4.3 cooling fan clutch noise

[ericn1300]

i get a lot of noise from the fan clutch on the 4.3 engine. my 93 Astro fan was the worst, a loud roaring noise on acceleration. my 92 Bravada isn't quite as noisy, but i've been looking at electric replacement fans like this one:

http://www.paceparts.com/index.asp?...D&ProdID=117155

anyone have any experience with these? claims to give more consistent airflow at idle, and increase hosepower and gas mileage, which would be nice.

also does anyone know of light weight pulley replacement kits for the 4.3 engine. the guys on the Grand Am forum claim they get a 10hp boost by swapping out the pulleys on their V6s. might be a good combo project.

[MT-2500]

Do not be fooled by more HP and gas mileage adds.
If your thermostatic fan is making excessive noise it is bad. Just replace it and be done with it.
If it is working right the thermostatic fan will cool the engine when it needs it and idle when it does not need cooling.
You can not beat a setup like that. For gas mileage and performance.
And Dependability.
MT-2500

[Booch]

If you do decide to go with an electric fan, just install one from a Taurus; do a search and you'll find a few Taurus installations written up here on the site. Rlith has a write-up that's pretty detailed and easy to follow.

Just installed one in mine a few weeks ago, and the Taurus fan really does fit the Blazer pretty well. You'll have to buy 2 relays and an adjustable thermostat, but it's a pretty simple install.

[tom3]

I've replaced four fan clutches on my S10s over the years, every one of them takes forever to start declutching. They roar for several miles, last one would never declutch. I finally went with the electric fan and it does make a big difference, in noise reduction at least, and I'm sure gas mileage is improved over the locked up fan. I'd highly recommend the electric fan deal if you can do this.