Thread: Visco clutch
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  #11  
Old 06-18-2003, 12:18 PM
JimSmith JimSmith is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Woolwich, Maine
Posts: 3,598
Peter,

Where is the reservoir? I keep thinking the reservoir is in the center and get confused on how the fluid returns to the center.

I also can't figure out how the air in the clutch, when heated, drives the fluid out of the reservoir, especially during the filling operation, when the seal is open (with the pin removed) and the air has the option to just leave through this hole. My experience with Mother Nature is that if you offer a means to comply with the basic laws of physics that does no work for you, that is the path that Mother Nature will select.

Also, if you just fill it up and seal the hole the "valve" goes through, the viscous operation will function more or less the way it was intended, but you won't get the benefit of the fan freewheeling under certain conditions, provided the fluid does not decide it would like to change phase at the elevated under hood temperatures. As long as the torque transmission of the clutch is similar to the design value, this should not be dangerous or significantly affect your fuel mileage. So why not just thread the pin hole after filling and Lock-Tite a small screw in the hole? I would guess actually filling the unit with fluid will make the operation of the bimetallic valve actuator moot anyway.

So, how does this fluid get back to the reservoir anyway? Thanks, Jim
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1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
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Owned:
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