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There may be a third: I inherited my parent's 2000 Lincoln LS; it
has a hydraulically-driven fan powered by a pump that is nearly
identical to its power steering pump. Near as I can tell it has a
bimetal valve that gates pressurized oil to the fan, which has a
kind of turbine (it looks a bit like a clutch fan; well, I guess it
is). The car would overheat at random and had to be towed a couple
times; eventually, there was an SB and we replaced the 'clutch,' and
it's worked OK ever since. I only recently learned why it had such a
goofball setup: The early versions of the car had a wimpy alternator
which couldn't supply enough power for an electric fan. Why didn't
Lincoln just use a better alternator? Well, under the skin the car
is essentially a Jag S-Type from when Ford owned Jaguar; this
somehow seems like a very 'British' solution.<br>
<br>
Aircraft engines, most of which have oil coolers, often have a
'vernatherm' in the oil cooler circuit. It's bimetal, I think, and
closes when the engine is cold so the oil can warm up quicker. I
think some oil cooler systems in cars use something similar.<br>
<br>
I asked about a fan clutch because the best solution I've found for
a Healey overheating at idle was a SS flex fan, whose blades flatten
at higher engine speed but would still offer some resistance at high
speeds (but it was annoyingly noisy). A fan clutch <i>might </i>offer
less resistance to airflow through the engine bay, but I haven't had
much issue with cooling at highway speeds. Moss offers clutches for
various Brit cars, so they do have a place apparently.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2/20/2024 1:26 PM, Michael Salter
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CAB3i7L+57cTgqqgMX2e9S=XaupdYNjV4u8CN5tYJPqK9--6U9g@mail.gmail.com">
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<div dir="auto">There are actually at least 2 types of fan
clutches. Thermostatic and viscous.
<div dir="auto">The thermostatic type engages as the temperature
of the air passing over it increases thus making the fan turn
constantly when the radiator is hot. </div>
<div dir="auto">The viscous type only drive the fan when running
at relatively low engine speeds thus reducing the horsepower
required to drive the fan. </div>
<div dir="auto">I don't think either would be of much help with
a standard fan but may be an advantage if a large aftermarket
fan was being used.</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">M</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Tue., Feb. 20, 2024, 8:58
p.m. healeybruce--- via Healeys, <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">healeys@autox.team.net</a>>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote"
style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div link="blue" vlink="purple" style="word-wrap:break-word"
lang="EN-US">
<div class="m_-6675877826419029137WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">Harold,
what would be the purpose of installing a fan clutch,
assuming you can find one that will fit? Do you
really need to disconnect the fan so the engine warms
up faster? Once at operating temperature, the fan
clutch is engaged; it won’t help a Healey run any
cooler, which is generally our bigger concern.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">Bruce
Steele</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">1960
BN7</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<div
style="border:none;border-top:solid #e1e1e1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys-bounces@autox.team.net"
target="_blank" rel="noreferrer"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">healeys-bounces@autox.team.net</a>>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Harold Manifold<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, February 19, 2024 9:31 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Bob Spidell <<a
href="mailto:bspidell@comcast.net" target="_blank"
rel="noreferrer" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">bspidell@comcast.net</a>><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Healeys <<a
href="mailto:healeys@autox.team.net" target="_blank"
rel="noreferrer" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">healeys@autox.team.net</a>><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Healeys] Fan Clutch for Big
Healeys</p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bob,</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Is there a fan clutch available
that will fit an Austin Healey? There is very little
space between the water pump and the radiator.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Harold</p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Sun, Feb 18, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Bob Spidell <<a
href="mailto:bspidell@comcast.net" target="_blank"
rel="noreferrer" moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext">bspidell@comcast.net</a>>
wrote:</p>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">Anyone
fitted one to a Healey? I see they're available for
various Brit <br>
cars, including Jags, Triumphs, etc.<br>
</p>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
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