Hydraulic Fan Pump Actuator in Detail Failure

tireman

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Once again my 2001 V6 hydraulic fan actuator stopped working. At $185 for a new one, I was determined to find out the reason for the failure. I had suspected, just like the DCCV that the piston had jammed on grit floating around in the system. A report done by the SONY company found that the actual solenoid rarely if ever fails. And in this case, just like the DCCV it proved to be true.
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After removing the pressed on metal seal on the back that wraps around the T40 hex
insert. The entire item comes apart in several pieces. First I measured the ohms resistance
of the coil, 10.5 ohms and no readings to the outside case, so everything appeared normal. A brand new actuator reads 10.9 ohms resistance between terminals. Anything within %5 range is ok.
You can see the coil inside the sleeve, it is plastic covered. The piston does not ride inside the coil directly like the DCCV. In this case the piston is sealed inside a metal sleeve. The ATF fluid enters the sides of the sleeve thru port holes and exits out the front, or vice versa. I do not know exactly which way the fluid moves at this time.
Before tearing the actuator apart, I decided to test it out with 12 V. The results were negative. No movement or clicking from the noise of the piston. Now going forward I examined the pieces for damage of any kind, nothing could be found, all looks ok. I photographed the parts after I had damaged them trying to get the piston sleeve apart, just so you know.
Observing the end of the actuator where the ATF fluid moves thru, I found a flat blade screw that had been secured with the piston barrel, crimped into the screw slot to keep it in place.
Working the crimps back and out of the way, the screw easily came out. You can see it with a rubber gasket near the top of the screw.
Once the screw was removed I could see the piston had lodged itself in the fully extended forward fashion. Taking a small device I pushed on the piston and it came free. I could hear and feel the crunch of grit while the piston was forced back into the sleeve.
Once freed the piston would easily float back and forth in the sleeve. I reassembled the actuator and put 12V on the connectors and the piston would jump into place. So there is my findings. Can we repair the actuator and save $185? Most likely. I would say just remove the actuator and use a needle or some other item and free the stuck piston, WD40 or some other lubrication forced thru the actuator ports to clean out the grit, should do it.
Once you can hear and feel the freed piston you should be good to go. That does not change the fact the there will always be grit floating around in the system. You can flush it out but not much you can do with such old parts. Another problem I found was the electrical connector, it leaks. With the top of the actuator pointed upward, the connector acts like a little cup, water can flow down the wires into and fill the cup causing a short between the two terminals. So seal the top of the connector where the wires enter to stop moisture from entering the connector. I installed the new actuator today, the piston inside the actuator has a short travel distance when shaken. The fan now runs perfect without the squealing from being oil starved from a stuck actuator. On the V6 I was able to remove and install the actuator from above with a ratchet, 20inch extension, universal joint and torx bit. And lots of overhead and direct light to see what you are doing.
Hope this helps a few others.
 
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Nice write up on the actuator. I have replaced a couple of these and also taken it apart to see if I could find a fix. I was not able to figure it out, but you did. After replacing my the actuator on my first LS I started a maintenance routine with the fluid. With every oil change I suction out as much fluid as I can with a syringe and replace it with fresh fluid. It only replaces a portion of the fluid but it I feel better about long term health of the pump, fan and actuator. While checking the oil, I also routinely open the reservoir and smell the fluid for burning. Just another way to check for potential problems. These are not closed systems and need to be maintained and if I can stay ahead of it, I hopefully will not need to replace another actuator.

Thanks for the write up.
 
Nice write up on the actuator. I have replaced a couple of these and also taken it apart to see if I could find a fix. I was not able to figure it out, but you did. After replacing my the actuator on my first LS I started a maintenance routine with the fluid. With every oil change I suction out as much fluid as I can with a syringe and replace it with fresh fluid. It only replaces a portion of the fluid but it I feel better about long term health of the pump, fan and actuator. While checking the oil, I also routinely open the reservoir and smell the fluid for burning. Just another way to check for potential problems. These are not closed systems and need to be maintained and if I can stay ahead of it, I hopefully will not need to replace another actuator.

Thanks for the write up.

Thank you. I began a yearly change out of the ATF from the reservoir every spring. I use a cheap
electric drill pump, EBAY, with long hoses. Just hook up to my drill chuck and pull the trigger, empties quickly into a spare jug. I have added some new information today.
 
