97 ranger 2.3 5 speed stepside std. cab short box 2wd. trucks great! today while driving home i noticed a "whine" begin and not go away; after playing around while driving, i noticed it goes away when i push the clutch while goin down the road(thus bring engine rpm's to idle) then as soon as i let off the clutch and rpm comes back to cruising speed; the whine is back! once i got home safely i opened the hood and found just a squirt of coolant on the timing belt cover (like a bad hose connection or something and it sprayed) so i tightened the clamp for what little it took, checked the radiator and my overflow tank; both of which were full. nothing seemed hot; so i reached in and turned my radiator fan by hand, seemed tight!!? it MOVED, but for lack of words to better describe, felt like an alternator or electric motor when you spin it, it catches every magnet and basically "rumbling" as you sping it and you feel bumps as you turn. my fan feels this way also, still spins but it's got drag, and not smoothly. in my opinion it seemed tighter than normal. my question to all of you is, can my radiator fan clutch go out/fail? i've not had much experience in this subject, i though a fan clutch is either on or off and only turns on when hot enough?! could mine possibly be bad now all the sudden while driving? i need the truck for work tomorrow! (mon 12/20)

 

went out and pressurized my system slightly above (17 psi) and found nothing, so i guess tighetning up that one clamp by the timing cover helped, cuz there was no leaks there either, went out and drove thte truck again (thinking maybe after sitting and getting cold it would be better), no difference, fan clutch still on at all times, and it still had the drag to rotate when cold AND after i test drove it; still seemed to be tight cold or hot. any help?

 

Remove your clutch fan. Buy a junkyard ford taurus electric fan for 20 bucks hook it up to a switch. Enjoy the improved throttle response and a cleaner looking engine bay.

 

anybody know if this is normal for my fan clutch to be this tight? i really need some info if anything. thanks stoner but i rather keep the truck oem design.

 

This is an old threat, but I'm throwing this up here for everyone else (like me) who has had a problem and gone looking for information about pulling the clutch-fan off the Duratec 23. As I get through the process of pulling my head (blown gasket) I'll be adding more pictures on this forum (not this threat specifically) about pulling the clutch-fan.

Fan — Blade and Clutch, 2.3L

Special Tool(s)
Strap Wrench, 303-D055 (D85L-6000-A) or equivalent

NOTE: You will still need the clutch-fan tool from the parts store in addition to the strap wrench. Gonna need both to break the nut free.



1. Remove the air cleaner outlet pipe.
2. Remove the accessory drive belt.
3. Using the special tool, loosen the mechanical fan nut.



4. Remove the fan and clutch assembly.

 

Ok. Following the book leads to failure. Period.

A strap-wrench is a complete waste of time. Period.

I bought the rubber strap-wrench from the local parts house. Followed the steps. Nothing I did worked. Nothing I did would keep the rubber strap from slipping on the pulley. No way to immobilize it with those tools.

Ended up calling a mobile-mechanic. He pulled out a chain-wrench/vice-grip combo, pipe-wrench, and a hammer.

1. He wrapped the chain-wrench/vice-grip combo around the pulley and braced its handle.

2. Put the pipe-wrench on the clutch-nut.

3. Hit the pipe-wrench handle and knocked the fan-clutch free. Standard thread: lefty-loosy, righty-tighty.

4. He said when you put it back on you don't have to go Super Man on it, just torque it up to German-specs (Guten-tight) and it'll finish torquing itself when you run the motor.

He was here for less than 15 minutes and most of that was digging around in his truck for his tools.



If this stuff helps you guys, please click on the Props for me. That's the "+" and "-" signs in the lower right corner of each post. Merry Christmas!