pushing +170K miles now so...

last week there was what sounded like a fan noise - if I lifted off the accelerator it stopped. press down, doesn't start immediately but then later. All gauge indications were normal.

I just moved to the country so maybe I just didn't hear this before as I was living in the city - NYC which can be pretty deafening at times.

anything I should be worried about?

 

Most likely the fan clutch is now stuck "ON" so its not releasing the fan

When engine is cold open the hood, start engine
You should hear the Fan noise for under 10 seconds, then it will go way, when clutch releases fan
If not then clutch is bad, when they fail they are suppose to failed in "locked" position, this prevents overheating when stopped or driving slowly

After cold start shut off engine after 30 seconds
Try to spin the fan, should spin easily if its unlocked, like its suppose to be

Will it hurt anything to be locked full time?
Not really, but it could then fail unlocked after a bit of time, so could get overheating, will also take longer for heater to warm up in winter

 

I will check this and reply.

thanks.

 

Is the clutch on my fan on my 2007 3.0 starting to lock up?. With the engine off and hot it will spin about 1/4 turn when I flip it with my finger. When cold in the morning it has about the same tension. Should it spin more freely when cold? My other vehicles have electric fans so I am not used to the fan noise when Idling.
Harry

 

In the morning before starting the fan will be locked, it a cold lock because oil inside is cold
So start engine and run it for 30seconds or so, then shut engine off, and then spin the fan, it should now be unLocked

If its not then yes, fan clutch is broken and stuck in locked mode, which is what it should do when it fails, a "fail safe" so more cooling not less cooling which could cause overheating