John,

You should get a new mechanic. This guy saved you a whopping $25 by not
replacing the bad fan switch, but put you at risk for having to get a new
$450 fan. The fan is supposed to come on when the coolant in the radiator
reaches a certain temperature (somewhere around 80C to 90C, depending on the
switch). This usually only happens when you're sitting in traffic idleing
the engine. When you're moving, air movement over the radiator is enough to
keep things cool.

You should get the fan switch replaced and have the fan motor checked out.
Chances are the fan is OK and just gets noisy because it's getting really
hot from running all the time. Normally, the fan just stays on for a minute
or two at a time.

Mark McCulley

At 06:38 AM 5/27/98 -0400, jhlauterbach wrote:
>When I purchased my '84 Vanagon last year, the mechanic set the fan to run
>continuously to avoid a bad fan switch.  When the fan gets hot in the 90+
>degree Georgia heat, it slows down at gets noisy.  When is the fan supposed
>to go on if the fan switch is working correctly?  Has anyone figured out a
>way to avoid the $459 price tag of a new fan?
>
>John in Middle Georgia
>