About a year and a half ago, I found out I needed to replace the radiator fan clutch and fan in my 88 LX 5.0. Went with one of those lower priced ebay items. The other day, I had to replace the harmonic balancer too- and I noticed that nearly new fan had several cracks nearly throughout it. "Made in China" sprawled along the side of it. Checked with an online retailer of fox parts, they want over $100 for a new OE Ford fan... Is there any happy medium in these things- not the self destruct within 2 yrs and not the big pinch on the wallet models? Has anyone else had changed out their radiator fans and are they still looking and performing well?
It should also be noted that I was also gone for 12 months and my wife barely even drove it during that time, so really its lifespan would have been much shorter and I would probably have found out the hard way how cheap that thing really was.
Right now I have the shredded up OE fan (on the "new" fan clutch) I replaced in there- because I trust that 20+ yr old OE ford fan over that dollar store special.
As if it wasn't enough- I also noticed the harmonic balancer was made in china too... I suppose it wont be long before I replace that as well. (Must make a mental note to replace it later down the road and to keep an eye on it)
I do understand you get what you pay for a lot of the time... I think I started this thing as more of a rant. I know what I must do - Especially considering how many RPM these things all can spin up to. It also takes money away from the other mustang I am trying to work on. *sigh*

 

Went through the exact same thing with the fan. NEVER had luck with the Chinese made stuff - it lasted less than a year. Decided to go electric after that. If you're going to stick with a clutch fan, OEM is the way to go. As for the harmonic balancer, guess that means you won't be getting a Professional Products one. IMO, go with a U.S. or Aussie produced part.

 

Yeah, and imagine a whole car made of these cheap products!!! - What makes it alarming with the fan though was how many cracks there were on it and how severe they were. You'd think this fan was never designed to even be in an active engine bay. As for the balancer- the whole process did not seem as bad as i was expecting. Just was annoying to have to remove the radiator shroud out of the way to fit, which isnt really that bad at all. And of course having the right tools helped So it may be sometime in the near future i'll give it another try with a more dependable producer. I always try my darnest to find US made products and of course they never really tell you on EvilBay, although I am more likely to ask in the future.

 

I bet it looked like the plastic "pulled away" or contracted along the crack (almost) to the depth of the metal hub it was attached or molded on to, right? Whereas the OEM one shows stress cracks, but not to the point of actually breaking on the surface unless it's really old or really bad . Least that's how the cheapie one I had looked compared to the OEM unit that came it supposedly was meant to replace. I even tried looking in the junk yard for Ranger or Aerostar fans in better shape because I think some of them can interchange, but don't quote me on that.

 

Yep, thats EXACTLY what happened with it. And the more i think about it, i'd rather get a $100 + fan than spend $35 + radiator and whatever else gets damaged should it 'splode in there.