tireman
Dedicated LVC Member
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.
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.
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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