My 89 7.3 has a stock, factory clutch type fan, and I think its bad. This is how I got the idea that its bad. After many problems with overheating, I replace the radiator, heater core and tstat. After driving for 5 miles, I let the truck idle while I was getting fuel. I heard a POP noise and the splatter of hot coolant on the snow. I popped the hood (engine still running) and seen the top radiator hose had come off and was caught in fan, which was not spining. I shut off the engine and was expecting to see a damaged radiator and cut up hose. To my surprise, the hose was fine, so was my new radiator. I put the hose back on the top, tightened the clamp down and dumped in 2 gallons of mix. The other thing that makes me lean towards a bad fan is when I have my snowplow on, the truck will heat up, even on a short 3 or 4 mile drive going 50 mph. I can push snow all day and its fine, but I cant drive with the blade on.

Now the fun part. A new fan clutch is about $200. I only paid $200 for this truck 6 months ago. I have invested over $3500 now (ujoints, radiator, IP, gp, controller, exhaust, tires, brake lines, drums, rotors, etc, etc) and still have a rusted out POS. My fault for not knowing where to stop with the $$.

Has anybody installed a normal, flex type fan ? Or am I forced to buy a new unit ?

 

i got a new clutch and fan for $40 at a junkyard.

dp

 

I have not seen a yard around here that has anything diesel. A 10 year old car is too new for these yards and this area. BUT, I will call some of the bigger yards down state and see what they have. Its a good idea.

 

jeffdoerr, with the fan clutch threading onto the water pump shaft a flex fan is not really an option. Also I actually had the stock fan off of my truck for over a year. I did have electric fans installed if I needed them, but I drove it every day and hauled a lot of big loads. Normally if I was moving at least 15 MPH I did not need the electric fans, even when grossing around 20 K or so.

If the clutch is working and you have the RPM's up there will be no question when it locks up, the fan is very noisy at anything over about 2200 RPM.

The snow plow diverts so much air from the front of the truck that it will heat up at 50 or 60, even on sub zero days. Plow for hours with no fan, drive 5 miles down the road at 60 MPH and the temp guage is climbing fast when the plow is on. Same thing with the fan installed. Try dropping the plow and then pick it up about 4" off the road. It will not overheat as bad, but you also have to watch the bumps and dips or it will hit the road.

The fan off any Ford IDI diesel will fit the engne, 83 thru 94.
Caution left hand threads on the fan clutch.
Also I have had two fans run themselves off the water pump.
The day I bought the truck the first one came off as I turned off the road, the RPM's were high and it went through the radiator all the way through.
So warranty fixed it, I made them locktite it on.
I was telling the mechanics that helped me swap engines about it and they said I was crazy, never heard of such a thing. I was not there when they fired the last motor. They had installed the fan without locktite. When it fired they let it idle for a couple of minutes and turned it off. When the engine stopped the fan fell out of the engine compartment. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they told me that it has an entire tube of locktite on it right now.

I may have to use a cutting torch to get it off, but it will not fall out by it's self.

 

Thanks for the info dave.

I have tried running the blade low, it helps a little, but not enough. This is the first of 4 plow trucks that has had a heat problem. My gassers never got hot on me and I drove them a lot further. but, even at high RPM, I never hear the fan. Now, having said that, When I first got the truck, I did hear the typical engaged fan once or twice, but never since. I was talking to my neighbor, down the road a few miles. He had rebuilt a few 7.3 engines and had some parts left over. He also told me about the fans backing off. No doubt, I will be using red loctite. He may have a clutch and I hope that I can get it put on this weekend, before we get any more snow.

I am just really surprised that this diesel will heat so fast. Its kinda nice, I have heat coming out the defrost within a mile in the morning and its almost as quick without being plugged in. I had the return caps replaced yesterday and the ip timed and wow, what a difference. No more raw fuel smell, the engine is much quieter and seems to be just a quick as it used to be. BUT, I still have a slight bucking (sometimes) between 1600 and 1900 rpm. I hope some more fuel treatment and lube will help. Its a lot better than it was a few weeks ago. I also have my old ip if anybody needs one, it will work in a pinch, but needs to be rebuilt.

