Life in the mountains.... Emergency fix: broken cooling fan??

[skrufy]

Emergency Fix, substitute for '95 Disco I cooling fan??

Well, I had to change out my alternator today- a rather simple procedure: 3 wires, 2 bolts, one serpentine belt w/ tensioner to fool with...... the temperature was about 30F, sunny, no wind, so it was a pretty nice day to work outside......

The last thing to do to finish the job was to put the serpentine belt back on the alternator pulley, and then crank it up..... As I was holding a pull handle on the belt tensioner with one hand and setting the belt in place on the pulley(s) with the other, the socket slipped slightly, and I broke one of the blades on the 11 blade cooling fan down near the hub..... ....... age and temperature were part of this I think......

I have to make a long trip- about 3.5 hour drive, to catch a plane on Tuesday to take care of some emergency family medical issues back east.....

Anybody have any experience on this one?? hopefully some Ford/Chevy part that is cheaper, better, and most importantly, in stock at my local autoparts store Saturday morning......


Of course, LR uses an odd number of blades- an even number fix would be simple: cut off the opposite blade, and you're off and running with a balanced fan.... more or less.... The old number of blades, and the stagger in the position of the blades, probably makes the fan quieter. It vibrates like crazy now with the missing blade......

I thought of weighing the broken blade on my wifes cooking scale, and then finding the right number/mix of machine screws, washers to match the weight of the broken blade. Drill some holes along the aft edge of the fan hub, epoxy in the screws. There is only about 1/2 inch of the plastic aft edge of the hub available to play with, so the holes would have to be drilled there. The balance of the fan would then be fairly well preserved, at least at the hub...... I'm not an engineer, so I can't tell you what the consequence will be at the tips of the blades, irregular air flow, etc. Or is it foolish to even try this???

The soonest I can get a replacement part from somebody like British Pacific- bless their little hearts- will be Tuesday, more likely Wednesday.... we can't get anything delivered overnight here, too remote/ small an area.....

British Pacific has the fan for about $60, but also has the genuine LR fan at $245. Anybody know the make/part number of the substitute?? BP is closed for the weekend....

Of course, any thoughts, ideas, solutions, will be greatly appreciated....

Thanks-
Tim
Alpine, Az.

 

[Rich Lee]

Hi Tim

I bought a substtute all metal fan for my 91 classic Range Rover (3.9 motor). It works just fine, albeit a bit noisier at full speed. It should also work on most series 1 Discoverys.
It bolted right up, but was really close to the top of the fan housingon my Rangie, which I trimmed a little with my trusty leatherman. The Disco should have a little mor clearance. You canget it at most any Sherba's/Kragen/Pep boys, as it is a common Hayden part.

It is a Hayden/Imperial Flex Fan. The part Number is 220618 It was around $40

Good Luck,

Rich

 

[Pugsly]

emergency fix = disconnect the power from the AC fan clutch, turn the AC on, drive vehicle. watch temperature, and don't run the engine when the vehicle is not moving.

truth be told, a fan is nice to have but not necessary. As long as you watch your temps and turn off before you overheat you can get by without it.

My fan shattered in the middle of the desert in NW Nevada (skewering part of the radiator). with some help from the rest of the group we patched the radiator and drove out - it was at least 250-300 miles without a fan.

 

[andrewv]

Will it be in the 30's to wherever you're flying out of? If it's going to be cool, I'd just take the fan off and run without it until you can get it replaced.

 

[ptschram]

1: The range rover classic fan will not work as the pumps run in opposite directions as the serpentine belted engines.

2: DO NOT run the engine with that fan in place, it WILL destroy your water pump in no time (replaced a pump in April on a NBS Rangie, fan failed two weeks ago, two days later, client returns with collant spewing).

3: Run without a fan at your own risk.

Cooling systems on these trucks are not something to be meddled with-ask me how I know. Between the minimal cooling (your truck is a '95, right, many miles, likely, reduced efficiency in cooling is a good bet) and the poor temp gauges, it's a gamble I don't like to take.

 

[MNSUROVER]

I agree with Pugsly, just pull the fan off it and don't let it sit and idle for a long period of time. I drove my 95 D1 for a month this way when I first got it running. As long as the truck is moving and the AC fans work I never had a problem with it. We also did the same with a 97 D1. Both were salvage vehicles, the 97 hit in the front the 95 had an engine fire, and it just ended up being the last part to get fixed on both.

Just make sure to watch the temp incase it does get hot.

 

[skrufy]

Replacing th cooling fan- '95 Disco

I will put a new cooling fan in my Disco when it gets here in about 2 days- haven't had time to fool with it anyway, and another winter storm is on the way......

To remove the fan, I take it that the fan and the viscous clutch are removed as one assembly?? and all that is necessary is to loosen the big nut (maybe 27-30mm??) on the waterpump shaft and the whole assembly comes out??

Any tricks or hints or experiences would be greatly appreciated....... where is the A/C
relay- and component number( if you have it....) mentioned earlier in this thread if I need to yank my broken cooling fan and run with just the a/c fan going for a few days.....

Thanks, as usual, for all the knowledge so generously shared.....

Tim

 

[Axel]

You might also consider alternate transportation to the airport, rental car, cab etc., then replace your fan when you get back...... I can see doing an emergency repair to get home if I was stuck on the road and had to get home, but if the Disco is already sitting at home with a broken fan, I would simply wait until I got back, and fix it properly.

 

[Joey]

Run with out the fan....I do every winter... it will also save you a couple mpg...

As long as you are not in temps above 70 deg and sitting idling you will be fine...ask me how I know. I use my Disco as a daily driver and run around 2k per month min without the fan in the winter. And this includes city stop and go driving.... remember as long as the A/C fans are working properly if the temp gets too high they will kick in. Mine has never even kicked in yet. West Virginia mountains and city driving when I am in the city.

Just removing it.

 

[Black Mustache]

im with P.T.S. on this one- the water pump is not designed to spin with out the weight of the VC/ Fan. remember, it runs off centrifugal force, so throw off the weights and it should take a dump pretty quick.
for the guys running with no fan attached, i'd check that WP sooner than you think. ambient temps can keep it cool in the winter, but given the shitty cooling system design of these trucks, i would be terribly hesitant to get that same truck into the mountains in the summer.

 

[Milan]

If it has odd number of blades why not break off two more (in a triangular pattern) to balance out the fan? Otherwise I'd go with the no-fan + AC idea.

 

[Black Mustache]

...now yer thinking.

 

[ptschram]

If it has odd number of blades why not break off two more (in a triangular pattern) to balance out the fan? Otherwise I'd go with the no-fan + AC idea.

Why not? Because fans are far cheaper than the damage done by not doing it right.

I make my living by fixing broken Rovers. I don't need any more to fix because somebody tried to beat me at being a Cheap Bastard.

Just ask John and Kyle, they'll both tell you I'm the OCB.

 

[dirtyjim]

just call up summit racing & order a derale fan p/n DER-17917 $29.95.perfect fit

 

[Ron]

"Just ask John and Kyle, they'll both tell you I'm the OCB."

Ahem!

Run sans fan, 5 hours no biggy.

Ron