BlueCalais79

Racking my brains for the last 30 years with my Blue 1979 Calais, ALL this time it turned out to be a bad thermal fan clutch causing the car to run hot at idle and at hwy speeds! Someone at the Olds Nats suggested I try replacing it as it might not be working properly. As luck would have it I scored 2 of them, an NOS one and a re-pop. I decided to put the NOS one on the fan for a trial. This past weekend I took the car on a trip to Vermont via the Mass pike which has some massive uphill/downhill stretches in the Berkshires, anyone who's been there knows what I am referring to. On the way there I did not use the A/C, it was about 78 out. On the way back I used the A/C as it was almost 90. Both directions showed the car barely going up 10 degrees and never over 180. I have not seen this occur in this car since the 80's as it used to just keep climbing up over 220 and then some.

For 25 bucks at the OCA swap meet I wound up buying a part that would correct something that I had completely overlooked. For decades.

You live and learn. Sometimes it just takes longer.

oldcutlass

The fan clutch should not have any effect on temp at cruise speeds.

cfair

Took me years to satisfactorily solve the engine heat problems. Wound up at factory 7 blade fans and good fan clutches. No electric fan necessary.

Having confidence driving it in heat & traffic changes the ride a lot. Go enjoy a bunch of good long drives. I just did SF to LA & back in a ‘66 Starfire. Lot of fun.

Chris

BlueCalais79

And that's what it's all about, just getting in and going anywhere. While I have other Olds cars that I can drive in the summer, this car has been with me since 1984 and I now finally have it right. Long trips are now a go.

rickman

I had a BB truck that would run hot at highway speeds. I tried everything, new bigger radiator, stats, couldn't figure it out. Someone told me to try a new fan clutch and I didn't believe it would make a difference. After being on the side of the road twice letting it cool down enough to get it back home I said what the heck and put on a new fan clutch. It would sound like an airplane going down the road sometimes but it never overheated again and ran about 180 after that. Over the years, had the same problem on a couple other cars and ended up putting a new clutch fan on them to fix the problem. I'm still scratching my head over that one because I'm like Eric, I didn't think the fan would have that much of an impact on the air through the radiator at highway speeds. Not sure why but it worked for me.

rocketraider

A properly working fan clutch will engage and disengage thru all engine rpm ranges and all road speed/airflow/temperature conditions.

If you don't hear it roar and quieten down every few miles at road speed on a hot day, the thing isn't working.