[Biturbos4] Radiator fan replacement

[D. F. Haley]

Matt O wrote:

Since I changed the timing belt on my 2000 S4, the fan has been running non-stop, and sounds like a truck.  I talked to my mechanic about it, and he said that he thinks that the fan clutch inside the belt driven fan on the front of the motor might have gone bad.  It is always on, and you are not able to stop it when it runs.  It's my understanding that there is a fluid inside that thickens as it warms and causes the fan to turn with the engine at that time, and when it's cool, it won't spin as fast.

Has anyone had theirs go bad?  He thought that it might be a good idea to remove this fan, and replace it with a flex-a-lite electric unit mounted to the back of the radiator instead (if the fan unit and fan clutch were about the same price).

Anyone?  Thanks for the help!

Matt O.

2000 Nogaro S4, 77k miles.

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Matt,  there's a nice write-up with pictures for replacing the fan which you can find by searching the archive at Audiworld.com.

If I recall correctly, it requires removing a lot of stuff, including the front bumper.  I think the poster got a kit from someone

like SPP.  The kit allows you to mount the new fan inside the shroud behind the radiator.  It's a bit tricky though because there's

not a lot of room there, so it has to be mounted pretty carefully.  The good news is that the electric fans will draw less power, and

you can hook them directly into the aux fan circuit, or switch them manually if you prefer.

HTH!

Frank