Can the fan hit the radiator...

[Mike Stevens]

YES, it can!

We went out for a drive today (as it was Drive it Day), and on the way back I was giving the car a bit of wellie up the A34 and I heard a 'brrrp' noise, which I thought was me driving over the cat's eyes. On return home I found that although the engine was running, the fan was not.

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In the 2nd picture you can see where one fan blade has got caught behind the bottom lip of the radiator. Before this mishap, the gap between fan and radiator was around 1cm, (or 1/2" for us oldies!) ,so the blades must have moved forward quite some way. When hot, they were pretty flexible. Now, when cold, some are pretty distorted and 'graunched'.

At the time, I had just dropped into direct top to overtake something, so was probably doing in excess of 3500RPM. However, the viscous coupling should have limited the fan RPM to a lower figure (~1500RPM?) so increasing the engine speed above that shouldn't have made any difference to fan speed? In which case, why did it happen then?

We drove about 10 miles in this state - with the fan stuck - with no over heating problems and although there was some water leakage, I had only just topped up the VMAD header tank, so I'm hoping it was excess from that.

So, what do the experts think is the best way forward? I'm hoping I can recover the radiator - it was ~£200 worth new last October! The fan obviously needs replacing and having driven 10 miles with the fan stuck can't have done the coupling any good either, so maybe that needs replacing too.

Although the car is an early Mk2, the fan is a Mk1 (the type with studs on the viscous coupling rather than bolts through). Should I replace with all new Mk1 parts, upgrade to Mk2 or lose the fan completely and buy an electric 'pusher'? The latter should get rid of any fan to radiator clearance issues, but I have to admit to being keen to keep the engine one...

Apart from that, the 50 odd miles we drove this afternoon was totally trouble free and I enjoyed the weaving road across the Downs between Wantage and Hungerford. This is the longest single trip I've driven since the complete restoration which was finished last summer - and I was beginning to build up some more confidence in the car!

Cheers,
Mike.

[martin]

Hiya Mike, it looks as if you've caught it in time with minimal damage, probably worth investigating whether you have soft engine mountings. Not quite clear what's happened, the fan body should enclose most of the VC, could you have fitted it backwards, hence moving the fan too far forward ? Have a look at another members fan to compare, also check that the crank snout is the right length. Bad luck sir, but not critical. Don't lose the VC fan, old cars, belt and braces etc. Bob Heritage is a bit of an expert in these things, perhaps he'll come on. Martin.

[Mike Stevens]

Hi Martin,

Thanks for the thoughts. My thoughts entirely with the VC fan too.

The engine and gearbox mounts were all new last year, so hopefully are OK. If you look at the photos, especially no3, you can see that only the tips of the fans hit the radiator suggesting they flexed. Maybe it's a combination of flexing blades and moving engine!

When I can summon up the enthusiasm, I will remove the radiator (again!) and see what's what. Maybe tomorrow night.

Cheers,
Mike.

[DJT]

That's a bummer Mike. The VC should slip around 2850, but at a guess it may be partially locked. Mk1 VCs may no longer be available, so changing to Mk2 may be your only option if you want to keep the engine fan.

[Mike Stevens]

Hi Dave,

Having looked around at the suppliers, I came to that conclusion too. The 'brothers' sell a kit to convert (fan, coupling, PAS pulley), but it's out of stock until June - and I have a rally to go to in 3 weeks!

Thanks for the thought.

Cheers,
Mike.

[Staggard]

I just had a look at mine which is a Mk2 so I don't know if it's different but the VC sits inside the fan blades you can't see it as you can with your's so I would suggest the blades are the wrong way round. others will confirm or not as the case may be.

[Mike Stevens]

I just had a look at mine which is a Mk2 so I don't know if it's different but the VC sits inside the fan blades you can't see it as you can with your's so I would suggest the blades are the wrong way round. others will confirm or not as the case may be.

That's a very interesting idea. It was all put together rather rapidly last July as we began to run out of time before the wedding - see magazine last November!

Maybe I'll go and drain it and remove the radiator tonight!

Thanks!

Cheers,
Mike.

[martin]

If the VC seizes, the blades will be sucked forwards into the rad, it could be that's what happened, and the impact at the bottom free'd it. I still think it was fitted backwards, SOooo easy to do. M.

[Staggard]

picture may help IMG_0360.jpgIMG_0359.jpg

[jleyton]

Tough luck Mike but at least the damage isn't too much, or, hopefully, too costly.

When one of my four VCs broke, it went into the rad. Luckily, it didn't go into a core and I was able to straighten all the fins up ok and with a quick spray of black paint it was, almost, as good as new. At least you should be ok with your rad.

Mind you, your problem has made me think long and hard about my current VC which is getting pretty stiff - maybe time for VC number five which I have ready and waiting

Good luck.

Cheers

Julian

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[4x4]

If the rad needs repairs - Serck at Botley on the fringes of Oxford can do it.

Good luck,

Adrian,

[v8ken]

Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear your news,hope you soon get back on the road.
It happened to me a few months ago,but touch wood I with the help of some forum members and Rimmers,it has been cured.If you have a few minutes have a look at my thread ''fan ate rad''.
Regards Ken.

[v8ken]

Sorry should have checked my own thread,doh'
search--New ''forum member'' had rad eaten by fan yesterday that's better..ken.

[Mike Stevens]

Thanks to all for the replies. I'm pretty sure the fan was the right way round. The Mk1, (used up 'til about LD24800) is quite different to the Mk2 version and really only goes one way round.

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The radiator is now out and the fan removed. As you can see from the pictures, it's made quite a mess of the fan and radiator. The radiator damage is mostly to the fins, but some of the internal tubes have been bent a bit. I'd better pressure test it before it goes back in. The first picture shows how the bottom lip on the radiator has bent with the force of the fan blade hitting it.

The fan is scrap I'm pretty sure, but the VC does seems OK. It has some resistance to spinning, spins about half a revolution before stopping and no play in the bearing. Interestingly, as I've got a lot of saloon spares, I looked at some of those fans. The later cars - before they used VCs - used a large, multi-bladed fan which has exactly the same fixings as the Mk1 Stag fan! So, until I can get all the bits to fix it properly, I'm going to try one of those. Yes, it is smaller, but my Stag has never oveheated yet (am I going to regret saying that?) and I'm only due to be doing short trips for a while anyway.

Of course, if the VC siezed up as Martin suggests, I'm not really going to be any better off....

The Radiator was rebuilt by Interpart (?), what was Serck in Reading. I don't really want to be going back there to pay more money only 6 months after the last time!

So, like Julian, I'm going to straighten the fins and give it another coat of black paint, pressure test it and put it back in the car. Until I can get all the bits to fix it properly that is!

Thanks everyone for their thoughts and ideas. And thanks Ken, I'll go and read your thread!
Cheers,
Mike.

[Westfaling]

Mike
I managed to put my Mk1 fan on backwards but the power steering pump belt wouldn't fit so I knew I had a problem.
It seems that there's no real evidence of what caused it in your case. Could it happen again? You've got new engine/gearbox mounts? Could this be another case of poor rubber quality ?
Nick