2002 Ford Thunderbird Hydraulic Fan Pump Actuator Solenoid XW4Z3783CA

biddle

biddle

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Thunderbird Year
2003
Hydraulic Fan Pump Actuator Solenoid Lincoln LS Thunderbird NEWTO OEM XW4Z3783CA

There is a solenoid on the hydraulic fan pump that the pcm controls to speed up the cooling fan,
they do go bad after time, and miles.


Interchange Numbers: YW4Z-8C628-BA , YW4Z8C628BA , XW4Z3783CA

Ebay Purchase Link-


XW4Z3783CA-Solenoid.jpg
 
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Good thread about hydraulic cooling fan conversion-
 
There has been a change in a cooling problem with my car. Now I’m wondering if others have experienced something similar.

I posted earlier about cooling issues on my 2002 (with 73,000 original owner miles) related to failure of the fan actuator. A problem many have had also judging from other posts here. Those posts relate attempting solutions including replacing the actuator ( now obsolete but available used on EBay) or replacing the hydraulic fan with an electric fan and controller like 2003-2005.

My question here- if you have experienced actuator failure have you also experienced the actuator reviving itself and functioning again as intended? If so does it eventually fail again right away? Can the odds be improved by cleaning the actuator solenoid mechanism?

I’m asking because my actuator did fail as confirmed by the OBC code reader which reported “actuator failed to respond.” After a few days of driving with the AC off I tried again with the AC on and now I have consistent performance from the actuator. The coolant temp stays just under the halfway mark. I have tested the performance with the AC on while climbing substantial hills and drives of 45 minutes but so far not in outdoor temps exceeding 72 degrees. But earlier it would overheat in 50 degree weather if the AC was on.

My 2002 is recently purchased (about a month ago) and was garaged for almost two years before I bought it except for a 100 mile drive from the owner’s home to his son’s home. It seems that perhaps the actuator became stuck or at best partially stuck during that time. And maybe driving again (only about 200 miles added by me so far) revived it through circulation of the fluid. Anyone else experience this? Has anyone got recommendations on cleaning or rehabbing the actuator?

Since I’d like to drive in hot weather I was already committed to an electric fan conversion but now wondering about the odds of a once again working actuator allowing me to wait and see. The graceful engine shutdown of this engine when in overheating mode seems to allow me a reasonable chance to see what happens. Made possible given that I have AAA coverage with 200 miles towing!
 
What I have been told by a retired ford mechanic that did work on T Birds in the early 2000s was that when the hydraulic fluid
gets low, or old you need to flush the hydraulic system, and install new fluid. As age, and contaminates enter the hydraulic
system these contaminates can get stuck in the actuator. If the actuator gets stuck for a long time it may burn the coil up.

In your case the actuator got un-stuck. I would flush the system before it happens again.

The retired ford mechanic also told me, never remove the hydraulic reservoir cap, only when you add fluid, every time
you take the cap off you are allowing dust and dirt to get in the system.

What he says must be true, because my now 20 year old T Bird still has the original hydraulic cooling fan system, and
it has been flawless. I have only removed the reservoir cap one time to add just a little fluid.

I also have a high mileage 129,933 miles 2002 Bird that I am keeping for parts, I start it and drive it some about once
a month. It still has the original hydraulic cooling fan, and it works perfect. It does not look like anything on it has
ever been replaced.
 
A trick is to remove the pin inside the actuator, the fan will run whenever the engine is running.
 
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A trick is to remove the pin inside the actuator, the fan will run whenever the engine is running.
I had to do that for a friends 2002 Bird a few years ago, his actuator went bad, we had to remove the actuator and fought with
the actuator to get the pin or small plunger out so his fan could run all the time. We got it out, and for right at two years
his Bird has never overheated. He is happy with the fan running all the time, not noisy.
 
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It's on the top right side of the engine. Maybe you can track it down using the wire colors which are Brown & Green/Yellow according to the diagram.

solenoid-thunderbird.jpg
 
Here is a photo of the fan hydraulic pump, the actuator is on the top edge close to the shock tower on the passenger side.

Hydraulic fan.jpg
 
Compañeros del grupo, estoy buscando sensor de la bomba de dirección hidráulica del TBIRD 2002, nuevo o reconstruido, si saben donde puedo conseguirlo agradecería su información,

Members of the group, I am looking for a TBIRD 2002 hydraulic steering pump sensor, new or rebuilt, if you know where I can get it, I would appreciate your information,
XW4Z3783CASENSOR DE LA BOMBA DE DIRECCION DE THUNDERBIRD 2002
Watch for one on eBay- Thread '2002 Ford Thunderbird Hydraulic Fan Pump Actuator Solenoid XW4Z3783CA


