2019 Ford Ranger with 27,000 miles Fan Clutch harness broke

[TJC]

If that cheap rotting hose breaks on the engine side only, will that hose then be spinning with the fan clutch thing? If so it seems if may still take the wires with it even if zip tied to the 2 upper hoses. Those original plastic clamps are tight on that cheap hose which also hold the wires. Is there any point to completely separate the wire loom from the rotting hose and zip tie it to the upper 2 hoses alone?

It will attempt to spin, pulling the cable into the pulley and belt. Install a high quality hose and call it a day. Ford simply cheaped out.

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[airline tech]

If that cheap rotting hose breaks on the engine side only, will that hose then be spinning with the fan clutch thing? If so it seems if may still take the wires with it even if zip tied to the 2 upper hoses. Those original plastic clamps are tight on that cheap hose which also hold the wires. Is there any point to completely separate the wire loom from the rotting hose and zip tie it to the upper 2 hoses alone?

No not really, when the hose disconnects - it may rotate slightly - (friction) as its only riding on the shaft - (which is one of the reasons) I want to get one apart and see exactly how its attached.
But eventually it rotates down just enough for the wire harness to catch and hang up on the bolt heads, when that happens - it rips the harness apart - this is why its all in the dynamics of how far that sensor rotates when the hose disconnects dictates how much damage occurs.
1. Hose Only
2. Slight damage to the harness
3. Full harness ripped apart

 

[JalanX]

Ok thank you. Now I understand what is going on. It’s not a fast free spinning thing once broken. But sensor may start to rotate due to friction which can drag the wires lower to be compromised.

 

[RangerBill]

Ok thank you. Now I understand what is going on. It’s not a fast free spinning thing once broken. But sensor may start to rotate due to friction which can drag the wires lower to be compromised.

It will attempt to spin fast at the fan pulley speed, with the only thing holding it back is the wiring to the speed sensor/clutch solenoid. The hose is the only thing preventing rotation of the clutch. When it breaks, the wiring will be overstressed and pulled into the belt pulley and eventually break. Once the wires break, the clutch assembly will rotate at close to pulley speed as there is nothing preventing it from rotating anymore.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

Ford purchases this complete fan clutch assembly from Mahle. Mahle makes all kinds of this style sensing fan clutch for lots of other manufacturers. They all have some form of hose or support for the wires. So yes Ford installs these but the hose is a Mahle piece. It’s possible that Ford and Mahle have made a change to the hose quality since inception. And that newer year models may not experience this failure. I haven’t searched the posts for the year of vehicles for reported failures. Or they haven’t done squat seeing it’s not a production item anymore on the 6G’s. I changed mine out on my 03/22 build last year as a preventative measure and the OEM hose was fine with no signs of deterioration. It would be interesting to see the failure pattern as to year of vehicle.

 

[got3fords]

Ford purchases this complete fan clutch assembly from Mahle. Mahle makes all kinds of this style sensing fan clutch for lots of other manufacturers. They all have some form of hose or support for the wires. So yes Ford installs these but the hose is a Mahle piece. It’s possible that Ford and Mahle have made a change to the hose quality since inception. And that newer year models may not experience this failure. I haven’t searched the posts for the year of vehicles for reported failures. Or they haven’t done squat seeing it’s not a production item anymore on the 6G’s. I changed mine out on my 03/22 build last year as a preventative measure and the OEM hose was fine with no signs of deterioration. It would be interesting to see the failure pattern as to year of vehicle.

Mine still seemed in pretty good shape when I traded it in. It was a '21. I did put make shift reinforcement on it just in case.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Ford purchases this complete fan clutch assembly from Mahle. Mahle makes all kinds of this style sensing fan clutch for lots of other manufacturers. They all have some form of hose or support for the wires. So yes Ford installs these but the hose is a Mahle piece. It’s possible that Ford and Mahle have made a change to the hose quality since inception. And that newer year models may not experience this failure. I haven’t searched the posts for the year of vehicles for reported failures. Or they haven’t done squat seeing it’s not a production item anymore on the 6G’s. I changed mine out on my 03/22 build last year as a preventative measure and the OEM hose was fine with no signs of deterioration. It would be interesting to see the failure pattern as to year of vehicle.

Mine is fine and it’s a 2019, as is the OP’s. Maybe it’s a hot climate or low humidity thing.

Still, it shouldn’t be happening.

 

[TJC]

My mid year 2020 looked relatively OK until I flexed the hose at the contact points and found stress cracks.... did not see them until then.

It's cheap and easy to eliminate the risk. $10 is cheap insurance for a $3K repair. Same goes for the idler pulley snapping off the timing chain cover.

Keeps you from being stranded on the side of the road, and big repair bills...

 

[Titchadesh]

I’m bummed about OP’s experience with the hassle and cost involved, but super grateful it was shared with the forum as it prompted me to have a look at my own assembly and plan ahead to replace the hose regardless of what I found. I got an 18” piece of 3/8” fuel injector hose from AutoZone and brought out some clamps I already had at the house and then went out for a look. The hose was sheared off at engine side. Just glancing at it I wondered if it had been rubbing on the belt based on how close it was to it.

As you can see, the answer was “yes”……

…it was definitely rubbing on the belt. Needless to say I did not reuse the zip ties. Based on the shape of the new hose, I used 8” of it to make my new assembly.

The camera angle makes it look as though the clamps are too close to the harness and the back of the fan, but can assure there is plenty of clearance. The zip ties are a temporary solution until I can source some of those fancy swivel ties, and I placed them based on the harness’s natural shape and to minimize movement against the protective cover.

Add this experience to my growing list of reasons why I am super grateful for this forum and the knowledge shared here. This could have turned out very bad for me.

 

[TJC]

I’m bummed about OP’s experience with the hassle and cost involved, but super grateful it was shared with the forum as it prompted me to have a look at my own assembly and plan ahead to replace the hose regardless of what I found. I got an 18” piece of 3/8” fuel injector hose from AutoZone and brought out some clamps I already had at the house and then went out for a look. The hose was sheared off at engine side. Just glancing at it I wondered if it had been rubbing on the belt based on how close it was to it.

As you can see, the answer was “yes”……

…it was definitely rubbing on the belt. Needless to say I did not reuse the zip ties. Based on the shape of the new hose, I used 8” of it to make my new assembly.

The camera angle makes it look as though the clamps are too close to the harness and the back of the fan, but can assure there is plenty of clearance. The zip ties are a temporary solution until I can source some of those fancy swivel ties, and I placed them based on the harness’s natural shape and to minimize movement against the protective cover.

Add this experience to my growing list of reasons why I am super grateful for this forum and the knowledge shared here. This could have turned out very bad for me.

You did a great job!

I used a flexible silicone hose and shaped it to the same form as the original hose by inserting a 3" shorter section of 0.25" diameter soft copper tubing into hose, leaving 1.5" free on each end to allow some flex.

I then slit a length of 3/8" fuel line hose, placed the cable inside, and used 4 zip ties to reseal the hose, then 3 zip ties to secure the hose to the top of the Silicone hose. It has held up now for 4+ years. I don't care what it looks like, I only care that the cable is protected. I built it this way to protect against two possible failure modes.

1. The hose decaying, most common
   - The silicone hose solved this problem.
   
   
2. The idler pulley failure, less common but happens in my model year.
   - The second fuel hose over the cable solved that one. It also protects against a belt failure.

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