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740 Noisy fan clutch - Aisin brand any good?

alschnertz

alschnertz

Enough already!
Joined
Oct 4, 2009
Location
CT
1986 745 Turbo, B230FT, M46, 160,000 miles, all stock.

The noise from the engine cooling fan in first & second gear is annoying - even when cold.
I suspect the 35-year old fan clutch is not disengaging at low speeds and when the engine is cold.
It's been this way for years, but I've ignored it since I don't drive it much. The car's not driven in HOT
temps with or without the A/C on anymore.
Still would be nice to fix it though.

I suspect it's the 35-year old fan clutch.
FCP has this one from Aisin as a stock replacement. They say it's a "Tropical Fan Clutch".

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-fan-clutch-240-244-245-242-740-760-780-940-tropical#reviews

Cooling isn't my issue, it's noise.
Have you used this on a B230FT and was it noisy?
 
Last edited:
alschnertz said:
1986 745 Turbo, B230FT, M46, 160,000 miles, all stock.

The noise from the engine cooling fan in first & second gear is annoying - even when cold.
I suspect the 35-year old fan clutch is not disengaging at low speeds and when the engine is cold.
It's been this way for years, but I've ignored it since I don't drive it much. The car's not driven in HOT
temps with or without the A/C on anymore.
Still would be nice to fix it though.

I suspect it's the 35-year old fan clutch.
FCP has this one from Aisin as a stock replacement. They say it's a "Tropical Fan Clutch".

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-fan-clutch-240-244-245-242-740-760-780-940-tropical#reviews

Cooling isn't my issue, it's noise.
Have you used this on a B230FT and was it noisy?
Click to expand...

see for yourself if it spins easy when engine is off
 
apachechef said:
see for yourself if it spins easy when engine is off
Click to expand...

My experience disagrees with this suggested test. I had the same symptoms as the OP, with fan noise at all times when the engine was running. With engine off, though, the fan turned easily. Replacement of the clutch cured the problem.

But he did not ask for diagnostic advice. He asked about a specific product. I believe that the "tropical" fan clutch is intended for use in hot climates. I doubt that it is necessary in the NE US, but I don't know if there are any disadvantages when compared to the standard version.
 
apachechef said:
see for yourself if it spins easy when engine is off
Click to expand...

Thanks. It does spin when the engine is off, but that's not really what I was inquiring about.
I'm pretty sure the viscus clutch is not working properly.
I was interested in opinions about the Aisin part and if it keeps the fan quiet.

Harry Tuttle said:
My experience disagrees with this suggested test. I had the same symptoms as the OP, with fan noise at all times when the engine was running. With engine off, though, the fan turned easily. Replacement of the clutch cured the problem.
But he did not ask for diagnostic advice. He asked about a specific product. I believe that the "tropical" fan clutch is intended for use in hot climates. I doubt that it is necessary in the NE US, but I don't know if there are any disadvantages when compared to the standard version.
Click to expand...

Thanks for addressing what I asked about. You nailed it with your personal experience and I agree that a "Tropical" clutch is not necessary for my use. I didn't come across the "standard" replacement that Ian noted below on their site for some reason.

hiperfauto said:
If you don't want the tropical fan clutch they also have the standard one.https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-fan-clutch-240-244-245-242-740-760-780-940
Click to expand...

Thanks Ian. That's likely what I'll go with.
 
I just bought a GMB fc from Rock Auto, it was shipped face down in a box, no instructions about keeping it vertical for 24hrs etc. But I did it anyway, fingers crossed, it has a little rough spot when turning by hand.
 
On second thought, I think I'll go with the "Tropical" clutch after all.
I browsed Tasca's site to look at part numbers and saw that the non-tropical clutch referenced above was for B230 without turbo.

FCP's price is fair and includes free shipping.

Thanks again for the help.
 
Keep us updated, please. When my b230ft is running, the fan also spins, always. The fan does pass the engine off spin test though. Thought this was the norm. Please let us know how it works out for you.

Thanks.
 
alschnertz said:
On second thought, I think I'll go with the "Tropical" clutch after all.
I browsed Tasca's site to look at part numbers and saw that the non-tropical clutch referenced above was for B230 without turbo.

FCP's price is fair and includes free shipping.

Thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...

If you get a DOA re-pop, hit me up I've got a couple known good spares.
 
daniels740 said:
When my b230ft is running, the fan also spins, always.
Click to expand...
Yes, they certainly do. Slower at lower temps, more noticeable at higher RPMs. The fan will never not spin when the engine is running.

Sometimes you can hear the difference when slowly revving up the engine when cool. Reaching higher RPMs the rising pitch of the fan whine slows or stops climbing to match. Sometimes you can see this decoupling behavior at the fan blades as well.
 
tintintin said:
Yes, they certainly do. Slower at lower temps, more noticeable at higher RPMs. The fan will (never not) always spin when the engine is running. Sometimes you can see this decoupling behavior at the fan blades as well.
Click to expand...

:nod:
Saw an A/C service guy grab the fan while the engine was idling once. He could hold the blade while the engine idled when cold.
Not sure what compelled him to do that.
 
sorry to revive this old thread, but I have been having a similar problem, that my fan gets super loud when accelerating. What I'm wondering is what counts as spinning easy, because I can turn the fan by hand with only a little bit of effort, but It does not continue to spin once I let go. would this fall under the category of freely spinning? or should I be able to flick it and have it continue to spin?
 
sc0terdad said:
sorry to revive this old thread, but I have been having a similar problem, that my fan gets super loud when accelerating. What I'm wondering is what counts as spinning easy, because I can turn the fan by hand with only a little bit of effort, but It does not continue to spin once I let go. would this fall under the category of freely spinning? or should I be able to flick it and have it continue to spin?
Click to expand...
What I referred to as "spinning easy" is exactly what you're experiencing.
No, I would not expect a fan-clutch to continue to spin after "flicking" it.

Two years later and all is still good with the fan-clutch that I chose.
 
Might as well share my experience. Had the same issue, noisy fan clutch that never quieted down, even when cold.

The Aisin tropical fan clutch did solve this issue, but as a 24/7 A/C user, I definitely noticed higher pressures and less cooling when the clutch would disengage. Now, I might look into purchasing a more performant electric 'emergency fan' to kick on along with the compressor.
 
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