Thanks to the efforts of the late Dutch Max on the OCS, I thought I had the cooling systen issues resolved. My Caprice has a stock spec 327 engine, and has always run hot at low speeds. I added an aluminum radiator with two 1.25" tube rows, have always had a factory shroud that is sealed all the way around. The original clutch fan was a 15" and inside the shroud, so I added a 17" with a heavy duty Hayden clutch, and its a short shaft clutch to bring the fan back towards the engine so that the blades are half in and half out, and the water pump is recent. Under normal circumstances, it runs about 1/3 on the factory gauge. If I'm in traffic with the a/c on and its hot like it normally is here, the gauge creeps up to 3/4-7/8 and the ac function drops. As soon as I start moving, the temps drop. I'm really not looking to change any of the above items, because here's where it gets weird.
At no time does the fan clutch ever engage, even at its hottest, it won't pull a piece of paper against the condenser. I tried a clutch that I had that put the fan closer to the radiator with no luck, and another brand new Hayden and none of these three ever engage. As hot as its running, it should be roaring like mad. I thoght perhaps the clutch was too far from the radiator to get hot, but then I remembered that Monte Carlos and Grand Prix's have very long shrouds and those clutches engage just fine. I tought it may be unique to aluminum radiators, but lots of vehicles use them with a clutch fan, so I doubt thats it. I also don't think that I got three bad clutches, give that they were acquired at different times form different sources. Any idea as to what's happening here?
My next step woud be to go to a flex fan with the correct sized spacer, but that seems like a crutch to me. I'd rather not, but proper cooling is more important to me that the noise and loss of mpg from a flex fan.
At no time does the fan clutch ever engage, even at its hottest, it won't pull a piece of paper against the condenser. I tried a clutch that I had that put the fan closer to the radiator with no luck, and another brand new Hayden and none of these three ever engage. As hot as its running, it should be roaring like mad. I thoght perhaps the clutch was too far from the radiator to get hot, but then I remembered that Monte Carlos and Grand Prix's have very long shrouds and those clutches engage just fine. I tought it may be unique to aluminum radiators, but lots of vehicles use them with a clutch fan, so I doubt thats it. I also don't think that I got three bad clutches, give that they were acquired at different times form different sources. Any idea as to what's happening here?
My next step woud be to go to a flex fan with the correct sized spacer, but that seems like a crutch to me. I'd rather not, but proper cooling is more important to me that the noise and loss of mpg from a flex fan.
