My F350 makes that loud whooshing sound as the engine begins to accelerate and then tapers off as it gets up to speed - which I always attributed to the clutch fan. I never noticed it on my wife's 06 - perhaps because I rarely drive it and perhaps because I would consider it normal and not think about or notice it. But the 05.....I know for a fact I've never heard that whooshing noise coming from the metal fan - only the electric one on the front.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

Yikes! The whole thing began to fall apart.
Yes, parts are a problem for this car. Anything but filters, light bulbs and few other consumables appear to be special order - and VERY expensive. We're talkin' $150 for a thermostat and then waiting for a week to get it. Give me a break.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

So, here is my analysis based upon input so far. Although only hard data can make the definitive call, it is beginning to come into focus:

1) It happens only at relatively low speed when the car is working hard.
2) Although it has happened in the winter time the circumstances were: It was right after I bought it and I wanted to know what it was capable of. There was a very steep incline, I was pushing wet snow, I had it floored for a good 10 minutes, I had a relatively low forward speed due to snow - perhaps 10-15 mph. I noticed the problem when the bell started to chime and I looked down to notice the gauge was pegged. The Jeep stealer could not reproduce the problem.
3) I can get it to consistently overheat by driving up the last section of my steep gravel driveway which gains about 600 feet. When this happens, my speed is 10-15 mph. Most pronounced on warm days (over 70 deg - which is warm for us this summer)
4) No whooshing sound or roar coming from the metal fan. I've never heard it on this car.
5) The fan on my 05 appears to spin a bit more freely when pushed by hand than it does on the 06. Here is what it looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFEE-85zVrk
6) I installed new equipment: I back flushed the system, replaced the thermostat, replaced the sending unit and put in new fluid.
7) The electric fan IS working...but it is so small I doubt it could have much dramatic effect at that speed.

These symptoms and findings appear to be consummate with a bad viscous fan. The most important piece of data to me is the fact that this never happens on the highway, only at low speed...which is when that fan is most needed.
Sound reasonable?
Please poke holes in my analysis if it appears to be flawed.

The reasons I was very hesitant to consider this possibility at first:
* I've never seen or heard of one going bad - except a few comments on this forum.
* I have trouble envisioning what components actually could go bad - especially in a new-ish car. It is a sealed, fluid system and my understanding is that there are no moving, or engaging mechanical devices, just changing viscosity based upon heat that creates more or less drag between the drive shaft and outer clutch housing which in turn changes the fan speed.
What would cause this thing to "break" or go bad? I see no sign of fluid leak or any other visible clues beside the "spin test" which only shows a problem when directly compared to the 06 CRD.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

I checked my viscous clutch this morning, It will barely turn a quarter turn.

As far as these clutches going bad, I remember reading how some folks down under were having problems with theirs slipping. Iirc, it might have been Landrovers, but they found a source of silicon fluid and were refilling theirs rather than replacing the whole unit. Apparently it worked for them. Ufortunately, I didn't save the link, but there seems to be a minor issue with these clutches.

_________________
2005 LTD CRD RB1 NAV/Htd Leather seats/Amsoil EA filters
SunCoast Mega Trans & Billet TC/PML pan/Aux cooler
Fuel cooler/Lift Pump/10um Pri/Racor R490 2um Sec Fuel Filters
IronMan Lift/Shocks/Provent/Moog ball joints/ V6 Airbox/Fan/Hayden
Cobalt Boost/EGT/Oil/Trans/Volt gauges/Aeroturbine 2525
Yeti Hot Tune/Odessey 65/Samco's/Michelin Defenders

Another nail in the coffin for this fan clutch.

How tough is it to remove these? I want to try and swap mine with my wife's before it starts raining again. (I work outside in a gravel driveway and it has been a very rainy summer)

I wonder if the fan is covered by the 7/70 power train warranty.....

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

When you get it off, post a front-on pic of it, as from the radiator side - may be an adjustment you can make to lower the cut-in temp...............

_________________
'05 CRD Limited
Pricol EGT, Boost
GDE Hot '11; EDGE Trail switched
SEGR; Provent; Magnaflow;
Suncoast T\C, Transgo Tow'n'Go switch;
Cummins LP module, Fleetguard filter, Filterminder
2.5" Daystar f, OME r; Ranchos; K80767's, Al's lifted uppers
Rubicons, 2.55 Goodyears
Four in a row really makes it go

You mean IF I can remove it before it rains. It looks like I have to remove a whole bunch of junk ....and need to do so before it rains....

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

If your driveway is pretty steep incline for a good distance have you ever tried driving it in 4low? I know here in CO those very steep and long hill climbs here can overheat a tranny real fast,those with the 42RLE at least.4 low would make your engine work less going up that long/steep grade and since your only doing 10-15mph anyway that is very doable in 4low.Just a thought.

