I noticed this afternoon that my primary engine cooling fan starts spinning as soon as the starter starts turning. It seems to be spinning fast and moving air as if it were fully engaged even though the engine is dead cold. With the engine off, the fan has noticeable resistance to spinning in both directions.

Has anyone experienced a fan clutch failing while staying engaged? Is there something else that could be causing this that I could check out? Thanks.

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1987 300SDL-268k mi

These are filled with oil and some spinning even when the motor is cold is normal. With the engine shut off, it should be fairly easy to turn by hand with some resistance. If it is locked and won't turn, this is a problem.