Hey this is 98SLT4ME. Let me clarify that when I say that it spins freely, I do not mean that it spins by itself after pushed, but that it is able to spin by hand without stopping or locking up. This is when the engine is hot or cold. There is resistance but I can spin it with my hand indefinitely.

I am confused about how to diagnose a bad fan clutch. I have read that the fan should not spin more than a few inches. I have also read that it is normal to be able to spin the fan by hand, like what mine does. Can someone clear this up for me?

Also, today something interesting happened. The temps around here are starting to get into the mid 80s so I recharged my AC and began running it. Today is the first time in 4 months that I have seen the engine get to 210 while idling. I guess that is a safe temp but what concerns me is how fast it heated up and the heat I could physically feel coming off of the whole front end. The engine usually stays around 180(little over half way in between 130 and 210), so this is unusual. The cause is not likely the water pump, radiator, stat or coolant, so I am thinking the fan clutch is going bad. I think that the higher than usual temp is related to the fact that the AC actually has refrigerant to compress now so instead of switching on and off it stays on which stresses the system more. Does that make sense?

Is 210 or higher a normal temp with a 180 stat and the given conditions? It actually slightly passed the 210 mark and may have continued, but I shut it off before that.

 

the correct way to diagnose clutch fan

open hood w/ engine off, and give fan a push by hand (one push, dont keep doing it) if it spins more than 1/2 a turn replace clutch, if it stops almost instantly(but does move, maybe one fan blade worth of a circle) you are fine, if it doesnt move at all your clutch is siezed, sounds to me like your clutch is probably fine