight you, either), smoothly and with no noise.
When the van is warm, the fan should be harder to turn, but it should still turn.
When the van is hot, the fan should be nearly impossible to turn, since the clutch is fully locked up.
Basically, the hotter the motor, the more engaged the clutch is, and the more locked to the motor the fan is.
Since my expansion tank failed, and I replaced the radiator, I've never seen the gauge get past really warm, even pulling loads in the heat. The van has always felt like it was dragging an anchor, just a bit. like it had more to give, but something was keeping it from reaching full potential. I'm wondering if it might be the fan, dragging the motor and keeping it cooler than it would otherwise register.
Are my test assumptions correct? I can't just go "listen for the fan to engage" since I've never heard it engage (even back when the dirty radiator would let it get warmer), and if it's failed and locked up, it won't audibly change state, anyway.
When the van is cold, the blade should turn with just a hint of drag (it won't freewheel, but it won't really fight you, either), smoothly and with no noise.
When the van is warm, the fan should be harder to turn, but it should still turn.
When the van is hot, the fan should be nearly impossible to turn, since the clutch is fully locked up.
Basically, the hotter the motor, the more engaged the clutch is, and the more locked to the motor the fan is.
Since my expansion tank failed, and I replaced the radiator, I've never seen the gauge get past really warm, even pulling loads in the heat. The van has always felt like it was dragging an anchor, just a bit. like it had more to give, but something was keeping it from reaching full potential. I'm wondering if it might be the fan, dragging the motor and keeping it cooler than it would otherwise register.
Are my test assumptions correct? I can't just go "listen for the fan to engage" since I've never heard it engage (even back when the dirty radiator would let it get warmer), and if it's failed and locked up, it won't audibly change state, anyway.