My first Z (indeed, my first car) was a '79 280ZX. The radiator fan clutch on that car was locked up, so the fan always turned at engine RPM. But I liked it, as it made the engine sound a lot more hyper and race-worthy than it really was. I blame the old Need for Speed games....those who played the original version might recall the Ferrari Testarossa had a rather high-pitched engine sound. My old Z sounded just like it!
Alright, onto the tech part of this post...my '83 had a normally functioning fan, but even when it was spinning pretty good, it didn't make much noise. Is it normal for the radiator fan to "sing" at high RPM? I've always wondered if it was perhaps the wrong fan.
I'm hunting for another Z now, probably a 280ZX. I've got half a mind to lock the radiator fan so the engine will sing like my '79.
i remember NFS3 for the PC. i couldn't get enough of that game. so much fun:grin
as far as the fan, the noise shouldn't matter. what should matter is that the thing is functioning and keeping the radiator cool. the fan clutch should have a part number on it if its original
i don't recall the fan on my 80 having any high pitched sound. not on my 83 either.
Funny, I too liked the sound when my fan clutch froze. Sounded like a blower! It was more of a air flow humming noise verses a screeching. I kept it that way for about a year until I recently replaced the AC tensioner pulley bearing that started screeching. Don't know how long the frozen fan clutch would have lasted before causing some real damage.
i never really notice the noise of fan on my 280zx. but on my Z31 the fan is real loud. i guess because of that big giant duct maybe.
i had the maxima electric fans on my former Z31 and when they kicked on you could definately hear them, but the sound didn't go up and down during accelleration like the stock fans do.
personally i think the 280zx clutch fan does sufficient cooling on a stock car. i agree though, sometimes its good to go to electric fans. if you do it, make sure you upgrade your alternator so you got a few more amps to carry that extra load.
I agree the stock ZX fan is perfectly adequate for the vehicle if the shroud is in place and the radiator is working well. For the last year or so my AC booster fan hasn't been working, but I can drive with the AC on during hot (90+) days and it's only if I get stuck in stop and go that the engine starts to heat up past what's desirable. Then I kick the AC off. I'm still looking for the problem...
i don't recall having an AC booster fan on my 83. am i missing something?
i think you might have another issue that's causing you to run hot at idle. my Z31 was doing the same thing here in UAE and its very hot outside now (115+ F)
so my mechs found that the fan clutch and thermostat had failed. so I replaced the clutch itself, and the thermostat, flushed the system and its running nice and cool now.
make sure your radiator cap is holding pressure and your water pump is not going bad in addition to checking your clutch fan and thermostat. if all these items check good and its still running hot, well, unless you have some kind of block in the system, i'm not sure what else could be causeing your temp to rise at idle
The ZX Turbo does have a second fan on the AC heat exchanger. Your other points are right on target, but the heating only occurs at 90+ temps in traffic where I'm stopped for minutes at a time. Fan has been replaced and radiator has been cleaned out.
Here are a couple of pictures - the fan is behind the grille on the passenger side of the car. Based on my experience, it's supposed to run when the AC is on.
i gotcha now. its that AC condensor aux fan. my 83 is non-turbo no wonder. well, now my Z31 AE has this little fan infront of the condensor. i guess this was on all the turbo models to help with cooling. now my 87 which was NA had one as well. but it was not stock. someone over here installed it and wired it in and at the time i thought it was stock.
actually I think its good to have one of these even on non-turbo cars. my 87 never overheated during the summertime here with the AC always going and the little auxillary fan running.
i am really wondering whats causing your issue?? its very strange.:|
maybe your auxillary fan motor is dead and just needs replacement. you may be able to still get this part.
you know the only other thing i can think of is perhaps the stock clutch fan just can't keep up the cooling efficiency that it should. my 83 would do that sometimes when sitting in UTAH traffic and its not even hot there in the summer time. it never overheated, but it would definately run hot when idling. cooling system was in good condition too.
I checked my aux fan and it runs with 12V to it. I checked the leads to it and the system isn't sending 12V. The relay for it passes a continuity check. I suspect the problem is upstream, possibly in the lever assembly in the dash.
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