Ford F53 460 powered fan clutch options?

[Rocket9k]

Hello all, new to the forums. I have a 1997 Winnebago 34' on the ford F53 chassis. I would like to replace my fan clutch as I believe the original is getting weak.

Has anyone found a suitable replacement for the discontinued fan clutch for the 1992-97 460 powered F53? The original ford part, Part number F2TZ-8A616-B is discontinued and superseded by AU2Z-8A616-P, which is a truck clutch and will not work properly in a motorhome. My original clutch works but I believe it has become weak; It will not engage at highway speeds until the temperature has nearly reached the redline.

I tried the Hayden severe duty 2799 which some guys have recommended, but on a hot day it runs nearly constantly, and over cools the system to the point where the thermostat is closing, not to mention the noise was unbearable. Anyone found anything that works properly in this application? This is the last little hurtle I have with my RV and I can finally stop working on it and enjoy it! Thanks everyone.

[PaceAarrow96]

I have the same problem , have you been able to fix this issue? 

[way2roll]

You are responding to a post that's 4 years old and the OP hasn't been on here since. That said, did you read through the thread? The OP explains in detail how it was fixed. 

[Gjac]

Glad to hear you solved the problem and letting us know.

[Rocket9k]

RLS7201 wrote:

Once up to temperature my gauge never moves off the "O" unless the the engine overheats. The clutch kicks in and out and the gauge don't move. Throughout the years of being on various RV forums, I typically see 460 issues such as yours, with replacement radiators. Do what you must.

Richard

I have been busy the last few weeks so haven't had a chance to work on the RV until this past weekend. Richard I did read your cautions about the fin per inch count of replacement radiators. I did my due diligence researching the Superior Cooling SC-3TZ8005C that I used in my rig for this very reason. I did raise this question and was assured by them that it was more than up to the job. It does not have the fin density of the original, but the same amount of rows with wider tubes. I am no radiator expert so after scouring the forums and speaking to others here who have used it (as well as being crunched for time) I spent the money and so far it works great.

I was able to locate my problem this past weekend, but just to recap:

The fan clutch operation was suspect from the beginning, but seeing as I had a leaking radiator and the previous owner admitting to using stop leak to stop the tanks from leaking, I went for it first. After replacement it ran much cooler, but the fan operation was the same, It would kick on sometimes at stop lights, was slow to engage at speed (if at all) and when it did come on it was very late, outside of the NORMAL range. I then installed the Hayden 2799 which did a great job, but too great of a job. It ran quite often and the noise wasn't very pleasant, especially at highway speeds. I cleaned up the face of the original clutch, as it was lightly coated with a sticky substance and dust and grime, and reinstalled. The problem got worse, I couldn't hear it engage at all at any traffic light or city driving.

I managed to locate a new old stock fan clutch, part #F2TZ-8A616-B last week on the auction site. I pulled the doghouse cover (for what seemed like the 100th time this year :S) and pulled the original clutch out. I worked it back and forth by hand and it felt normal, but as I kept working it by hand it got easier and easier until it would just free wheel in my hand, with zero resistance. I let it sit for a minute, it returned to normal and I was able to do it again. No good. I would have never caught this the first time around as it felt good initially so I didn't read any further into it.

I installed the new factory clutch and took her for a hard test drive. She ran nice and cool, Never even thought about getting out of the NORMAL range on the gauge and I could hear the fan cycle on and off briefly in stop and go traffic.

I'm pretty fortunate to have made it all the miles I did in the dead of summer, Through the mountains etc. with a fan that kind of worked. I believe it just weeped enough of its silicone out of the front to no longer engage properly.

I hope this bit of info will help someone else out in the future. I know there's still plenty of us running these old 460 rigs, so hopefully this will save someone some hair pulling. Now maybe I can enjoy her for the rest of the year instead of wrenching! :B Thanks all!

[RLS7201]

Rocket9k wrote:
Richard, it looks like you were moving the spring around considerably on that thing. Is that a Hayden 2799? From what I understand, 1/8" gives you approximately 10 degrees difference in engagement temperature. Did you find you had it move it more to get a change? It's going to be 84 degrees here tomorrow, so I may go wring its neck a bit and see how it does.

To answer your radiator question, I have an all aluminum replacement from superior cooling, as well as a complete banks system. It seems to do the job very well. The temp gauge stays between the O and M on the ford NORMAL gauge (190-210 according to my IR gun) which is well within acceptable temperature range for the trusty 460. If I am out of overdrive in 3rd gear going down the highway at 65-70 the temp will goto A, WITH the dash A/C on. I am sure if i'm climbing with a load on it will go beyond that, which is why I want to be sure my fan is working properly. Where exactly did/does your factory fan clutch kick on if I may ask, on your \__NORMAL___/ gauge?

I may have no problem whatsoever, but I would like to be 100% confident that I do not before I venture out on long runs.

Once up to temperature my gauge never moves off the "O" unless the the engine overheats. The clutch kicks in and out and the gauge don't move. Throughout the years of being on various RV forums, I typically see 460 issues such as yours, with replacement radiators. Do what you must.

Richard

[Gjac]

What temp did you see sitting at a light. My gauge would never go higher than 190 at 84 f outside. Like I said in my previous post since I installed headers my fan clutch almost never comes on. You said you have the banks system I am assuming you have headers. I think your cooling system is acting the way it should.

