Fan Clutch, Torqueflo Brand

[stevef1972z]

I have new Goodyear Upper and Lower Radiator hoses and a new Champion 3 core Alum Radiator to put into the 1972 Z. While I have the front apart I am wondering if it is worth putting in a new fan clutch. Autozone two blocks from the house can have a new Torqueflo in house in 2 days for $39.99. Has anyone used this brand? I know you get what you pay for, but this is reasonable and with a bit more than 170,000 on my original I know it could use replacing.

[FastWoman]

Does the clutch spin, or is it locked up? If it still spins, you can rebuild it yourself. It's easy. Just unbolt and separate the two shell halves. Clean out what's left of the sticky silicone oil with brake cleaner. Let it dry. Fill the deeper half with 90 wt gear oil, and reassemble. I did mine (160,000 mi original), and it works great now. It used to spin too aggressively (gooey oil) and make the engine sound like a hovercraft. Now it's just right.

[stevef1972z]

I found several posts saying it can be rebuilt, but is there a gasket or do you put it back together with RTV? Is RTV black or Blue prefered? Really dont want it leaking and spraying the underhood, its not a perfect engine bay by a long shot, but it is fairly clean.

[FastWoman]

I just reused my O-ring gasket, with the same apprehensions you cite. As far as I can tell, that's what others do too. No leaking so far. I figure the oil has kept the gasket pretty pliable over the years.

[Pop's Z]

I rebuilt mine ayear ago, and I filled it with R/C car differential oil. I got it at a hobby shop locally. The brand name is Mugen and it's called super silicone for diff. It comes in several wieghts. I started with #5000, but it was too thick, and the fan never disengaged. So after removing the whole thing and cleaning it out with brake cleaner again, I used #3000. It works perfectly, and has for a year so far. The o-ring was re-used with no leaks. The problem with parts from places like Autozone is that the clutches are not rebuildable. This job was pretty easy except for the scraped knuckles during the two removals/replacements. Sometimes our cars require a blood sacrifice.

Cheers, Mike

[stevef1972z]

OK its worth a try, the worse that can happen is I spend some quality time with the car detailing the engine bay! Thanks for the idea!