Fan always on....HELP!!!!!!!!!!

[frazgsi]

Just bought a 1999 2.8 quattro and it seems the Rad fan is always on. This is very annoying because it sounds terrible when on all the time. Sounds like a bus.

Anyone have any ideas whats causing it . The car does not run hot, it runs at normal temp

 

[aragorn]

which fan is on?

 

[frazgsi]

The radiator fan , the main one that has the belt on it

 

[aragorn]

Its a mechanical fan, driven by the belt, and runs all the time.

It has a viscous coupling, which should allow it to run at a low speed, the coupling might have siezed up and needs replaced?

 

[frazgsi]

yeah the viscous fan does not seem to be spinning slowly at idles , its going at the speed of the engine if you know what i mean. More i rev it the faster it goes and then the car starts to sound like a bus. please tell me these audis are not meant to be like this all the time. If so im selling it on lol

 

[aragorn]

I suspect your viscous coupling has siezed and you need to replace it.

 

[frazgsi]

Ok thanks for clearing that up, I was starting to think that this audi was just meant to sound like a plane lol. It reminded me of the old cars with fans that didnt not have a coupling on them. The roar you used to get from them.

Ive been told swapping the vicous is a nightmare- front off, radiator moved out of way etc. This is something I cannot afford. Do you know if you can just remove the actual fan itself (held onto the coupling by 3-4 small bolts i think) and leave the coupling in place? Im willing to do this over the winter as the outside temps arent going to be too high so im sure I could do away with the fan for now as i wont need it too much

 

[aragorn]

yep the fan is held on with 4 small allen head cap screws.

I'm not sure if you can reach them without at least putting the front end into service position though.

I guess you can give it a try!

Worst case you might have to break the plastic blades off to make enough room to get into the bolts.

If your car has AC, then it has a small electric fan as well, and its likely the electric fan on its own (if its working) will be enough to keep the engine cool, even in the summer.