gross polluter

I searched a bit in the second gen and first gen forums and does not seem like many people, if any, have done this. We all know the mechanical fan vs. Efan debate, I personally would like to stick with the mechanical fan.

My fan clutch looks like it has been there since the car rolled off of the assembly line. The fan spins freely on the clutch and does not get any firmer with temperature, it's time to change it. The fan has seen better days too, the bolt holes are cracked where the fan attatches to the clutch and the roots of the blades are cracked as well. A new fan and clutch is not cheap and I understand I could pick up a good condition fan used, however, I would prefer to not buy a used clutch. I started to think about other options.

I was farting around at my Fathers shop the other day and started to examine a flex-a-lite flex fan that was being installed on a kit car. These fans are EXTREMELY light, rated to 10k rpm, move quite a bit of air, and are very cheap in comparison to a new fan clutch. Like any other flex fan, they flatten out in relation to RPM, like a clutch fan, they don't flow (as much) air when they don't need to. It seems to adapt such a product, a spacer/adapter would have to be made up to center a universal flex fan to the water pump, and to place the fan in the shroud. I have access to a lathe and vertical mill, so the cost to make such a beast would be very little. Universal spacers also would be a sound option if the pilot hole comes close to the shaft on the water pump.

My question is, has there been anyone who has done this on their FC? I would be curious to get input from those that have done it or have tried. I can't care less about some people's opinon on the matter so if you want to post something about how an Efan is superior, how I will loose 5 hp and 10ftlb, or how the idea won't work because your drifter friend mechanic said so, save it. I'm only looking for input relevant to the idea.

Nitrometano

you can save your fan clutch doing the following Drill and remove the fan clutch oil and replace it with a new and fresh fan clutch fluid that can be purchase on the auto stores. Then seal the hole with a screw and silicone.

SpeedOfLife

iTrader: (16)

with a small screw could that throw its balance off enough to cause problems?

SureShot

I tried this with only fair results on my old S4 NA.
I drilled two holes on opposite sides of the reservoir chamber, drained the old fluid & refilled it with Toyota fan clutch fluid.

I ended up getting an aftermarket clutch from Eastern Auto Parts.
It fit the S4 but worked more like the S5 stock unit.

gross polluter

I have consdiered "refilling" the clutch but I have not seen too many successfully done, enough to justify doing it over buying a new. Availability on such a fluid seems to be scarce too.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

Fan clutch from a junkyard. It may or may not be good, but it's probably better than what you've got. Plus you already know what a bad fan clutch feels like, so you can find a decent one. A good fan clutch should turn when you push on it but it should give some resistance and stop when you let go. It should not freewheel.

I had a flex-a-lite Black Magic on another RX-7 with no special hardware needed. It didn't flow as much as the stock fan and it tended to strain the old battery and alternator. I carried around a jump box which I had to use a few times (<1% of the time, no big deal). It was a cheap alternative to replacing the alt and/or battery. I only got the e-fan b/c it was running hot and a mechanic noticed my fan clutch was getting weak. The e-fan didn't really help though, even compared to a weak (but apparently still good enough) fan clutch.