Engine Fan Broke By wire Tube?

[cramseyc]

My dad called this afternoon and said that a "wire tube" came loose from near the radiator and got into the fan and broke a blade. Also ripped up some wires(fan clutch?). This is on his '06 3500 six speed 4x4 dually 4 door. I don't know anything else, but I'm the first person that he calls with issues and just thought I might fish for some ideas if others have had a problem like this. I won't be back his way for another week and a half, so he might have to take to the local mechanic anyway. Any ideas on if he could drive it around locally if the clutch is unhooked? Maybe get by till I'm home if he doesn't work it?

 

[MQuirin]

Unfortunately, this is all too common. Secure the wires and parts out of the way and it can be driven. It's winter, so over-heating isn't likely, but I would be be concerned about the unbalanced fan causing problems. A new fan and repair of the wiring will solve the problem.

 

[Mikey-KE7LBB]

A friend of mine had the fan clutch wires ripped out of his 07 mega and didn't notice any problems until he towed a horse trailer over Pequop Pass near Wells NV in July. It happened about a month before that when he went through a creek with about 2' of swift water.

The truck stayed cool even in summer as long as he stayed moving. It shouldn't be an issue this time of year unless he tows heavy or leaves it running for long periods.

As far as balance issues with a broken blade, the fan doesn't engage unless the ECM tells it to. To be on the safe side, the fan should be removed. Just remember that the nut on the fan hub is reverse of the 89-02 and is right hand thread.

Most of the auto part stores like Autozone and Checker have tools that you can rent to remove the old fan or just a plain cresent wrench and prybar will do the trick also.

 

[MLee]

Are the third gen truck fans made of plastic? It seams they are.

There has been a failure rate on the newer GM's of the blades breaking. and destroying the hoses and some cases the radiators. GM is looking into the situation. That replacement part is not kepped in inventories. So is Dodge/Cummins in for a sedge of fan failure?

 

[cramseyc]

Thanks for the input, I will pass this on to my dad so he can get by till I'm home to fix the wiring right. Any suggestions on where to get a replacement fan? Also MQuirin you said this was common, is there something that needs to be updated or upgraded to keep this from happening again. After I talked to my dad about it again last night he said he couldn't figure out what caused it to happen. I'm not to familiar with the 3rd gens yet. He just bought the truck last spring and I haven't done much more than drive it.

 

[GCroyle]

Aftermarket option.



Take a look at Geno's they have the fan clutch for the 3rd Gen listed. It is the Dorman brand. Dorman brings a lot of hard to find, expensive dealer only, can't get it elsewhere parts to market. I'm sorta hoping they look hard at our power seat motors someday myself.

 

[jrgough]

I wish someone would figure out a way to wire a switch in the fan circuit to turn it off when going through water, then when your on the other side you turn it back on

 

[cramseyc]

I'm back at my parents place now. In order to fix the wiring damage, which is entirely on the fan clutch pigtail, I will have to figure out where to get more pins for inside the connector, any ideas? I might just break down and buy the fan clutch, but you can buy a lot of wire solder and heat shrink for $200. Also I need to get the fan itself, is Dodge the only place to buy one, does any one else sell them?

 

[cramseyc]

quick note, bought new clutch from Genos and fan blade from Mopar wholesale. re-assembled,

thanks for help

 

[cramseyc]

I don't know if anyone is still following this, maybe I'll start a new thread if I don't get much response.

Anyway it happened again with the new parts! less than 500 miles later. I thought that I had everything together correct but something else must be wrong. Any ideas on why its doing this? Only common denominator is that my younger sisters were the last ones to drive the truck when discovered. Unloaded short trips(<7mi) when it happens.

 

[MQuirin]

Maybe the fan shroud or some other support is loose and allowing the assembly to move around.

 

[meanmatt]

I would take a good look at your fan hub bearings . and moter mounts . Something is out of line , or moving out of line under load . Since that clutch is wired through the shroud either of these would effect the position of where the fan is in relation to the shroud.

The fleet I maintain has some new M2. s with the 6. 7 the fan cluch is electric. looks just lik an a/c compressor clutch . No failures at all on any of the trucks . The nice part is all the wires are on the engine side away from the fan blades, also its 100% on or off non of this varialbe crap . Maybe someone with extra time on their hands will look into adapting this clutch to Dodge trucks .

 

[cramseyc]

Things were great with the second replacement clutch until a month ago then it happened again. We just took the fan and clutch off and will run it that way until we get it fixed. This is getting pretty anoying, I'm still unsure why this is happening, anyone out there in the know about thease failures?

 

[HBarlow]

I don't remember ever reading another report of that problem by another TDR member. Has that truck experienced collision damage to the front end? Has the radiator been removed and replaced previously?

 

[jrgough]

We need some to find out the wire to put a toggle switch inline to cut the fan motor off when we cross a water hazard then turn right back on. This would help with the most cause of this problem and that is when the water pushes the fan into the blades. just my 2 cents

 

[cramseyc]

Sorry its been awhile since I checked this. As far as I know nothing has been done to the front body/radiator. My Dad purchased the truck used at around 100k from a Wisconsin dealer who said it came from Texas. It now has around 120k. I have seen some other postings online (not for sure if on the TDR site) of simular problems. Maybe it is just clutch failures like my dad thinks, but the odds are against that, I think?

 

[JStankus]

I don't remember ever reading another report of that problem by another TDR member. Has that truck experienced collision damage to the front end? Has the radiator been removed and replaced previously?

There are several accounts of the wires getting eaten by the fan, as well as outright fan clutch failures. My 2003 had just the clutch failure, only was an issue when the AC wouldn't cool at very low speeds. Only time had even a start of an overheat condition was climbing a long slow grade in Colorado after idling in 10 mph town traffic. Replaced the clutch and it has been fine ever since.



John

San Antonio, TX

2003 Ram 2500 QC 2WD <--soon to be for sale

2005 Ram 2500 QC 2WD

 

[AABEN]

You can try the JUNK yards. I hope you find what you need.

 

[HBarlow]

There are several accounts of the wires getting eaten by the fan, as well as outright fan clutch failures. My 2003 had just the clutch failure, only was an issue when the AC wouldn't cool at very low speeds. Only time had even a start of an overheat condition was climbing a long slow grade in Colorado after idling in 10 mph town traffic. Replaced the clutch and it has been fine ever since.

John
San Antonio, TX
2003 Ram 2500 QC 2WD <--soon to be for sale
2005 Ram 2500 QC 2WD

My 2006 had 230k miles on the odometer when I sold it. I never experienced either but did have a friend who owned a 2005 who had wires get in his fan.

He lives in central Illinois and had had Scheid Diesel replace his exhaust manifold gaskets. The mechanic forgot to reconnect the wiring harness that powers the fan clutch or ac compressor, don't remember which now, after the repair and he experienced overheating and wires in the fan.

Fan clutches can fail with high mileage but wiring harnesses don't get in contact with the cooling fan on an unmolested truck.

 

[cerberusiam]

wiring harnesses don't get in contact with the cooling fan on an unmolested truck.

Unfortunately they do, for a variety of reasons. The guys that run in a lot of mud\snow\slush or laying in water frequently have issues. The flying debris always seem to find their way into the fan and shroud and beat the tube loose.



The tube is only held in place by a single bolt on the the lower shroud mount. Since it is hard mounted to the engine virations can and do play havoc with the welds and bolt tightness. It doesn't take much slack and the tube will get eaten by the fan.