Can the fan clutch leak?

[ScottyWM]

I know I've heard it somewhere, but I don't remember who told me. Can the fan clutch leak if you take it off and set it down horizontally like on a table. My indy is telling me mine is almost shot, but it's only got about 40K miles on it. I know I've given it the old spin test a while back and it seemed fine.

[632 Regal]

the old american ones leaked, havent tested the BMW ones yet, let me know if it does?

yes a fan clutch can go in 40k.

[gale]

They can leak. If it has a leak, you'll see an oil residue or dirt accumulation on the front of it, at the center needle valve pin or bi-metal strip. The spin test isn't always accurate. A healthy clutch will engage the fan with a noticable roar when you take off after sitting at a light in traffic with the a/c on, at say > 85F. I just put a new one on mine a few weeks ago and the fan now kicks in for the 1st time since I've owned it in almost 7 years. Made a noticable difference in how cold the a/c is as well. If in doubt, get a new one. And yes, I've always been told to store them vertically.

Alternatively, there is a thread on one of the Porsche 924/944/928 boards about how to refill the clutch to revive it. There is a special silicon oil availble from Toyota that comes in various viscosities. Most Toyota parts counters won't have a clue what it is unless you find the part number, which is in this link:

http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/FanClutch/FanClutch.htm

(edit: added link)

[ScottyWM]

Well I definately get the roar, or at least I got it before they took the fan off this morning to replace the fan shroud. We'll see when I get it back if it still roars the same. See, I'm afraid they mucked it up... They didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I asked them what they did with it when they took it off, whether they set it down flat or stood it up.