Went for a drive to day in the cutlass and I believe that the fan clutch seized. Was thinking it might have been the water pump. It started with a bearing type squeal above 50 mph. Noticed the fan blade was locked and the stayed locked. The car never overheated, in fact cooled down by the time I got home (165 or so). It looks easy enough to change if the MAW don't get me. Just checked again fan is very stiff and squeaks if forced after 1 1/2 hours.

Am I missing anything?

71 cutlass convertible
350 2bl carb with A/c

Thanks Larry

 

Might be the water pump itself or ?? I would pull the belts & try again to see what moves & doesn't. Hope that helps point you to the answer. Best of luck

 

Sounds like the fan clutch to me.

Very easy to change, be sure to loosen the nuts slightly before loosening the belts.

- Eric

 

Thanks for confirming for me.

Now for the MAW's
Replace fan belts
Paint fan and top plate
Clean fan shroud.........pull and rebuild engine..........remove body from frame


Help someone stop me!

 

The fan should rotate freely with a fan clutch on cars with A/C mine is seized.

Larry

 

Yes, first time I read it I mistook the sequence of squeal...Glad you got pointed right.

 

Fixed on Sunday, took about an hour. Replaced the fan belts while I was at it. Went for a short ride afterwards and everything was good.

Larry

 

Great!

- Eric