Broken landcruiser fan blades
Submitted: Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 14:19
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Andrew
I have noticed that my T/D 100s Landcruiser has three broken fan blades and a large score in the back of the radiator where a piece of fan or the blade or a piece of
rock or wood has become caught.
I was wondering if during a water crossing, water coming through the lower part of the radiator could cause the blades to flex and either break or hit the radiator because three blades breaking seems unusual.
Reply By: goodsy - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 14:57
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 14:57
I reckon thats exactly whats happened. Thats why some people tarp up before deep river crossings. Stops most water entering the engine bay via the radiator.
AnswerID:
11331
Reply By: Will - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:04
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:04
Andrew,
It is possible.
Although all literature indicates that fans with a clutch are not a problem, if the day is hot and the fan was actually engaged at the time of the crossing, when the first blades hit the water they bend back before the clutch disengages.
How far are the blades from the radiator?
Not long ago a guy on the LR Discovery group had the radiator destroyed by the fan as he was fording a river.
Will
AnswerID:
11333
Follow Up By: Will - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:10
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:10
Andrew,
When I said clutch I meant viscous coupling (which is a clutch)
Will
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Andrew - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:20
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:20
The tips of the blades (the few that remain) are about 5cm from the radiator at the tip. It is pretty easy to bend them towards the radiator but I am scared that I will break them. There is a score along the radiator that follows and arc and it could have come from a blade hitting the radiator. It seems to me that this is a design problem as the blades should have enough torsional rigidity not to do that to the radiator. Might need a new radiator as it looks as though this one is weaping a little.
Andrew
AnswerID:
11335
Reply By: Member - Mal - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:25
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 15:25
Another question for those with greater knowledge and experience than I : If one was to
check (with the engine off) that the fan blade could be turned by hand, i.e. the viscous coupling not engaged, could one then secure the blade with a piece of rope so it was unable to turn, then do the water crossing, freeing the blade once the crossing was complete?
Mal T.
AnswerID:
11336
Follow Up By: Will - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 16:13
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 16:13
Mal,
I do an even easier thing.
When I get to the
river crossing, if it is just a creek you don't worry but if it is a deeper substantial crossing you would have to walk the crossing anyway, so I turn the engine off and while I get ready and walk the crossing the engine, transmition and brakes are coolign down a little.
Then when I am ready to cross, I turn the engine on (the fan would be engaged) rev the engine to 1500rpm until you hear the fan go out (spin down) then I do the crossing....
Doing the crossing: Always at walking pace and with the lowes possible rpm (in my 4.2 patrol that is easy as it has a lot of torque) but smaller engines need a little more revs.
Will
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Follow Up By: Janset - Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 17:21
Wednesday, Jan 15, 2003 at 17:21
Hi there.
On my Troopie, I have a small hole drilled near the end of one of the fan blades. In the fan cover surrounding the fan at the top but still on the downward side of the cover in the direction of the fan rotation I have also drilled a small hole through which I have put a gutter bolt with a wing nut. Under this wing nut I attached a hook made out of a bicycle spoke that can swivel 180 degrees around under the wing nut.
The actual hook end I have left it about one and a half inches long and is a right angles to the shank, the part that goes back to the wing nut.
When I need to do a deeper crossing I loosen the wing nut and swing the hook around and slip the end of the inch and a half standing part through the small hole in the blade and that secures the blade from rotating.
The advantage with this set up is if for some reason the fan should suddenly engage, the standing part of the hook would spring out of the hole without causing and damage to any component. After the crossing, I un-clip the hook, swing it out of the way and re-tighten the wing nut.
Simple but very effective.
Regards
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Follow Up By: Member - Mal - Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 09:36
Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 09:36
Thanks Will and Janset. That is very helpful.
Mal T.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Cashy - Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 13:22
Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 13:22
Andrew,
It sounds like it broke in a water crossing. A friend of
mine put the fan through the radiator of his 2000 model 100 series diesel in the gulf. Toyota replaced it under warrantee as they said something about the fan blades being weaker then in the earlier models. I think there excuse was it is very few that go offroad so it is vcheaper to replace the ones that break then give better quality (more expensive) fans. It is worth contacting Toyota and trying to get them to fix it under warrantee.
Cashy
AnswerID:
11380
Reply By: Member - Bob - Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 13:31
Thursday, Jan 16, 2003 at 13:31
Andrew, very interesting thread. It sounds like a design fault, perhaps peculiar to turbo diesels where the intercooler, radiator and A/C all have to be squeezed into a limited space. This would mean limited space between the blades and the radiator core. Water will surround the fan blades (whether a fording tarp is used or not) starting at the bottom. Like a propellor, the blades will screw forwards and, if flexible enough, hit the radiator. You would expect damage caused by this mechanism to be arc shaped, level with the tip of the flexed blade, and on the downward part of the blades sweep (at about 4 or 5 o'clock if the fan spins clockwise). As each blade enters the rising water it would slash forwards and slow down until the clutch gave way. So maybe three or four blades would be all that would hit before the process stopped. Please let us know how you go getting reimbursed by Toyota.
AnswerID:
11381