Once again my 2001 V6 hydraulic fan actuator stopped working. At $185 for a new one, I was determined to find out the reason for the failure. I had suspected, just like the DCCV that the piston had jammed on grit floating around in the system. A report done by the SONY company found that the actual solenoid rarely if ever fails. And in this case, just like the DCCV it proved to be true.View attachment 828569280 View attachment 828569281 View attachment 828569282 View attachment 828569283 View attachment 828569284
After removing the pressed on metal seal on the back that wraps around the T40 hex
insert. The entire item comes apart in several pieces. First I measured the ohms resistance
of the coil, 10.5 ohms and no readings to the outside case, so everything appeared normal. A brand new actuator reads 10.9 ohms resistance between terminals. Anything within %5 range is ok.
You can see the coil inside the sleeve, it is plastic covered. The piston does not ride inside the coil directly like the DCCV. In this case the piston is sealed inside a metal sleeve. The ATF fluid enters the sides of the sleeve thru port holes and exits out the front, or vice versa. I do not know exactly which way the fluid moves at this time.
Before tearing the actuator apart, I decided to test it out with 12 V. The results were negative. No movement or clicking from the noise of the piston. Now going forward I examined the pieces for damage of any kind, nothing could be found, all looks ok. I photographed the parts after I had damaged them trying to get the piston sleeve apart, just so you know.
Observing the end of the actuator where the ATF fluid moves thru, I found a flat blade screw that had been secured with the piston barrel, crimped into the screw slot to keep it in place.
Working the crimps back and out of the way, the screw easily came out. You can see it with a rubber gasket near the top of the screw.
Once the screw was removed I could see the piston had lodged itself in the fully extended forward fashion. Taking a small device I pushed on the piston and it came free. I could hear and feel the crunch of grit while the piston was forced back into the sleeve.
Once freed the piston would easily float back and forth in the sleeve. I reassembled the actuator and put 12V on the connectors and the piston would jump into place. So there is my findings. Can we repair the actuator and save $185? Most likely. I would say just remove the actuator and use a needle or some other item and free the stuck piston, WD40 or some other lubrication forced thru the actuator ports to clean out the grit, should do it.
Once you can hear and feel the freed piston you should be good to go. That does not change the fact the there will always be grit floating around in the system. You can flush it out but not much you can do with such old parts. Another problem I found was the electrical connector, it leaks. With the top of the actuator pointed upward, the connector acts like a little cup, water can flow down the wires into and fill the cup causing a short between the two terminals. So seal the top of the connector where the wires enter to stop moisture from entering the connector. I installed the new actuator today, the piston inside the actuator has a short travel distance when shaken. The fan now runs perfect without the squealing from being oil starved from a stuck actuator. On the V6 I was able to remove and install the actuator from above with a ratchet, 20inch extension, universal joint and torx bit. And lots of overhead and direct light to see what you are doing.
Hope this helps a few others.
 
Once again my 2001 V6 hydraulic fan actuator stopped working. At $185 for a new one, I was determined to find out the reason for the failure. I had suspected, just like the DCCV that the piston had jammed on grit floating around in the system. A report done by the SONY company found that the actual solenoid rarely if ever fails. And in this case, just like the DCCV it proved to be true.View attachment 828569280 View attachment 828569281 View attachment 828569282 View attachment 828569283 View attachment 828569284
After removing the pressed on metal seal on the back that wraps around the T40 hex
insert. The entire item comes apart in several pieces. First I measured the ohms resistance
of the coil, 10.5 ohms and no readings to the outside case, so everything appeared normal. A brand new actuator reads 10.9 ohms resistance between terminals. Anything within %5 range is ok.
You can see the coil inside the sleeve, it is plastic covered. The piston does not ride inside the coil directly like the DCCV. In this case the piston is sealed inside a metal sleeve. The ATF fluid enters the sides of the sleeve thru port holes and exits out the front, or vice versa. I do not know exactly which way the fluid moves at this time.
Before tearing the actuator apart, I decided to test it out with 12 V. The results were negative. No movement or clicking from the noise of the piston. Now going forward I examined the pieces for damage of any kind, nothing could be found, all looks ok. I photographed the parts after I had damaged them trying to get the piston sleeve apart, just so you know.
Observing the end of the actuator where the ATF fluid moves thru, I found a flat blade screw that had been secured with the piston barrel, crimped into the screw slot to keep it in place.
Working the crimps back and out of the way, the screw easily came out. You can see it with a rubber gasket near the top of the screw.
Once the screw was removed I could see the piston had lodged itself in the fully extended forward fashion. Taking a small device I pushed on the piston and it came free. I could hear and feel the crunch of grit while the piston was forced back into the sleeve.
Once freed the piston would easily float back and forth in the sleeve. I reassembled the actuator and put 12V on the connectors and the piston would jump into place. So there is my findings. Can we repair the actuator and save $185? Most likely. I would say just remove the actuator and use a needle or some other item and free the stuck piston, WD40 or some other lubrication forced thru the actuator ports to clean out the grit, should do it.
Once you can hear and feel the freed piston you should be good to go. That does not change the fact the there will always be grit floating around in the system. You can flush it out but not much you can do with such old parts. Another problem I found was the electrical connector, it leaks. With the top of the actuator pointed upward, the connector acts like a little cup, water can flow down the wires into and fill the cup causing a short between the two terminals. So seal the top of the connector where the wires enter to stop moisture from entering the connector. I installed the new actuator today, the piston inside the actuator has a short travel distance when shaken. The fan now runs perfect without the squealing from being oil starved from a stuck actuator. On the V6 I was able to remove and install the actuator from above with a ratchet, 20inch extension, universal joint and torx bit. And lots of overhead and direct light to see what you are doing.
Hope this helps a few others.
 
