Fan Shroud attacks radiator

[HHDLea]

I am curious if anyone has had this happen to them. I have 112000 miles on my truck and developed a antifreeze leak. Upon closer inspection it appears to be from the fan shroud. On the passenger side below the fan there is a part of the fan shroud that is protruded out slightly that has been rubbing against the radiator for some time. It finally wore thru.



It is a pin hole leak but a leak just the same. I am going to replace the radiator(looking for a good vendor),what are the forums thoughts on doing the water pump, thermostat and hoses at the same time? Six gallons of antifreeze, I dont want to have to do this again in the near future.

 

[JCasper]

Never heard of that one before.



If you haven't done AF I would replace it along with hoses. Not sure about the T-stat and pump. Depending on price it would be a good time to do it.

 

[SierraRam]

I had the exact thing happen to me on my 07. Ended up having to change it out while in the middle of the desert. It appears that the factory tucked in the outer flexible part of the shroud so that it was contacting the core and it rubbed a hole in it.

 

[MPletchetero]

The same thing happened to my 03. Since the radiator is aluminum,it can't be solder so the radiator shop use an epoxy to repair the pin hole. I had them pressurized the radiator to 20 psi for an hour. So far, it has'nt leak for 2 years and more than 45,000 miles. Radiator is more than $500 from a Dodge dealer. It only cost me $70 for the repair.

 

[SierraRam]

Dodge covered mine under warranty but gave me nothing for my labor. Was still happy that they made good on the $850 radiator.

 

[HHDLea]

Well everyone that sells the replacement radiators wants 500. 00 or more... They sure are proud of there product. I would suggest that everyone check there fan shrouds for this spot and try and cushion it or cut it out before they end up like myself and others.



I think I might try the epoxy method before I spend the $. Definitely a lot cheaper and seems to have worked for MPletchetero.....



I will post my results. Thanks guys and get the word out about this... ...

 

[rbattelle]

Oh yeah, this happens a lot with '03 trucks, and we've discussed it quite a bit. Here's a good thread on it.



Ryan

 

[JCasper]

I'm going to take a look at mine sometime soon.



Any chance you could post a pic of the problem area.

 

[HHDLea]

I will take one tomorrow and attempt to post it.

While laying under the front of the truck, the area is on the passenger side about two inches below the opening for the fan. It appears to be were the shroud hooks together. If you pull the shroud back with your fingers you should be able to see it.

 

[rbattelle]

Just pull the shroud back from the radiator underneath and look real closely in there for any rub marks on the radiator. If you don't see any, you're good.

Ryan

 

[InfernoB]

Mileage and years... You may check this out at Cummins.

Free Thermostat with Purchase of Genuine Cummins Water Pump and Belt