Front fan coming on a lot - normal?

[Billy-knu]

Hi folks, I've only had my 1992 2.4TD Auto a week. My first ever Surf! The front fan (sorry, dont know the technical term) seems to switch on every five minutes for about 30secs-1 min, even thought the heat guage needle stays just under half way the whole time. It might be normal - or is the thermostat telling it to come on too early? Tell me its normal, please....

[Guest]

Hi folks, I've only had my 1992 2.4TD Auto a week. My first ever Surf! The front fan (sorry, dont know the technical term) seems to switch on every five minutes for about 30secs-1 min, even thought the heat guage needle stays just under half way the whole time. It might be normal - or is the thermostat telling it to come on too early? Tell me its normal, please....

To be honest mine doesn't come on that much, I think that the Thermostatic switch is not working correctly.

However........

Better to come on too much than too little. If the temp stays OK then I'd leave it. A common mod is to route it to a switch in the cab and parallel the switch and the thermostat so that you can override it when the surf starts getting hot.

Something else to look at may be if the viscous fan is working. When the car is hot the fan should be very difficult to turn, easy when cold.

Cheers

[Pete]

Hi folks, I've only had my 1992 2.4TD Auto a week. My first ever Surf! The front fan (sorry, dont know the technical term) seems to switch on every five minutes for about 30secs-1 min, even thought the heat guage needle stays just under half way the whole time. It might be normal - or is the thermostat telling it to come on too early? Tell me its normal, please....

Hi Alex,
It's not normal for the fan to cut in like yours is doing. Have you checked your coolant level at the cap on the thermostat housing? When the fan is cutting in, look in the expansion bottle. There should be no bubbling in there. Is the radiator getting hot?
Pete

[JimL]

Hi folks, I've only had my 1992 2.4TD Auto a week. My first ever Surf! The front fan (sorry, dont know the technical term) seems to switch on every five minutes for about 30secs-1 min, even thought the heat guage needle stays just under half way the whole time. It might be normal - or is the thermostat telling it to come on too early? Tell me its normal, please....

This is confusing, are you talking bout the aircon fan ie the small one you can see thru the grill or the big white 7 bladed fan mounted in front of the engine.

I never hear any fan noise altering and in a survey on the Oz site I was told mine was probably not working right, but (so as not to tempt fate...) some might say that a fan in a similar condition to mine might be in need of some attention even thought there is no coolant loss issue.

[Pete]

This is confusing, are you talking bout the aircon fan ie the small one you can see thru the grill or the big white 7 bladed fan mounted in front of the engine.

I never hear any fan noise altering and in a survey on the Oz site I was told mine was probably not working right, but (so as not to tempt fate...) some might say that a fan in a similar condition to mine might be in need of some attention even thought there is no coolant loss issue.

Jim
On my 92 the aircon fan is underneath, behind the bash plate. I have an electric rad cooling fan behind the front grill, and the viscous fan, which I've had serviced, as it wasn't working properly.
Pete

[JimL]

Jim
On my 92 the aircon fan is underneath, behind the bash plate. I have an electric rad cooling fan behind the front grill, and the viscous fan, which I've had serviced, as it wasn't working properly.
Pete

havent seen that yet so didnt realise there was 3 fans, wow didnt they trust their viscuous mechanism???

Either way Billyknu, I think everyone has found that the coolant temp needle is as much use as t!ts on a bull, never moves once warm .... until red hot.

My visc fan is on the wall in the shed, pics will be taken as it comes apart

[Billy-knu]

Oh dear

Oh dear. Now I am confused. The fan I am talking about is the small one in a mesh case that you can see through the front grill. Which is that? I dont switch my aircon on - so can it be the aircon fan.(can it?)
The big fan t'other side of the radiator is on permanently.
Further problem though - after driving for about 20 mins this morning suddenly the heat guage needle went up to the red, hovered on the red for 2 mins and then went down again. Talk about a heart attack! Oh, and I realiose I'm losing coolant somewhere - topping up the expansion bottle every day now. When I stop there is a gurgling from the expansion bottle for about three mins - is this the coolant boiling? The oil isnt milky, and there are no obvious leaks.
Sorry to sound ignorant - its because I am. Quickly learning though. Thanks for your help. Am i in the brown and sticky?

[marky]

the fan you can see behind the front grill above the bumper is the electric cooling fan controlled via the thermostat

[Koi]

You must not fill the expansion bottle up, it is as is, an expansion bottle and holds a couple of inches of coolant when stone cold.
Let motor sit overnight so its cold and remove the rad cap open both heaters front & rear to hot setting then fill it throught the rad cap. Replace cap and start engine let idle for a minute or so giving it the blip on the right pedal. Turn off remove cap and refill if needed, repeat this until it takes no more coolant. Take it for a run leave heaters on and check they are both hot. Recheck level when cooled and check again for the next couple of days.
The expansion tank is an expansion tank, when the engine is hot the coolant expands into the tank and you should see the level higher than when cold, as the engine cools down so does the coolant and its sucked back in to the engine, thays all its there for, not to be used as the top up point as its lower than the highest point of the cooling system.

[speedymacfish]

switch

The fan just behind the grill is triggerd by a sensor just under the thermastat housing, unless it is earthed properly ie: connected. it will turn it self on whenever it disconnects.....
just unconnect it and give it a clean.
Its the big grey connector not the small flat white one. If you find it's cracked or broken, just extend it with s bit more wire and attatch it to your negative side of the battery until you get a new one, this will stop it from running all the time.



G

[JimL]

...and the viscous fan, which I've had serviced, as it wasn't working properly.
Pete

Pete, how did they explain it wasnt working properly and what did their service entail? Did they change the fluid, do you have the receipt and what is the part no if you do????

??

[Pete]

Pete, how did they explain it wasnt working properly and what did their service entail? Did they change the fluid, do you have the receipt and what is the part no if you do????

??

Jim
The fan spins all the time, but when the engine gets hot it should spin faster. The Toyota part no. is. 08816-03001 oil silicone. You need 2 tubes. Theres info here on what to do. It's a Landcruiser fan, but it's the same job.
http://slowspeed.com/repair/fanclutch.html

Pete

[JimL]

Pete,
great, I saw that writeup, just thought the part no. might be odd US one.

Heres my visclamus clutch! Its not dry but not full.

[Pete]

Pete,
great, I saw that writeup, just thought the part no. might be odd US one.

Heres my visclamus clutch! Its not dry but not full.

Jim
Got part no off the bottle. I was surprised it is the same as in that article too!
Pete

[surffreak]

I had that problem with mine and it was caused by a loss of coolent from the rad, small hole in the top, forgot to top it up and on comes the fan even though the temp gauge dont move, i think thats what helped blow the head, also it happened again when the water pump went and as the level of coolent drops the an comes on.