Viscous Fan and Coupling

[TimS]

Hi All,

Just for info and it's probably well known but I thought I would post this anyway.

My old man bought a 2.4 SSR-X Auto and low and behold a few weeks after he got it with only 45K miles on the clock and service history from Rand of Lising Sun it started to boil over and overheat.

Turns out after having the cooling system pressure tested and no leaks to be found that it's the viscous fan that was shagged.

Also apparently the fluid used in the fan coupling for Jap land is only good for the jap speed limit of 50 mph so you need to get an uprated fan coupling for UK running.

Toyota didn't know this, well Toyota Tech do know about it but they weren't prepared to speak to our main Toyota dealer in Llandudno...$$$$$$s! Who apparently every time they phoned up to validate what I'd found on RoughTrax's website...hung up when they found out it was an import. Weird really when they know damn well all Surf's are Jap imports.

Anyway, RoughTrax sent the part out to my Dad and Toyota in Llandudno fitted it and it seems to have done the trick.

Now I know why I bought a 3.0litre SSR-G though, I know that the 2.4's are prone to cooling problems, I had one and that's just had a new rad after blowing it...plus I had all the top pipes replaced on it shortly after I bought it for my Ex-Mrs coz they were all shot, corroded and leaking like buggery.

[MattF]

Some have just replaced the fluid in the existing coupling to uprate it.
It does appear to be one of those things, however, that provided you
keep your cooling system in decent shape and replace the usuals
when you first get it, i.e: thermostat, rad cap and flush and refill the
system and check for airlocks, that it doesn't generally cause a
problem. The coupling upgrade is merely an extra precaution, as a
rule.


Matt

[TimS]

Hi Matt,

Yeah weird that though, Toyota said that on the stock unit you can top the fluid up but the one my Dad got is a sealed unit but it was defo a Toyota part. He was saying that the main dealer told him the one they took off was colour coded blue and the one they got for replacement was colour coded yellow.

Tim

[TonyN]

Its 3000Cst Silicone oil, available from any Model shop, or from Toyota themselves in small sachets.

You can also adjust how the fan drives at different temps by screws in slotted hole inside the hub.

They are all the same, just adjusted differently inside.

[laser_jock@work]

In these type of Toyota viscous couplings the oil will need replacing about once every ten years because it can slowly weep out imperceptibly over the years. If you haven't done this job it's worth doing. My viscous fan was empty of silicone oil when I looked at it.

Somewhere on the Aus website there was a step by step how to do write up on re-filling the viscous coupling but I can't find the link right now.

[MattF]

One of the threads listed at the bottom of this thread has a description
of the procedure, (in the 'similar threads' bit).


Matt

[mud skipper]

Hi Matt,

Yeah weird that though, Toyota said that on the stock unit you can top the fluid up but the one my Dad got is a sealed unit but it was defo a Toyota part. He was saying that the main dealer told him the one they took off was colour coded blue and the one they got for replacement was colour coded yellow.

Tim

i deal with premier toyota in llandudno junction all the time never a prob the service manager has an old 2.4 hilux himself, i got my silicone oil from them and the std toyota fan is not sealed, well not on all the ones i have seen

[BUSHWHACKER]

Blimey!!! That fans cleaner than mine!

[mud skipper]

Blimey!!! That fans cleaner than mine!

not bad when you seen wot i get up to

[laser_jock99]

78 FJ40 2F fan clutch assembly



Fan clutch with silicone fluid



Use an impact screwdriver to remove the philips screws



Separate the two half's and be careful not to damage the O-ring. The O-ring always seems to get stretched out



The manual says to use 50mL of 3000Cst. silicone fluid to refill the fan clutch. Each bottle is 18mL. Toyota P/N 08816-03001



After cleaning out all of the old silicone from the fan clutch half's, add about 50mL of silicone to the lower half of the clutch. This should be just enough to fill the holes and not overflow into the O-ring groove



The fan clutch is full of silicone and the O-ring is in the back half of the groove. Note how the O-ring has stretched. Some people cut out a small section of the O-ring and super glue it back together, but I didn't do that......



I placed the top of the clutch on the back of the O-ring and used a small flat blade screwdriver to push the O-ring back into it's groove. You must apply some pressure on the top piece to prevent the O-ring from popping out of the groove



Reinstall the outer philips screws to secure the cover, install the fan, and you are all done.

Source:

http://www.off-road.com/~estegall/te...fanclutch.html

[TimS]

Cheers guys and gals, many thanks for all the replies. I'll post the link to my Dad so he can see.

Is any of this relevant for my 3.0 TD? Don't want the same happening to mine!

[laser_jock99]

Is any of this relevant for my 3.0 TD? Don't want the same happening to mine!

Yep. As Tony says Toyata used the same VC in about 50 million, zillion vehicles. That big O-ring is all that stops the oil flying out while it's doing 3000rpm! After about 10 years the oil is gone.

[TimS]

Cheers mate, gonna get mine done aswell now then!

[spans]

Hi Peeps,

Can anyone tell me where to find and buy this special silicone oil for the fan coupling, as my fan doesn't seam to go any faster or slower if the car is hot or cold!

I have not had any over heating probs, "yet", but it isn't the summer yet, and I don't want to get caught out, just because I was too lazy to strip it down, clean it and replace 2 tubes of oil.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Toyota dealers, or radio controlled model shops.













I didnt bother with all that faffin' about, and drilled three holes all the way through the center of the coupling and used bolts with locking nuts to pemanetly fix the fan so it's always turning with the engine.