clutch fan
Asked by allanr Dec 27, 2014 at 06:40 PM about the Jeep Cherokee
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
i am working on a 1999 jeep grand cheroke laredo 4.0 6 cly. it has coolant problems. i
noticed that there wasnt any clutch fan mounted on the water pump. After talking with
some people i was told that not all 1999 jeeps have a clutch fan. Is this true? i find that
odd
4 Answers
All the ones I have seen with the 4.0L have had them. If there was an electric cooling fan you should see one there. It may have been added perhaps? Coolant problems on these can be the pump, the fittings and the hose connections. It is difficult to see. You have to take them apart as you diag them. Applying pressure with a rad press. tester to the rad at the cap location, makes it seep or leak as you remove parts for access. A slow trickle from the upper hose can mimick other parts. A waterpump shaft that is coming out can take a long time to give symptoms but leak the whole time. The impeller runs into it's pump body and shaves and deposits aluminum into the coolant. A baggy timing chain will have an opportunity to get updated while you are tearing it down. The parts are cheap and available separately. But your method of diag makes all the difference. Assuming things and guessing is not going to make it any easier. The last one I had, I found the chain, and the pump for 23 each at a parts store. I had to use non acid silicone for sealer. The dissimilar metals and RTV silicone were a chemical nightmare for the surfaces in previous years. Let it sit with the pressure applied gently and when it begins to leak, take it apart. trace your coolant up to the top for each source of leak you have.
there is an electric fan but i believe it is for the a/c. i have a 2000 jeep the same model and it has electric fan for when i run the a/c but i also have clutch fan on water pump.
There are several, the ZJ has a clutch fan. That is a gr cher laredo. Those had a large tall rad. they needed a trans cooler added to save the trans. the last one I worked on was a 96. other models had other set ups. The others i saw had a short wide rad, and 2 electric fans in front. A service bulletin made changes about fans and when they run. Identifying your particular vehicle, its model designation, its equipment, and any bulletins is important. There must be an engine cooling fan of some type or it cannot sit at a stoplight. Air must be flowing over the rad. either a switched on electric one that has that job, or a fluid filled fan clutch and fan on the waterpump. The books were full of confused and or false info, so the mitchell database was where I had to go and click on "dealer info" to find service manual revisions and wiring corrections. The rest was in service bulletins and TSB's. I went to the public library for my answers at that time. Since then, the mitchell database has been changed and it was more difficult and less user friendly than before. You may want to consult a jeep dealer for the updates that apply to your VIN. if you cant find them like before.
There were also recalls about power distribution center and its fuse link wiring around the turn of the century. Those vehicles were AMC and sold to MOPAR, then we made them run at FORD because MOPAR could not get to them to get them ready for sale, so in 93 i was working on jeeps that were going to be sold early as 96's. They rounded the body off on the ZJ and the XJ was square lookin. They had too many wires and had to be simplified. The square lookin ones had the smaller rad. and the higher temps, as well as the electric fans. You get to find out what you should expect for a 99 or 2000, or whatever. Both the XJ and the ZJ had the straight six. (dauntless) it was called by AMC before MOPAR bought them out. Man, what a mess. They sent them to us because of the motorcraft distributor.... hahaha, as if.