Great article . When I removed the actuator from my daughters car about half of it stayed in the pump. It screwed apart easy enough but now I have threads sticking out of the pump and I'm not sure what to do at this point. I read that someone filed something and turned it out but I'm not clear about the process.Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Dave
 
Great article . When I removed the actuator from my daughters car about half of it stayed in the pump. It screwed apart easy enough but now I have threads sticking out of the pump and I'm not sure what to do at this point. I read that someone filed something and turned it out but I'm not clear about the process.Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Dave

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The first pic shows the end that was directly screwed onto the pump ,notice the threads. The threads it screws onto are actually sticking out of the pump now. The second pic is where I put the T40 to remove the actuator. I'm guessing that I need to remove somehow whatever is sticking out of the pump?
Dave
 
I'm sorry that I failed to mention that the 2002 Ford Tbird and LS use the same Jag 3.9 engine and Hydraulic fan pump system, in case someone is wondering why I joined this forum .
Dave
 
So I have removed this actuator and taken it apart just as indicated in post #1 above and cleaned the insides. I can now hear the piston rattling back and forth but applying 13.x volts from a DC bench power supply gets me no movement. Also measuring with my handheld DMM I get something ridiculous like 500ohms. I've given up trying to find any new actuators anywhere. It seems hopeless. Used parts on eBay are also ridiculous at $250+ for a used junkyard pull.

My question is, what would the harm be in leaving out the center PIN and allowing the fan to run constantly? As it is now I cannot run my Air Conditioning without overheating.

This is beyond frustrating that parts for these cars dried up 10 years after they were made.

My second option would be to remove the hydraulic fan and install an electric one.
 
...My question is, what would the harm be in leaving out the center PIN and allowing the fan to run constantly? ...
Wouldn't that result in minimal/no fan all the time? Doesn't the valve work by letting fluid bypass the hydraulic fan motor when the fan is not needed?
 
joegr I do not believe so. The removable center pin has a hole through the entire length. The moving part of the actuator blocks flow through the center pin using an electromagnet to push a cone shaped rod tip into the center hole of the removable PIN so no fluid can move. Removing the PIN would allow constant flow. Maybe it takes longer for my engine to get to running temp but at least I won't overhead and warp my heads when running the AC.

I understand what you are saying now. I was under the impression it was this solenoid that allowed flow to the fan. So you are saying this actually closes the bypass loop allowing the fan to work?

My other option is to screw the PIN all the way down effectively NOT allowing any flow.

I could do either one.

Can anyone verify EXACTLY what this solenoid does? My new understanding is that the flow of fluid to the cooling fan is bypassed by default until this solenoid is activated and pushing a PIN into the center and stopping the bypass flow.

Dang.... I had not considered both possibilities.

Thank you joegr
 
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Well....

I've answered my own question. I screwed the center PIN down blocking flow through the actuator. The cooling fan now works. Like really well... like all the time... It's really LOUD and unbearable at road speeds. I imagine I will burn up the fan if I leave it like this. The thing is.... I've had this car for 12 years and the fan apparently has NEVER worked.

I rarely drive the car now so it has been sitting and decomposing. The subwoofer amp went bad and the subwoofer surround rotted out and the JL audio component door speakers seized up.

The car overheated when running the A/C in town on a really really hot day that one time but has never overheated before this. I will have to find a working actuator some where.

But now I have bigger problems. The battery isn't charging. I think I need to buy an alternator and cannot imagine the hell I'm in for trying to install that monsta. Grrrr.....
 
There ARE companies that make inline transmission filters (that look like the old style fuel filters on carbed engines). I would think something like that would be better than nothing.

PS fluid is pretty easy to siphon out and refill every 6 months. Probably not as easy to do for the hydraulic fan.
 

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