Originally Posted by workingonit (Post 1240164)

I removed and replaced the clutch fan on my X5, completely. The viscous clutch was loose and shrieking (and sometimes roaring), and the fan blades were cracking, and a couple had lost some material. It was a matter of time before the whole apparatus failed, and probaly would destroy the hood, radiator, and maybe the water pump, too.

I used an aftermarket electric fan (my go-to solution, for many applications, and vehicle types), and I'm sure that doing so helped the overall cooling, too. I have either replaced the factory clutch fans or supplemented them with electrics, for almost 40 years now, with only a few exceptions (a Fiero L4, an Olds Achieva SC Quad-four, two recent Ecotec-powered L4's, and my wife's Lexus ES350...all had good electric fans from the factory).

I've added supplementary electrics to all my older trucks, which came with clutch fans, except for my '98 GMC 5.7L, and my '04 Chevy 2500HD 6.0L. Both clutch fans are still perfect after 185k and 140k miles, respectively, though I recently added a 12" electric to the '98 GMC, since I had bought it for test use and I figured that the low-speed-idling 5.7L could use some help, forA?C cooling in summer, at stoplights.

I test both viscous clutches every summer, and neither seems to be aging. I certainly wouldn't replace either, even with AC Delco or Delphi "factory replacement parts", since you can never tell about new parts, anymore. I'll go electric, rather than take a chance.

Originally Posted by Fifty150hs (Post 1240166)

So you remove the fan from the water pump and install an electric inside the radiator? There's an electric aux fan on the outside of the radiator on the X5.

Originally Posted by workingonit (Post 1240169)

I removed the clutch fan and used the existing fan shroud to concentrate the airflow. Of course, the aftermarket electric fan came with a plastic housing/shroud, but the factory shroud PLUS the aftermarket fan's housing working together, make's the airflow more focused.

I haven't been able to ascertain the cfm rating of the auxiliary fan that came on the X5, and also how old it might be (subject to imminent failure?), so I wasn't even prepared to rely on the auxiliary fan alone, and as I've related, my go-to solution is to add another fan, or go to a higher cfm fan (or both). As we used to say at the dragstrip, "Go BIG or Go Home".