Fanblades through radiiator of Prado

Gday pop a good question which ive thought of myself and done a bit of long distance wet stuff but should bagging be req providing the cooling system is in good working order the fan should be capable of keeping things cool as bagging is ussually only req whilst at low speed as fan blades are ussually only broken by hitting the water too fast Cheers

I have thought about replacing the engine driven fan with a couple of electric fans, as a mate has done on his MU, might gain a little bit of power as well. But I keep forgetting about it as we do not see much wet stuff here in SE Qld.
Cheers Bruce.

Hey Poppyg2

Im looking at a bash plate (going to get it from Total traction here in Adel but it is out of ATS in Gelong I think) which runs from the Toyota bar back to the first fuel tank. It has the hols located o drian oils etc and acts like a bag in the wet as well as deflecting rocks on the tracks.

Around $1100 installed willl ad some weight but i thinks it's worth it.

TM2CW

Regards Trevor

Poppy

To stop fan blades from sucking in and cutting a hole in the radiator, fit a section WOVEN MESH against the radiator core between the cowling and the core.

Cheers

Willem (on George's computer)

the fan doesn't actually drive foreward thru the water. The radiator core temporarity blocks with water and the fan drives foreward thru the vacuum that is created - apparently?

I had to engage an engineer to prove this for an insurance claim a while back. I won.

Screening with either of the above methods will work - willem's being the more permanent method.

In my motor sport (rallying) days- we fitted a section of about 25mm square steell mesh flush onto the back of the radiator.This saved cavitation of the fan into the radiator while hitting creek crossings at high speed.

Yeah Kia I know it sounds dodgy.

This engineer does forensic examinations for the insurance industry, and explained the phenomenon as if it happens everyday.

Fan in a shroud, and an area of low pressure forms in front of the fan when the radiator core gets temporarily blocked by the water. Fan still spinning and draws itself forward through the air and impacts the radiator.

Did my radiator in that way once, expensive, inconvenient and embarrassing.

Obviously you aren't going to be driving through when everythings hot, are you ? Otherwise you'll end up with water in your greasy bits. So take a rest to let things cool before entering.

One solution appears to be to have a hole drilled into one of the fan blades, and tie it to the chassis before entering with some stout string. Since the viscus fan shouldn't be engaged as the engine isn't very hot, there is no need for the fan.

I've never tried it, but others assure me it works.
The mesh between them sounds good to me.

Hi again. Thanks for all the suggestions about stopping the fan blades going thru the radiator of the Prado, I have a lot to ponder to prevent another expensive mistake. PoppyG

So is it a speed thing ?? If you poke through slowly is it still likely to happen. I ask this as my Prado goes to the Cape very soon.

Preparing a vehicle to drive through water deeper than wheel depth is a straightforward process. The key is to avoid water coming in through the radiator and/or up into the engine bay.

Most if not all modern 4WD have a viscout coupled fan that has plastic blades and these will flex when water hits them resulting in damage to the radiator. As the viscous coupling works when the oil is hot then the first thing to do is allow the vehicle to cool a little whilst you prepare for a water crossing.

If you are not going to fit a blind then take a piece of strong cord and tie it around where a fan blade connects to the hub of the coupling. There is normally a notch where the blade and hub join so it makes things easier. Fix the other end to something strong like and engine lifting point in the engine bay and make sure the chord does not foul anything. This prevents the fan from freewheeling and reduces the risk of the blades spinning and geting bent into the radiator by water.

Turn the engine on, engage low range second gear then drive through the water at a pace that puts out a bow wave. Too fast and you still end up with problems. Get to the other side, switch off the engine remove the chord and move on again.

I hope that explains the process we train people to

Regards

RobA