Subproceso '2002 Ford Thunderbird Actuador de bomba de ventilador hidráulico Solenoide XW4Z3783CA' https://www.ebay.com/sch/?kw=Hydrau...noid+Lincoln+LS+Thunderbird&campid=5338236430
 
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I had to do that for a friends 2002 Bird a few years ago, his actuator went bad, we had to remove the actuator and fought with
the actuator to get the pin or small plunger out so his fan could run all the time. We got it out, and for right at two years
his Bird has never overheated. He is happy with the fan running all the time, not noisy.
I think I may have a bad actuator and I'm going to pull it tomorrow. It looks impossible to find/buy a new replacement for it. I have been looking for part # "xw4z-3783-ca". I do see a used one on eBay, however, I am totally fine with your solution if I can do it. What tools did you need to remove the pin? Is the pin internal or is it visible from the outside? On the small metal end?
 
Not true. There is one listed today- https://www.ebay.com/sch/?kw=Hydrau...noid+Lincoln+LS+Thunderbird&campid=5338236430

Better get it, they are hard to find! On a side note, when you cannot find a part on ebay, do a "Saved Search".
I think you misread my comment. I stated that I found one on eBay, which is that one. I said I could not find a brand new one. I’m wondering if either adjusting the actuator solenoid pin, or removing it altogether like the other users have is a viable solution and how they went about removing the pin.

Here is a video demonstrating an adjustment to a hydraulic fan actuator solenoid, adjustment starts at 8:22. This is for a jeep but the part seems similar enough to reference it for the adjustment.

 
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I think you misread my comment. I stated that I found one on eBay, which is that one. I said I could not find a brand new one.
Yeah I didn't see that. That part has been discontinued over a decade ago. The car is 21+ years old.
 
Checking back in with everyone here to provide my experience and what solved this issue for me. This is not professional advice, I am not a certified mechanic, just a guy fixing his own car - 2002 model.

TL;DR: Pull the actuator, screw down the pin. Reinstall. Fixed, fan goes fast all the time. No more overheating.

Let me start by saying that the actuator can be removed from under the hood, but it is a very tight space.

After much trial and error, and almost stripping my actuator, this is what I can advise so that you can save the many headaches I went through. It took my at least a week of fighting with this thing, but I can now do the job in less than half an hour.
  1. Let the engine cool down completely.
  2. Unbolt the hydraulic fan fluid reservoir. It is bolted in with two different sized bolts, one 8mm and one 10mm. A standard ratchet and sockets will work fine for this step.
  3. Disconnect the back hose from the reservoir. Fluid will come out, try to catch it in a container to avoid spillage.
  4. Use something to block the opening to the top of the exposed hose and to the bottom of the reservoir in order to avoid dust and dirt from getting in the lines. Personally, I used paper shop towels.
  5. Move the reservoir up and towards the front off the vehicle, push the hose back and out off the way. Now you have a path to the actuator.
  6. Disconnect the the electrical plug connected to the actuator and tuck the wire out of the way.
  7. Use a 18" 120 tooth power torque ratchet (like this) with a T40 3/8 drive TORX bit attached to it to get the actuator to break free. THIS IS CRITICAL as the space is very tight, you will not have enough room to use a standard ratchet. You may be able to get one on there if you fight enough, but you will not have enough leverage to break it free. If you try to use the drill set up mentioned in the next step, before using the breaker bar, you may strip out the actuator.
  8. Use a drill connected to a long hex extension, connected to a right angle adapter (like this), fitted with a hex shank T40 TORX bit to unscrew the actuator the rest of the way. Do not use a flex adapter as they will likely bind up.
  9. Remove the actuator from the vehicle.
  10. On the actuator you will see an adjustment pin/screw that can be removed or adjusted with a flat head screw driver, tighten this down by adjusting the screw clockwise. It should be noted that removing this pin, as recommended in above posts, does absolutely nothing. I tried this entire process and ran the vehicle with the pin removed and my fan spun at ~300-400 RPM at all times, which resulted in overheating just like before.
  11. Reinstall the actuator going in reverse order of the above steps, be sure not to over-tighten the actuator with the power torque ratchet.
  12. Refill the hydraulic fan fluid reservoir to the designating lines using new ATF fluid.
  13. Start the car and measure your fan speed with a laser tachometer to see if the adjustment has made a difference. It should now be running somewhere in the range of 800-1600 RPM. It is not overly loud but there is a noticeable visual and audible difference when inspecting under the hood. Your car will no longer overheat, AC will be blowing cold - at least this is my experience and I've been driving it for a days, hundreds of miles now, in the Texas heat.
This is where the actuator is. You can see it with the plug still connected and a T40 bit connected to it:
IMG_6604.JPG

This is the actuator pulled and the tools I used. Note that I have a metal pipe enclosing the hex extension and most of the right angle attachment, I used this to help with grip.
IMG_6779.JPG
Here is another picture of the drill set up:
IMG_6772.JPG
 
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