[Rocket9k]

So to give this topic some closure:

I took the motorhome for a drive yesterday and ran it hard to see how hot I could get it before the fan kicked on. It never happened, not even sitting at light, which it would always do for a few seconds after sitting still. I took it off last week to clean the spring and make sure the bearings were still tight, as well as test it with a heat gun. I must have let the rest of the smoke out, who knows.

I am going to search for the original Ford part# F2TZ 8A616-B (which is discontinued) or tweak my Hayden so that it does not run continuously. I will post here again when it's all resolved so hopefully nobody else with one of these old rigs will have to chase their tail like I did!

[Rocket9k]

Richard, it looks like you were moving the spring around considerably on that thing. Is that a Hayden 2799? From what I understand, 1/8" gives you approximately 10 degrees difference in engagement temperature. Did you find you had it move it more to get a change? It's going to be 84 degrees here tomorrow, so I may go wring its neck a bit and see how it does.

To answer your radiator question, I have an all aluminum replacement from superior cooling, as well as a complete banks system. It seems to do the job very well. The temp gauge stays between the O and M on the ford NORMAL gauge (190-210 according to my IR gun) which is well within acceptable temperature range for the trusty 460. If I am out of overdrive in 3rd gear going down the highway at 65-70 the temp will goto A, WITH the dash A/C on. I am sure if i'm climbing with a load on it will go beyond that, which is why I want to be sure my fan is working properly. Where exactly did/does your factory fan clutch kick on if I may ask, on your \__NORMAL___/ gauge?

I may have no problem whatsoever, but I would like to be 100% confident that I do not before I venture out on long runs.

[RLS7201]

Rocket9k wrote:
Thanks everyone for all the info. I still need to check and probably change the transmission fluid. Last I checked it will still clear and smelled correct but i'm sure it's due for a change. RLS7201, your name has come up a bunch of times in the forum posts i've skimmed on this topic. I came across a post you did about making your fan clutch adjustable, but it's older and the pictures are gone. I'd like to see that if you still have the pictures? I'm thinking I can tweak mine to get it where I want it.

Here is the pic. Cut slots in the two aluminum posts. Epoxy a piece of 1 1/2" EMT in the slots cut slots for the spring.
You won't like it. No mater how you adjust it, it will come on too soon or too late. Did you check your radiator to see how many fins per inch it has? As seen in the pic, adjust spring end CC to engage sooner.
Click For Full-Size Image.">Modified fan clutch

Richard

[Rocket9k]

Thanks everyone for all the info. I still need to check and probably change the transmission fluid. Last I checked it will still clear and smelled correct but i'm sure it's due for a change. RLS7201, your name has come up a bunch of times in the forum posts i've skimmed on this topic. I came across a post you did about making your fan clutch adjustable, but it's older and the pictures are gone. I'd like to see that if you still have the pictures? I'm thinking I can tweak mine to get it where I want it.

[RustyMacIntosh]

When I had the cooling system rebuilt on my 96 Bounder F53 460, they put in a heavy duty fan clutch. It came from NAPA. I can hear it coming on and off as we are pulling grades. Whatever you do, put the biggest badass radiator in you can find

[John_Joey]

After checking your transmission fluid take a sniff test. If it smells burnt (or over30k) swap it out.

[RLS7201]

Rocket9k wrote:
Now that I have replaced the plugged radiator it will run pretty cool between 190-210. The only time I can get it higher than that is if I'm in 3rd gear climbing an incline or out of overdrive going down the highway at 65-70. I have an electric fan mounted on the front of my condenser which helps slightly. It pretty much just keeps A/C temps down.

Richard, thanks for the info. The Murray 2799 is a reboxed Hayden 2799, which I have already tried. It ran nearly constantly and the thermostat was in a tug of war with it trying to keep the engine temp up. I'm assuming yours does not operate this way? Also, before your OEM one failed, when did it kick on and off, at what temp scale, and how did it behave when it did fail?

My temp gauge is not calibrated in numbers. It just says normal across the top of the gauge. The needle starts at the far left when cold and advances to the "O" when it reaches normal operating temperature (197°). If all is working correctly the fan cuts in and out and the gauge needle never moves. When my OEM clutch failed, it just quit engaging. I pulled into a rest stop, unhooked the car and found a parts house (Oreilly). Change the clutch in the rest stop.
I have the original radiator core with replacement brass end tanks. The OEM radiator core has 20 fins per inch. Most replacement radiators only have 15 fins per inch and will not radiate enough concentrated heat to operate the fan clutch properly. When I had the 15 fins per inch replacement radiator in my MH the temp gauge would rise to what I considered to be about 230-240 before the fan clutch would kick in. With the OEM core the gauge doesn't move and the clutch kicks in and out as it should.
I can run up the side of the Rocky Mountains in the middle of summer, moving 20,500 lbs with my 460/528 stroker engine and not have any heat problem. Ford got it right.

[Rocket9k]

Now that I have replaced the plugged radiator it will run pretty cool between 190-210. The only time I can get it higher than that is if I'm in 3rd gear climbing an incline or out of overdrive going down the highway at 65-70. I have an electric fan mounted on the front of my condenser which helps slightly. It pretty much just keeps A/C temps down.

Richard, thanks for the info. The Murray 2799 is a reboxed Hayden 2799, which I have already tried. It ran nearly constantly and the thermostat was in a tug of war with it trying to keep the engine temp up. I'm assuming yours does not operate this way? Also, before your OEM one failed, when did it kick on and off, at what temp scale, and how did it behave when it did fail?