 

Maybe I should come visit you for a while.
I have had my blade on the truck once this year to make sure it all still works.
We have a bunch of banks that we do snow and ice removal for, I think we have only had to salt the walks twice so far this winter.
We had a freak snow storm in early October that dumped about 8", but the ground was so warm that it melted as fast as it fell on the blacktop and concrete. Did a number on the trees and power lines though, places close to me in town had no power for a little over a week.

Well good luck with your truck and have a safe New Year.
WV out.

 

i bit the bullet and ordered a new clutch. Its supposed to be in tomorrow. I just cant get over how much $ I have dumped into this truck. Ideally, I need to put in a good IP, steering gear box and fix the rear parking brakes, then, mechanically, it will be 100%. The box still has rust holes above the wheelwells, the cab looks good, but the bottom is gone and is held together with tin, poprivets and tar under the floormat and behind the seat. BUT, the power windows and radio work.

I could use some advice on putting in a low-cost locker or l/s or spool or something. Even with 1200-1400 lbs weight in the box and the heavy Fisher plow, I still lack traction. This thing is only a 1 wheeler, and when it decides to stop moving in the snow, it does just that.

Thanks for the help.

 

I had bad luck with a locker in my truck, but I have a dump bed and live in the mountains.
Hard grades to pull and a bunch of weight on the truck were not a good combination with a locker.
It was great plowing snow or out in the mud but nothing but headaches on the hardtop roads.
I now have limited slip in both axles.
And it does dig with all four tires.
But the limited slip in the front may have been a mistake.
I can not drive around with the front hubs turned in, a locker may have been a better choice for the front axle.

The locker I had was a Lock Rite, the harder you torqued on the driveshaft the tighter it locked. Not a good deal with a big load of stone on the back pulling up some of our very steep hills. Turn the steering wheel and the truck went straight forward till you hit the clutch.

When you fix the parking brake, get the rear cables from Ford. The cost is about the same as anyone else has them for. The ones from Ford last about three times as long as the rest of them do. I think they are sealed better since I noticed when I started plowing snow I had to replace the cables every year when I was getting them from other places. The last set came from Ford three years ago and are still working great.

Are you sure you need a steering box?
I was going through ball joints and tie rod ends like crazy with mine when I had the IFS front axle under it. The weight of the plow did a number on it every winter. I also was having trouble with twisting the universals out of the front axles plowing.
Presidents Day in 2003 we had a 30 inch heavy snow with about an inch of ice under it. I put chains on all four tires and moved about 7 feet with the blade down before I broke a front axle shaft. Don't run chains on the front axle with your plow on, it costs to much to fix. Mine is a regular cab with the Dana 44 IFS.

Figures this summer I put a Dana 60 front axle under it with a posi unit and everything new in it. So this winter we have no snow. Winter is not over yet though.

 

Wondering if the thermostat isn't completely opening. Check the upper radiator hose when it starts to get hot. Feel carefully the upper hose and if it is lukewarm not hot to the touch . Then i would say change the thermostat. I've had new ones go bad .

 

I was having some overheating problems in my 87 even after a I put in a new rad. I flushed the system with heavy duty cleaner and when I went to change the t stat I found a regular car type one in their. I replaced it with a ford stat which is a completly different design and it's been good after that. Also don't rely on the stock temp gauge it's not very good.

 

Changing the clutch proved to be interesting. I found out that my large collection of tools was missing the correct size of open end wrench. Believe it or not, AAdvanced Auto was open today,New Years day. Did me no good. Thay only carry the stock Ford fan wrech set. I ended up making my own wrench. It works great. I did not know I could cut that well with the torch. 1-7/8" with a 20 inch handle. The old clutch came right off, the new one was a pain in the a$$ to get started on the threads. I used plenty of red loctite too.

I can now hear the fan as I run through the gears. This is something new. I dont ever remember hearing the fan. Now it kinds drowns out the noise of the engine. Next I guess is the steering box and injectors to replace. Local injection shop has NEW injectors for $30 each. After that is done, the entire driveline will be restored, leaving mw only with a rusty body to contend with.

 

Also replace the radiator cap. The old one felt ok and the seals looked good, but seemed to leak. I also got a bottle of a/f conditioner.

 

Good drive train is always better than a shiny truck in my book.
A shiny truck that don't run is a pile of junk.
A little rust gives a Ford character.
Mine has a lot of character also.