Anyone know what the thermal spring is set for to engage the fan?

Reason I ask is my AC is not preforming well on short trips from a cold start.

I got home and my Rad temp on the top was 165f with an engine temp of 186-188.

My compressor clutch was engaged the entire time and the condenser inlet pipe was hot and the outlet was close to ambient temp (around 10 degrees higher) with flow through the sight glass.

I really need to put my gauges on but from what I see now I don’t think my condenser is dropping enough temp to make the EVAP efficient.

I thought about spraying water on the condenser but decided yard work was more important.

If I’d be low on 134a my compressor should cycle unless the switch is bad…..another reason to put the gauges on I suppose……..

Stay tuned for more troubleshooting.


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Is it the original Condenser? Is it looking like it's oxidizing up?

I ask because if you Condenser Is covered with oxidation they will not conduct properly and your ac doesn't work as efficiently. I blew a compressor over a warn out Condenser once

I can't answer what temp the fan clutch kicks in on unfortunately.



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It was the better of the two.

As for condition all I can say is it doesn’t have fin rot like the 96 had.


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Ok. Fin rot is very bad. Just check it out throughly if you see lots of caulk everywhere it's probably done.

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Hey OP, do you mind sharing some photos of you find any issues? My ac has been working weaker than normal so I'm curious what you find...

I dug around for quite awhile. There doesn't seem to be a fixed temperature of the fan clutch listed in the FSM nor anywhere else.

The general consensus of about 170 degrees f. About 180 to 190f engine temperature. Supposedly cool the engine 20 degrees. That's just general generic information though.

I personally, never seen one leak or have issues. I seen lots of forum folks say they notice when it's not working optimally.

There are some videos out there to rebuild them basically just refill with silicone oil again.

Mine all have resistance and hard to turn when cold engine. Then they spin for a while then disengage after a few minutes of the engine running. You actually hear the air volume from the fan slow down when it disengages.

If they do that I call them good..

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I’m off Wednesday through Tuesday. I should get the gauges on during then if the temps are in 80’s


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That's always the best place to start as these can spring leaks on the Condensers simply because of their age now and winters in the rust belt..

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It’s 79 outside with 84% humidity. Drove to town to get dog food and I had water dripping on the ground and 62 coming from the coldest center vent. Compressor not cycling and inlet to the condenser was 151f and outlet at the filter dryer was 94f.

Didn’t put gauges on it yet. But I’m expecting high hi side pressures. The outlet from the condensed should be ambient. That 15 degree offset is about what I expect to be seeing as an outlet temp of my vent. I would expect 45-55 for air outlet temps without looking at our performance chart.

To be continued.


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Mine at 79 degrees 50% humidity is around 42 degrees from the center vent with recirc on.

Thanks, I know higher humidity effects performance.


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What is your site glass looking like? That's also a great indicator of what your refrigerate is doing in the system. :-)

Those site glasses were designed for R12, not 134a where the oil is pushed by the 134a and looks low on charge.


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Maybe but the fsm shows and explains what we see in the sight glass to help diagnose the problem.


I suspect your loosimg refrigerate. You can get a few pumps of die in your system and use an black light to see the leaks.


That's how I find them to fix the leaking issues on my systems.

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Well I put the gauges on this afternoon and it’s low at 12psi with the engine at idle.

With the clutch engaged at this psi it also means my low side switch is bad based on past experiences working on systems. I’m thinking somewhere around 20-25psi it should cut out the clutch.

I’ll get a can of 134 and a new low side switch tomorrow.


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