I think it's probably the speed thats the issue. It may help a bit if I rev the engine more with it in granny gear but I would rather have a car that cools properly than one that overheats like a POS and requires I avoid big hills. This has prevented me from doing much off road. Besides, our Subarus never overheated on my driveway. Neither did my old Jeep Cherokee or my Honda or my Ford or any of my Chevy trucks. Heck even my F350 with a full sized camper on it doesn't overheat coming up the driveway. I find it embarrassing that my Mom's Prius has no trouble with the long gravel driveway but my $25,00 Jeep 4x4 does.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

Uncle!!
So, I've broken pieces of the shroud trying to get it off (how the HELL do you get those stupid little push pins out without simply tearing at them with a screwdriver or pliers?!?!).

Thus far I've failed to remove the fan clutch. I've unbolted the fan. I still can't see any way of taking off the viscous clutch without some special tool #XYZ special ordered from Tasmania.
I DO (barely) see the small coil thermostat in the front of of the clutch but I can't tell if there is an adjustment on it for engagement temperature.

I'm very ticked off and flailing around at this point just unbolting and tearing at things..... But I have a lot of driving to do to suppliers this week and MUST have this thing up and running and the problem figured out.

--------------------

So, here I am a week later, hundreds of dollars and dozens of hours into it, it's starting to rain, the car is now undriveable again and still no fix for the problem I have been trying solve. But hey! At least I'm breaking even MORE parts trying to get at suspected broken parts so that's a plus....at least for Chrysler parts salesmen. I'm tenacious but at what point do I simply get rid of these blasted rigs?

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

Those plastic push pins are easily removed with a tool that is in the pic below..............

As far as getting the clutch fan off you will need a special tool for that,again in the pics below..............

The fan holder.....

And the wrench,there are many sizes and I am not sure of the CRD's correct size...............


Or you can get this set from MatCo tools that you use with a air hammer,very nice tool kit.


Working on modern vehicles require special tools for everything,nothing sucks more as a technician and having to dishout $200 for a special tool and only ever need it for one job .At least those air hammer clutch fan tool kit can be used on almost every newer vehicle.

So I guess that's it then. Hundreds of dollars of special tools needed - probably special order from Siberia. Game over.

Although the shroud is now cracked, I bolted it all back together and tested the 05 again directly next to the 06.

I'm now 80% sure it is indeed the viscous fan.

While running at the exactly the same temperature and engine speed, the 06 was blowing far more air through the shroud than the 05. I could visibly see that the fans were turning at different speeds and the 06 was noticeably louder. (Both engines were fairly cool, but the same temp nonetheless.)

I don't see anything in the 7/70 warranty about the viscous fan so I doubt it is considered part of the drive train.
However, I DID complain to the dealer about the overheating when I had the F37 done and they could not repeat the problem ....so I have that going for me. If worse came to worse, since the 06 is still under the 36K warranty (until Sept) I suppose I could buy the special tools, swap the fans and take the 06 in under warranty.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

Those "special" tools are available at your better automotive parts stores and are ussually stocked items,Sears is a good place to get them also.The trim tool is like $5 and most of the clutch fan removers are less then $50,a master set will run over $300 though.

Could I go to Sears with the Chrysler tool # and be able to find it that way or would I have to ask for the tool by a general description of it?

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

Sorry to hear you have so many problems in the same time buddy!
I do remember 2yrs ago we were talking on this site about sudden overheating with the right condition: low speed/city driving, A/C on, weather in the 80F... I had that problem while towing a small watercraft, and had to turn off A/C until the needle came back to mid-position. Doesn't seem to happen for folks in the high temperature area. You might be simply unlucky enough to be hitting this sweet spot all the time on your driveway

Is it really worth all the trouble, or can you just let go the A/C while you're driving up home? I know it seems like treating the Jeep like a gramma, but sometime one must do those things

_________________
'07 GC CRD Limited, InMotion Stage-2 tuning, Parrot MK9200 Bluetooth & iPod.
'05 BMW F650GS Police Edition, HIDs, 1" lowering, Rick's custom seat.
SOLD'05 Black CRD Sport, steel bumper, Nokian 245/70, SpiderTrax, Flowmaster 40, Predator chip, Renegade light bar, EVIC, basket roof, Parrott Bluetooth.
'03 Lexus GS300 Sport Design/NAV/ML

Hey Blacksmoke! Enjoying our November summer weather yet? I'm having to work out in the open in this cr@p. Nothin' more fun than bloody arms from hose clamps, grease & grime all over and rain running down yer back.

