Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Check your fan!!!!!!!

[Woodenhead]

I was heading into town on Sat. and suddenly found I had no heat. After screwing with the heater controls for a few seconds I noticed the temp gauge was maxed out . I pulled over, shut down and watched the last gallon or so of coolant pour out the bottom of my rad.



Turns out a blade broke off my fan and wiped out my nine month old rad:{ . Upon closer inspection I noticed the blade that broke had a crack about 2/3's across the blade and another blade had a crack about 3/4" long. I never did find the other half of the blade.



When picking up my new fan and rad I found out this is a common problem and Dodge has an updated replacement fan.



Moral..... Inspect or better yet replace your fan today.



Regards

Mike

 

[illflem]

Blades breaking off is quite common if you block your cooling cores with something like cardboard right up against them with any place for air to flow besides the center of the fan.

What happens is every time a blade passes though the airflow it flexes a little till it finally breaks.

If yours broke without a poor man's winter front it is the first I've heard off.

 

[Woodenhead]

Good Call Illflem



I actually had the lund grill inserts installed at the time. Only had them in the grill and left the bumper open for some air flow. None the less it sounds like this is probably what caused my disaster.



Any recomendations on a winter front that might help avoid this problem?



Thanks

Mike

 

[Todd T]

if you dont tow during the winter months just pull your fan off.



that is what i do and have never had a problem with it running hot yet. i can drive in mid 60 degree weather without heating up. keep it behind your seat or in the tool box in case you need it. its easy to put on, no tools needed. althought i would torq it down at your first chance if you "field install" it.

 

[moparguy]

I've also ran without a fan the last couple of winters. If it's in the 20's, my truck can idle for as long as I want with no heat issues. However, if pulling a load at low speed, 5mph or so, for very far (few city blocks) and the temp is in the 40s up, I have to watch things.



If you use a homemade winter front with a fan, cut a hole the diameter of the fan in it, and center on the fan. You'll eliminate the flex problem Illflem mentioned.



I do recall one other mention of a fan blade failure, it was tdrmember, his working 3500 had 700,000 plus miles on it last I knew. He hasn't posted in a while, bet he's over 800k by now.

 

[illflem]

Mike, your Lund grill inserts shouldn't have caused a problem, the air flow behind them will equalize. It's only when you block the flow unevenly right up against the cooling cores that you have a problem. It is quite possible that someone else used a poor man's front if you bought the truck used. I've seen quite a few folks slip cardboard in-between the A/C core and the radiator leaving air flow at each side, this is what really stresses the fan blades.

I use Lunds and also run fanless.

Just make sure to disable the A/C if you remove the fan, it will come on in defrost mode and the core will ice up when you're not moving possibly causing A/C damage. Either pull the A/C breaker under the hood or follow these simple instructions http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/HVAC/Defrost_AC.htm

 

[CUMAPART]

At work we had a 92 W350 1 ton dump that had one of the fan blades break off that left its mark in the center of the hood. Nice big dimple sticking out. It never had a winter front on it or grioll inserts. Must have had a stress crack in it. No other damage except the ding in the hood. Weird?

 

[coldsteel]

I had a fan blade break off and take a chunk of radiator out. . so i was forced to remove my fan also... just out of the blue towing about 2 and a half tons of gravel... any recommendations on aftermarket type fans?

 

[grtescpa]

Originally posted by Todd T

if you dont tow during the winter months just pull your fan off.



that is what i do and have never had a problem with it running hot yet. i can drive in mid 60 degree weather without heating up. keep it behind your seat or in the tool box in case you need it. its easy to put on, no tools needed. althought i would torq it down at your first chance if you "field install" it.

What happens if your caught in a traffic jam?? Did this ever happen to you with the fan removed?

 

[moparguy]

My experience has been if it's cold (20's or 30's), no problem with extended periods of idling (such as you would encounter in traffic jams) if you're not pulling a load.



With that said, a lot of us members of the fanless club (as opposed to a club with no fans), live in rural area's where traffic jams amount to waiting for two trucks to clear the stop sign where the dirt road hits the paved state highway.



If caught in big city traffic while fanless, you can turn the heat and blower motor to high and lower a window. That will help get rid of excess heat.



If I were spending a lot of time in stop and go traffic though, I'd leave the fan on.



Good luck,



RJR

 

[jimk]

fan blades

The very reason I don't stand or look over a engine when it is running. Don't remember where I heard this but a guy was killed from a blade coming off and hit the poor guy. Just a idea. jimk

 

[Woodenhead]

Different Fan

FYI.



The new replacement fan from the Stealer is different from the stock fan. The replacement has raised ribs stamped into the blades to make them stiffer.



Regards

Mike

 

[Berrigan]

Re: fan blades

Originally posted by jimk

The very reason I don't stand or look over a engine when it is running. Don't remember where I heard this but a guy was killed from a blade coming off and hit the poor guy. Just a idea. jimk

I knew a guy who had an alternater come apart at idle. He lived but has bad scaring on his face. I guess anything could come apart and make shrapnel.

 

[Woodenhead]

Just in case you decide to check yours. The blade broke about 1/2-3/4" from the centre portion of the fan that the blades are riveted to. I'd post a pic but I'm having a hard time resizing the photo to below 32Meg while keeping it clear enough to be usefull.





Take Care

Mike