Should cooling fan spin freely by hand when engine is shuta off on 7.3 power stroke Diesel?

Answer 1

Well the answer is yes....BUT a better way to ask the question is how do you determine if the fan clutch is working?? If the fan doesn't move at all then the bearing is seized. The fan should always spin with some if not alot of resistance. As to how much resistance is the question... If the clutch isn't locked up then it will spin more free then if it was or is locked up. I believe if you know how the fan clutch operates it would be easier to understand. The cooling fan is bolted to what is called the fan's clutch. When the vehicle is cold the fan will basically spin at the same RPM as the engine due to the fact it's bolted to the water pump of the engine. Now on the front of the FC (fan clutch) is a thermal-coil style thermostate that engages and dis-engages the FC. When the vehicle is cold and no extra air needs to be pulled threw the radiator the clutch will slip and the fan will be the same as engine rpm. When the engine gets hot and more air flow is needed the thermal coil switch will expand (due to it getting hot) and turn allowing the clutch to not slip but to lock-up and spin twice if not 3 times faster the engine rpm which pulls 2-3 times more air threw the radiator which cools the coolant 2-3 times faster and engine temp is stabalized as needed. You can hear the clutch come on and off while driving. It sounds like a wooshing noise and will stay steady then gradually deminish as the clutch slowly locks and un-locks. So like i said yes it should spin freely but how much is the question. You will want some resistance when spinning but if it's hot it might spin faster it might be locked up at the time so unless you know exactly what temp the engines coolant is and know what temp the clutch locks up its hard to tell how much resistance is good and normal. A better way is to diag if its operating correctly. Drive and listen for lock up. When it's overheating is the FC locked up (noisy)? If not it might be the cause of the overheating. So if their is zero resistance when spinning then yes their might be a problem cause they should have some resistance at all times. For the most part. Hope this helps. Good luck.

NOTE: Please don't add to this answer if you haven't ever heard of a clutch on an engines cooling fan and think this answer is way off in left field. For those of you that think you know everything about vehicles I like to call them "shade trees" and think i'm confused or have never heard of this clutch on the cooling fan..... then yes you are a shade tree and don't know anything about mechanic's. You shouldn't be answering questions just stick to asking the questions and let the real technicians do the answering.