when you turn off the engine, the fan should stop within a few rotations. if it continues to freewheel, then its bad.

what you're looking for is a firm connection between the fan and the engine, which will still turn at somewhere near engine rpm. if it freewheels, then it indicates its also turning at far less than engine rpm.

 

I have this crazy feeling that this is my culprit. Gonna shoot for the new clutch fan. Thanks again man for your time.

 

post your results.
if Gates makes one, it'll be a good one. use the Rockauto discount code and shop for best pricing.

 

good info from Rockauto and FourSeasons regarding "heavy duty" and "severe duty".

http://www.4s.com/Upload/Four%20Seas...,%20SEVERE.PDF

 

so one would think "severe" would be the way to go!!! Got Hurricane Issac coming my way today so my clutch fan project is on hold until the dust settles (probably by Tuesday). I"ll post the results.

 

Ok. Got it!!! My problem was, I was checking the resistance of clutch fan when the engine was cold. Yesterday, I checked it when the engine was good and warm and found the resistance of the clutch fan way to loose. That was it. I changed the clutch fan.

And a miracle unfolded. My baby does not go over 175 degrees with the AC on in traffic. Without the AC, approximately 160.

I'm loving it because it also improved the AC. Now it's colder. Crazy.

Thanks everyone.

 

congrats. thanks for posting your solution. it helps others and i wish everyone would do that.

what brand/price did you go with?

 

I went with Torqflo. It seemingly has a lot of resistance; creating that loud fan sound, then it calms down. My price was $52 bucks; got a small discount from always buying a lot of my automotive needs at Bennet Auto.