Clutch fan distance from radiator????

[Moparman01]

Hey ya'll, i just bought a clutch fan for my 69 Charger and i'm alittle concerned about how close it is to the radiator. The clutch part is about 1/2 inch away at the top and only about a 1/4 of an inch away at the bottom, that seems to a bit close for comfort to me. Yes the fan blades themselves sit back from the clutch so maybe it isn't a problem?? The car has 440 with a Mancini Racing aluminum water pump and a housing and the car has a 3 core 26 inch radiator that came out of a mid 70's Chrysler C-body...could that be why it's so close?? How far away should the clutch/fan be from the radiator or is 1/2-1/4 inch OK?? Thanks for any help.

*Update*...the fan blades are 3/4 of an inch away from the top, and less than a 1/4 at the bottom...that's not good!!

[Ghoste]

Personally, I like to see the fan blades about an inch away from the rad.

[Moparman01]

I was looking at it again and got to thinking, can i shim the fan itself back from the clutch?? Just to clearify what i mean, the fan and clutch are 2 seperate parts with the fan bolting on to the back (engine) side of the clutch, i have not tried it yet but i don't see why i couldn't add some spacers between the fan and clutch to get the blade back away from the radiator, this sound like a viable option?? I probably won't be able to get the blades any more than about 1/2 to maybe 3/4 of an inch away from the radiator at the bottom side but the top would be more than an inch away, i have no idea why there is so much of a slant from top to bottom between the radiator and fan blades, the radiator is mounted nice and flush up against the core support. Now if i can shim the blade back that would help, BUT the clutch itself would still be only 1/4 on bottom and 1/2 on top, of an inch away from the radiator, i don't think it could possibly flex at all or i doubt the engine could move that much to ever hit the radiator with the clutch but i'm not sure i want to take the chance. Opinions welcome!!   

[Ghoste]

What is the clutch assembly out of?  If it were mine, I'd look for a shorter clutch hub but that's really more a personal opinion than anything.

[GreenMachine]

Your clutch will probably be alright at that distance, but the fan is an accident waiting to happen. It's not the Mopar 5 blade viscous fan is it? I had that one on mine and it chewed up the radiator eventually. I kept the same clutch but used an original 18 1/2" 7 blade fan and problem solved.

[tecmopar]

The recommended clearance is 3/4 to 1" from the blades and if you have ever watched a fan at 5000 rpm you'll see why, even the stiffer fan blades will flex foward getting mighty close to the radiator. As long as you have a shroud on it I would stay at the 1" space, anything closer always made me uncomfortable, good luck.

[1969chargerrtse]

The recommended clearance is 3/4 to 1" from the blades and if you have ever watched a fan at 5000 rpm you'll see why, even the stiffer fan blades will flex forward getting mighty close to the radiator. As long as you have a shroud on it I would stay at the 1" space, anything closer always made me uncomfortable, good luck.

I had the same issue, I looked at other clutches from parts stores and they were all the same size.  When I had the radiator recored I had the guy solder the brackets as far back as he could which did give some more space.  Then of course 3 days after installing the new cored 400.00 radiator the engine threw a rod which lurched it forward right through that radiator, but thats another story.

[Moparman01]

Thanks for all the replys! The clutch fan that i got is a brand new unit from Mopar via Mancini Racing. I've looked at my dads 440 'Cuda which has a clutch fan and theres a good 1 1/2 inches between it and the radiator, that car also has a C-body radiator in it too so i don't think that is a problem. Also, our '67 Charger 383 car has a clutch fan and theres at least 2 inches of clearence, but that clutch hub looks shorter. Like i said, i think i can shim the fan itself back about a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch, but the clutch itself i can't do any thing about, but i don't see how the hub could move anywhere at all.

[chargerbr549]

Here's a link that might also help you out.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,6387.0.html

[Moparman01]

Thanks for the link, so i guess this is a fairly common problem! Well, i decided to try this fan on my 68 Charger to see if it would work and after measuring it up i would have just as little room as in the '69, so i have 2 Chargers that this Mopar viscous clutch fan will not fit comfortably!! WTF??  . I'm gonna give Mancini a call, they've always helped me out in the past, good people, and see what they suggest. I'm battin zero this week...i have to put a new fuel pump in the '69 as well to replace a holley electric pump that crapped out on me after only a year and now i can't get the fuel pump push rod PLUG out of the block to put the rod in so i can run a mechanical pump, I bent the hell out of a 5/16 allen wrench with a breaker bar tryin to get it loose, i'll probably have to go back to another junk holley or spend big bucks on another brand...a no win situation!!  Sorry ya'll, had to let a little steam off....

[Ghoste]

I seem to recall something about the MP fan clutch being designed for the A-bodies back when that body style was the focus of the Mopar race program.

[blue69]

Don't run it like that. Mine was like that and the fan went through my radiator. It was fine for a few years before too. Get the correct clutch do a search on this for the part number for the shorter jaguar fan clutch.

[firefighter3931]

The MP viscious fan setup can cause issues because the shaft is too long as you discovered. There has been lots of discussion in past threads on how to fix it. The simplest way is to get a shorter fan clutch. The Hayden pn 2765 is what you need for the added clearance. This is the "Jaguar " clutch that Blue referred to in his post above. Napa carries this part, btw.

Fwiw, we installed the MP Viscious fan setup in a buddy's smallblock 70 Cuda and there was lots of clearnce. It appears better sited for that application from what i can see. 



Ron

[Moparman01]

Cool, Advance has that Hayden clutch on there website so i can get it at a discount becuase my dad works for the company that supplies Advance so it won't cost me much. But i need to know, will the Mopar fan blade still bolt too this "Jaguar" clutch hub or do i have to get another fan too?? Thanks!

[firefighter3931]

will the Mopar fan blade still bolt too this "Jaguar" clutch hub or do i have to get another fan too?? Thanks!

The stock fan will work fine with the Hayden 2765 clutch assembly....no worries 



Ron