Fan trouble

[1TuffSupra]

So after a little spirited drive when I got off work yesterday (about 2-3miles) I slowed down once I hit my exit and my radiator light came on and my fan is coming on sparatically (read: the car is not overheating at all, the temp gauge stays dead center all the time as it did before these problems). When the fan does come on it varies in speed, even when my driving is constant. I dont notice and coolant leaks and when I checked the fluid level it is topped off. When the rad light comes on it will go on and off depending on whether I hit a bump or whether Im making a turn. It seems to come on when I make left turns and off when I make a right turn. So I dont know what is going on here, Im thinking it could be the fan clutch, but would that make the rad light come on? Oh and there is also a grinding noise when I start the car which seems to be coming from the fan area as well. If it is the fan clutch is there anyway for me to check it without completely disassembling it. TIA

Oh yeah and one more thing while im on the issue. Ive read around and see people saying we should be using red coolant in our cars and mine is green, is that a problem?

 

[CPT Furious]

First, the light for the radiator is located in the overflow bottle, so if that is slightly low it may only come on when you hit bumps and make turns. It probably just needs a little bit more in there. For the fan clutch, it could fail so that it spins freely all the time and never locks up or it's locked up and spins consistent with motor rpm. One of the ways I can think of to check the fan is see if you can spin it. It should have a fair amount of resistance due to the viscous coupling, so if it doesn't spin at all or spins a lot easily you probably need a new one.

As for the coolant, I've run the green goo for 8 years now and I don't have any trouble...

 

[1TuffSupra]

Thanks a lot man, you pretty much answered all my questions. I didnt even think about checking the overflow bottle, Im glad thats an easy fix. And now that you mention it when the fan does come on it is pretty consistent with engine rpm. Driving around today I noticed the car sounded almost like it was supercharged, lol, and the belt would slip if I took the car above 4500rpm. But anyway, thanks a lot

 

[CPT Furious]

If it is locked up, it does get pretty loud. Mine failed like that once. The downside is that can really wear on the water pump bearings. I have an extra Toyota fan clutch lying around if you think that might be your problem and you're interested.

Also, if you rad is fully topped off, that leads me to believe that it is just a low overflow bottle...

 

[mrnickleye]

If its locking up, as by your comments it is, then it is probably bad. I say that because they should only lock up when the temp gets very hot from the radiator. You said your gage only gets to 1/2.
On the front of the fan clutch is a little 'bi-metal' spring. When it gets hot enough it moves, then closes off the valve inside and forces the clutch to lock.
As was said earlier, this constant condition will cause hp loss, and belt wear. I don't believe it will wear your water pump too much.

If you are NOT really getting a hot engine, then just get a new clutch from Carquest, Napa, etc.

 

[YourHondaSux]

I know what the problem is....

you're missing a turbo!


:stickpoke