I'm fairly sure the problem is the viscous fan. I have 2 CRDs and thus the advantage of direct comparison and it's my 05 that is having the trouble with overheating. (and everything else)
When placed side by side and at the same operating temperature, the 06 is blowing dramatically more air than the 05. The fan is spinning visibly faster at idle. I hadn't noticed it before because I wasn't looking specifically at that comparison.

Here is my new dilema:
I now have to either buy special tools and order the part or start arguing with the stealer AFTER paying them money to verify my analysis...and then wait for who knows how long for them to finish the job. If I wait for the stealer to do the job I will have to continue driving my F350 dually super cab which is not only scary in downtown Seattle but also costs me 3X as much in fuel. Given that I am doing a heck of a lot of driving for work right now dealing with suppliers this is no insignificant amount of money. I'm not sure I would actually save any money even if I did manage to get the stealer to replace it for free. It would have to be something I waited for while they fixed it - which is extremely doubtful.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited:
* 245/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva
* Magnaflow
* Kennedy Diesel lift pump
* Custom CCV condensor
* Custom modified thermostat housing w/bleeder valve

2006 CRD Limited (wife's)
* Bone stock

G'day,

You don't need any 'special' tools to remove the viscous clutch unit from the pulley. (i removed mine very easily yesterday as i did the timing belt on my crd).

1) You need a big shifter (the hex part is about 35mm),
2) The 'special tool' that i use to hold the pulley still whilst turning the nut (well actually it's a bolt, the female threaded section is the pulley center) - consists of a battery clamp leg and a nut. All you hafta do is hook the leg into one of the pulley holes, hook the other end onto the front engine lift mount. The bolt/nut is right hand thread and not super tight.

Before you go removing it tho, do the viscous fan test outlined in the workshop manual.
The only things you need for that are:
- workhop manual (tho i can post the method if you don't have one)
- thermometer or thermocouple
- tarp to cover front of the rediator.

Basically the test involves covering the front rad air intakes, running the engine for 15 mins or so, checking the air temp that the viscous clucth sees, then waiting for the big WHOOSH as the clutch kicks in. From memory, when i did the test, the clutch engaged at about 85C (3/4 on temp gauge). When i removed the tarp, the air cools down, and the fan kicked out at around 65C. (about half way on temp gauge).

Eric.

You need an FSM. It has a section showing the tools needed to remove the vicsous clutch. It has a warning about keeping the viscous clutch vertical so that the silicon fluid doesn't drain into the bearing grease and ruin it (good design eh?) Handy little bits of info you won't have on your own. All thats needed is a 6958 spanner wrench with 8346 adapter pins. Those are Miller Special tool part numbers. You could also call OTC tools as they make some special tools for Chrysler, but use different part numbers. If you give OTC the Miller # they may be able to cross reference. OTC sells for a lot less than Miller at discount sites. Miller takes forever to ship, charges quite a bit for shipping and rarely has them in stock. At least that's been my experience with them.

Miller - http://www.millerspecialtools.spx.com/D ... spx?id=256
Miller costs over $100 for just the spanner and pins

Or you could use OTC which makes many of the same tools, but uses different part numbers. They sell a universal spanner kit(4754) which might work, for $39 here:
http://www.ntxtools.com/network-tool-wa ... -4754.html

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=1578

It's a Jeep and a diesel at that. You'll need tools. You'll need an FSM.

Or you can make your own as suggested above.

_________________
2005 LTD CRD RB1 NAV/Htd Leather seats/Amsoil EA filters
SunCoast Mega Trans & Billet TC/PML pan/Aux cooler
Fuel cooler/Lift Pump/10um Pri/Racor R490 2um Sec Fuel Filters
IronMan Lift/Shocks/Provent/Moog ball joints/ V6 Airbox/Fan/Hayden
Cobalt Boost/EGT/Oil/Trans/Volt gauges/Aeroturbine 2525
Yeti Hot Tune/Odessey 65/Samco's/Michelin Defenders

You might try this: Here in Arizona, many auto parts places (Autozone, Checker, etc.) will rent you the tools for free.
The way it works is you pay for them and when you bring them back (with the recipt), you get your money back. ZERO dollars for renting the tools.
Can't hurt to make a few phone calls...

My viscous clutch has the same engage / disengage points. Driving in soft sand at low speed in Summer heat will give the clutch ample opportunity to do its thing. That is how I came to notice mine.

_________________
Matt B.

05 Limited CRD. Bought it new. 112k on the clock now.

GDE Eco-tune, rear differential drain plug (drilled and tapped the pumpkin), transmission pan drain plug, Fumoto oil valve, fuel filler neck restriction removed, front hitch, Hayden fan clutch, Sears P1 battery since 08, Mobil 1 5w40, 5 volt glow plugs, DIY timing belt at 109k