Jump to content

Has anyone out there repaired their clutch fan?


Recommended Posts

Hey all,

One of my projects for this winter is sort out my cooling system. I believe that I need to get the radiator looked over, and I was also told that I need to have my clutch fan surfaces machined (my clutch fan isn't grabbing anymore), has anyone done this? What would I tell the machinist when I brought him the clutch (what is the goal)? Any important ideas to consider or special tools needed before endeavoring to do this project?

Thanks

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Locking the clutch fan is an easy and low cost solution, but it costs quite a bit of power (~~15hp or so) which is not something the XN6 can afford to lose.

Does your fan simply fail to clutch?

Does the electric fan in front of the condensor work?

-First off I would verify the fan clutch brush is getting power when it's supposed to.

-Verify the clutch brush is intact and making contact with the copper ring on the clutch assembly.

-If that checks out, try adjusting the clutch gap according to spec. This is pretty important and as a former Peugeot tech I can verify that the gap either A ) Never gets adjusted, or B ) Gets adjusted approximately one freakin parsec too large :P

-Make sure the copper ring that the clutch brush err..brushes against isn't covered in nonconductive oxidation; It should appear mostly copper colored. In this case green (as in green copper/whatever oxide), doesn't mean "go".

And with anything involving electricity and an old Peugeot, take the 20 minutes or so to clean and re-tension all of the visible connections: i.e. the terminals on the temp sensor in the radiator, the inline connector to the clutch brush, etc. A high resistance connection will not be able to supply enough current to actuate the electromagnet in the clutch.

Stay cool!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John, my car has a locked fan clutch and an aftermarket electric fan. Works great, if you have no luck in getting the clutch to work go with an electric fan.

If you need a fan or 3, I have several that will fit from a 505 Turbo. Cheap, as I've no need for them!

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried - the 505 turbo uses a different fan bolt spacing / pattern than the XN6 which is what John has.

John - an electric fan conversion is very doable, you can even use the wire that provides power to the brush on the magnetic clutch to power the electric fan so long as the rad temp switch is working as it should.

I must say every magnetic fan I've fixed - the issue was always a worn out brush. Fit a new one in and voila. Personally - I'd prefer running a good electric fan and taking all that weight off the water pump shaft.

Rabin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried - the 505 turbo uses a different fan bolt spacing / pattern than the XN6 which is what John has

Which years? I ask because the fans were not necessarily trim specific, but year specific.

From 1980 to mid-ish 1985 the 505 (incl the Turbo) used a larger diameter fan with 11(?) skinny blades. The condensor had mounting studs specifically spaced for this fan. This fan also catastrophically loud.

From mid-1985 to the bitter end, the 505s used a smaller diameter fan with like 5 or 6 fat blades, and of course the condensor had different mounting studs to match. And as we all know, late model Turbos with automatic transmissions had two of those suckers side by side on the condensor, with a clever series/parallel circuit for low and high speed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Joe - I meant the magnetic clutch fan blade that bolts to the clutch assembly. I tried fitting a 505 turbo fan blade to my XN1 (505SR motor) to replace the brittle white plastic fan blade and the bolt spacing was different.

The original plastic fan grenaded at the track school revving at ~6K at the top of 3rd - it took out both rad hoses and the rebuilt 504 rad... Luckily I had Bob Bruce's contact info in case of emergency and he hooked me up with a NEW 505 rad, used fan blade, and new hoses. I had the car fixed with OEM parts for the 2nd day of the school much to the amazement of the other drivers. I had a crowd around the car watching me as I finished fixing in the morning with OEM Peugeot box for the rad sitting there with all new parts for a 30+ year old Peugeot in Gimli Manitoba... :D

I was hoping the better black plastic fan on the turbo's would work as they looked the same mounts - but no dice. The used fan is the same seemingly brittle plastic, but the plan is to fit the PRV V6 and I'll do electric fans when it goes in.

Rabin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...