PLEASE help me with this fan clutch!!

[96roadmaster]

THe fan clutch on my Riviera went out and I can't find any local stores who have one in stock. It is a 64 Riviera with the 425 CI motor and Air Conditioning. Is this the right part?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayIS...sspagename=WDVW

Thank you.

[Guest COMPACTBC]

The correct part # is GMB#2705, and you should be able to get one from a local and good independent auto parts store. I got one last November from J&B - Wabco warehouse in Orange, CA. (714)453-3500. List is $55 and my net was $31.00. Try your local NAPA store.

[96roadmaster]

Bruce, thank you very much. I called Napa and they said they don't carry it. I'll call them again and hopefully I get someone who at least knows their products!

[Guest COMPACTBC]

Well if NAPA can't find their part #, then go to a good independent parts store and use these two different part #'s. GMB #2705 or Imperial part #215049. Tell them to get their nose out of the computer and look in their paper parts books. Talk to someone who looks like he or she has been around for 40 years in the parts business. Good Luck.

[gungeey]

The ebay item you were inquiring about is a perfect fit. Made in Japan. I have used that exact part and they fit and work perfectly. Plus, the price is right. Steve

[Guest COMPACTBC]

The NAPA part # is #271305, but if they no longer offer it, go with the GMB or Imperial fan clutch they work just fine and should be available in most good auto part stores.

[NTX5467]

Typically, as the fan clutches decrease in sales, the "more specific application" items will be replaced by more "will fit" or "universal" part numbers. That typically means, among other things, the "4 slot" flange where it bolts to the water pump instead of the "4 hole" flange. One other critical item is the "pilot hole" where the clutch fits the water pump snout, as it needs to be of the correct diameter if the mounting flange is of the universal configuration.

When the manufacturer looks at engineering a particular application, they look at lots of little issues that might be important with a new vehicles, but as the vehicles age, if the cut-in temp is 5 degrees different, for example, it might not be quite so important. Hence, with time the replacement companies will combine their part numbers into more general application part numbers (i.e., more universal fit). Therefore, the clutch you might find on the open market today might not look like the one that came on the vehicle from the factory, not to consider the "thermal" versus "viscous coupling" issues or different front and rear castings of the clutch halves.

At this point in time, having the shaft length being close to what it should be with the correct pilot hole diameter being much more important than if the clutch kicks in at 190 degrees of 195 degrees, for example.

You might also check out some of the online parts websites that have really good catalogs online, just to see what's out there and what the brands and part numbers might be for them. NAPA also has an online catalog function too. It can be a little involved to use, but www.rockauto.com is a site I go to every so often when chasing something that everybody might not know how to look up. In other words, just because one parts source might not have something, don't give up until you are sure that others don't have it either. Usually, if one company has it, others will too as the number of production facilities making a particular part is very probably very low, yet everybody sells it in their own packaging with different numbers.

In the case you might not find the particular application, if you can find an old vendor parts book (TRW or DANA Corp Fan Clutches, AC-Delco Air Conditioning Illustrated Catalog, for example) that has a chart of the shaft lengths and other mounting specs (and was released early enough to have "real" listings for the desired vehicle), then you might find another application that is still available that might work, but would fit a Chevy or Cadillac or Brand Z, for example. ALSO be cognizant that some of the later models have "reverse rotation" water pumps, hence the little arrow showing rotation cast into many pumps front casting.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467