My 4Runner has started to develop a "whirling" noise up front. I jump in the truck and my temp is sitting at half just at idle. So I instantly assume its the fan clutch bearings going out? My fan is starting to get a little wobbley and isnt spinning at full speed. On top of that, when the truck is off, it barely has any resistance when i spin it with my hand. The Fan bracket is relatively new and was replaced with an AISIN one. Fan clutch is original with 167k miles on it.

Fan clutch, yeah?

EDIT:

Should I go OEM ( $146 ) or should I go Autozone / O'reilly brand? ( $60 ) bucks. I've had bad experiences with the cheap fan brackets. and eventually just bought an aisin one. Should I just buy an OEM one? I mean the one i have lasted 167k miles. The cheap one comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Cant go wrong with that.

 

Better yet:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/Docs/FanClutch.pdf

 

Arent those tubes like 20 dollars a piece?

 

I haven't priced them...can't be too bad if a lot of people go that route over new. And the Autozone/other clutches are a joke. The lifetime warranty is nice but having to use it all the time isn't.

 

I just called. each tube is 18 a piece. you need 3. plus tax. Its more than the autozone clutch. I think I might just replace it with the 60 dollar fan clutch. and rebuild my aisin one in my free time. I have to go there later to get new calipers anyway.

 

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXSGB9&P=M

$4.19 for a 2oz bottle. Same stuff, no joke. The 3,000cSt offers little resistance and is more suitable for cooler climates whereas the 10,000cSt would be good for hotter climates. Around norcal I'd go with the 5,000 or 7,000.

 

You're a genius. Thanks.

We never did decide whether or not this is symptoms to a failing fan clutch? hah

 

The little-to-no resistance is a sure sign of clutch fatigue. I'd remove/open up the fan clutch and see if there's any fluid left in it. While you're doing that, start the truck with no fan/clutch and see if the noise is gone. If the noise is gone and the clutch is low or out of fluid, I'd fork over the $10-15 for new fluid and give it a shot.

Autozone sucks.

 

See if the fan is pulling air. Take a piece of paper and hold it to the front of the radiator. If the paper is not stuck there by the fan, then the fan clutch is gone.

Partsgeek.com have AISIN "blue" fan clutches for around $65.00. Same thing as OEM.

 

Yeah theres a hobby store about 5 minutes from my house. I might swing by there and see if they have any.

 

I was looking at AISIN clutches there and wasnt sure if they're the same as OEM. But toyota said they'd price match anything with the brand new AISIN on it from a legit source. I'm seriously thinking of just buying a new one, and just rebuilding mine. and having a spare now. I dont mind forking out for the truck. I've kept all AISIN/OEM parts on it. might as well keep up with the routine

 

I am the same way with OEM stuff, it is far superior to others quality wise.

This is a good read about how the auto parts industry works in Japan. All the companies are connected...its called Keiretsu. So because of this, if you buy an AISIN, Nippon Denso, Natchi etc... anything, you know its the same part being supplied to Toyota and Honda. They don't make different spec for different orders. However, it seams Toyota and Honda are the few still keeping to this way of doing business.

http://www.japaninc.com/mgz85/keiret...orate-networks

 

Sweet.

Yeah, I just did brakes on my 4Runner and didn't use OEM stuff ( the autozone garbage seems to work just fine ) So some things ill definitely use other suppliers. But studs, gaskets, major engine parts, ill always buy Toyota unless i hear good things. I have a davez offroad radiator and it seems to work great and keep the motor cooler than the factory one.

 

http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/199...an_clutch.html

is the top one the same as a Toyota OEM AISIN clutch? Called up Toyota and got the typical "There's no way thats a genuine part at that price, it must be a scam". Lol... so what's the deal with that one?

EDIT:

Just saw that it says 2.4L. They're probably the same. but figured i'd ask any difference in the fan clutches?

 

So I ordered some fluid to rebuild it. but still would like to know if that aisin clutch will work. If not, Ill just rebuild mine and put it back on.

 

I don't think there is, but don't hold me to that. It sucks there is not a AISIN fan clutch on Partsgeek for the 3.0. I get a lot of AISIN parts from them for my 2.4l. I would get the Toyota parts number for your fan clutch and cross reference and do a search on this site...
http://www.aisinaftermarket.jp/en/pr...html#fanclutch

 

yeah exactly. Toyota's lowest price they'd give me for the part is 186 + tax.

So im gonna just rebuild mine. 10 bucks to fix my fan clutch is a win win for me.

 

That is pricey. I would probably do the same thing. I think you can get the sillicon from toyota still. Call up Cruiser-dan or Beno (Search ih8Mud) and they I know for sure they can get it...

 

When you open the clutch, the big o-ring will expand a little...they always look too big to go back in. If putting it in the freezer doesn't shrink it enough, you could probably get away with a new one from a hardware store.

 

You can get the silicon at most hobby stores and for a lot cheaper. It's used in rc car differentials. There's a link up above.