bad noise from Viscous Coupler ( I think)

[awg]

There has been a squeeling noise developing from my front end, so i just changed my serpentine belt with no improvement.

(by torchlight) I inspected the area the noise seems to be coming from, and I noticed the belt & pulley that mounts the Viscous Coupler was wobbling a bit, so it would seem thats the problem

I have to fix it right away

This does not seem to be part of the water pump, no hoses go to it
is below Power steering pump and above A/C compressor

It seems to be mounted by a bracket to the block

Any insights here, is there a bearing in there ?

Fan blades dont wobble

I have a new radiator to put in, and I will most likely have to swap VC out of my spare parts '96, as its a breakdown situation

Any insights on this job ?

I will order a new one, once I have removed and identified the faulty part

[Roler]

No bearing in there, the viscous part comes as a unit.
It being wobbly, I'd check if the bolts are tight
If the viscous fan goes bad, it usually starts to cause increased temp when idling because its not driving the fanblades with enough force. You can test the viscous fan by spinning the fan blades by hand with the engine off, although this is a very rough indication. Don't do the "rolled newspaper trick" and stick anything in the fan while its running to see if you can stop it.
The viscous part of the fan going bad would usually not cause a noise in my experience.

Belt tension ok?

If you mean the viscous fan:
Its not a difficult job to replace it, just a bit fiddly getting to the 4 bolts.
A set of long wrenches will make it a lot easier.
But if you were planning to do the radiator swap anyway, it would be a great time to do the fan clutch then since you'd have a lot more room.

[Roler]

With the bearing question I was under the impression you meant the viscous fan itself (that one has no bearing, its one unit) but you meant the hub/bearing at the block?

I see you posted on cherokeeforum as well and got some ideas

[LuluBelle]

Tony if you are talking about the fan clutch? chuck it away and get a zj clutch hayden 3879 I think better cooling I use them in both my xj's

[Roler]

I think I still have a new one in a Auspost for a ZJ?
Years ago, I ordered a replacement for my stock clutch
and put it in, thinking I had received one for the XJ.

When it was bolted on, I found it had very (like VERY) little clearance from the radiator (normal towing package radiator, not like a 4 core or something) I took a picture years ago to show the minimal clearance to verify with the seller, must be on an old phone).
So little clearance, that it made me quite uncomfortable driving it around like that and I took it out. We're talking about like about 1/2 cm clearance.

All I can think was I received one for a Grand and not the XJ. But yeah, others state they have had no issues with their ZJ viscous fan in the XJ.

[Roler]

Where you located awg?

[awg]

Originally Posted by Roler

Where you located awg?

I am in Newcastle

I did post on the US forum, and got some ideas, so I will quote my latest reply from on there

will post pics later as well

Yes, the bearing is in a housing which is bolted to the block. The VC is attached to the hub, which runs on the "integral shaft bearing"

This is not a very fun job, but nothing to difficult, I did need to replace my radiator as well

took me 4 hours to R&R and swap the housing and radiator

************************************************** **********

Back on the road,

It was the VC housing bearing.

Its an "integral shaft water pump bearing" which is pressed into an alloy housing, the VC pulley runs on the shaft

When I removed the noisy unit, it has noticeable wobble, and shiny flakes came out, hopefully distintegrated bearing, and it hasnt turned in the housing

my spare '96 is now disabled until I replace this part

The bearing itself appears not to be readily available in Australia

Perusing Ebay, after looking at the NAXJA thread, avoid the Omix-Ada bearing like the plauge and instead install the NGK 885586

I see it here (although it doesnt specifically say "NGK"...(but does use there part number)

885586 Integral Shaft Water Pump Bearing | eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/13274044213...EAAOSwsvVh5uee

About $US50 landed in Australia

A lot of places, including Amazon, show it as "out-of-stock"

I cant find it on Rock Auto...any other suggestions ?

This part will put you off the road, and cause carnage and hassle if it lets go !

It didnt give me much warning, I could detect some sound for about 2 weeks of local driving, checked it out but could observe nothing,
then a few days ago, heard a bit of a noise and brief engine hiccup, checked again, nothing

The other day, it started screeching sometimes, I was right outside my mates who is a mechanic, and he thought it was just a belt slipping

then nearly all the time next day. I reckon it would not have lasted another 100 more miles

I will extract the bearing from the housing to see if its repairable

Have just recalled I have a spare '96 engine I bought for about $200 of a gent, just for things like this

a couple of sensors, alternators, or some other failed part that can be very difficult to find, and it pays for itself

I think the RHD '96 may have a housing that is different to other years, making the situation even more complicated

Will have to put a new bearing in there, as the used one has over 200k miles