Not a question, just thought I'd tell about my fan repair on my '98 4.0 SOHC. It cost nothing except about 2 hours labor. I already had the service manual that helped.

For the last 6 months whenever my fan was run above the lowest setting. it made a rubbing sound that was very annoying. I put up with it since the low setting was fine. I didn't want to fool with it when the weather got colder for fear of being stuck without it in the snow and frost. Luckily it was a warm winter & the heater was okay on low.

Recently it started making the noise on the low speed. An early hot spell meant I couldn't run my A/C. Time to fix it.

The hardest part of the process is removing the coolant overflow/windshield washer tank & the air cleaner assembly. Then 4 screws on the fan assembly & it was out.

I was amazed. Inside the squirrel cage was a ball of ground up leaves, maple tree seeds, fuzz & even a hair ribbon(I have 4 girls). It looked like a mouse nest, but wasn't. The wad of stuff made the fan so unbalanced it rubbed on the housing.

Besides in the fan their were leaves & stuff inside the assembly & clogging the A/C condenser. After vacuming out the crud & cleaning the condenser coils of caked on dirt(think a good place for mold to grow) I sprayed lysol in & around & put it all back together.

A total success. The fan now blows more air & is quieter than it used to be. I have no doubt the A/C & heat will work better. The weather's been so mild I really haven't used them much. I have a feeling that when I start my car in the summer heat after leaving my A/C on max, I won't get that initial blast of moldy smell.

Even if your fan sounds okay, don't be afraid to take it apart to clean the whole thing out. You might be surprised what you find lurking inside.