Radiator Damage caused by Fan

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ShortyNavros

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Hey Guys,

So I have come across a problem which has stumped me. Basically I did a trip to the cape and destroyed two radiators because I had a busted transmission mount and whenever the car was in low range first gear the engine would torque up and smash into the top of the radiator and the shroud. Now I fixed this problem by replacing the transmission mounts and the radiator.

However, I still have damage on the new radiator which I put in, the damage this time is down low on the drivers side, whereas when the trans mount was gone, the damage was central and up high. When I was in Bamaga the local RACQ mechanics checked the engine mounts with a pry bar when it was on the hoist and said they were fine. I took it to my local mechanic and when we put it in first gear low and torqued the engine up the engine had a crazy amount of movement and so the mechanics said the engine mounts have to replaced, said maybe fuel/oil has got on the rubber and made it soft etc. Anyway $360 in genuine engine mounts and $250 in labour to get them in, the engine still has the same amount of movement as before, there was nothing wrong with the old engine mounts.

So the engine moves heaps but it seems like this is the norm. My fan clutch has a bit of axial play but not much, the radiator is mounted correctly but it may be a little larger than stock as I am sure it holds more coolant. The radiator has fins bent back but there is no leak, yet. I am really stumped, i could modify the mounts on the top of the radiator to pull it away from the engine but that only changes the top and the bottom drivers side is where the fan touches the radiator.

Does anyone have any ideas? The mechanics said they didn't know what else it could be. Ill try and upload a photo of the current radiator damage. When the engine torques up it wants to twist down towards the bottom drivers side of the radiator where the damage is.
 
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normally with worn or broken engine mounts the engine under load will only rock to the side not up or down in the front or rear, same goes for a broken transmission mount , it should caust the trans to move up atthe rear that much so the fan hit the radiator. sounds like your radiator is too close to the fan blade also checkthe play in the blade to make sure the cent hub is not buggered. how far is the radiator core from the fan blade ?
 
Yeah I didnt think there was anything wrong with the mounts, but it was the last thing left holding the engine which I hadnt replaced, and the mechanics were sure it had to be it. And trust me, a busted transmission mount was enough for the engine to tilt forward vertically and hammer a hole in the top of the radiator, I did it to two consecutive radiators in the same spot, as I didnt realise the mount was broken on the when i busted my first oem radiator.

There is amount 30mm clearance from the fan to the radiator at rest. The radiator can only mount in one spot as the bottom is secured by pegs which go into rubber grommets which then slot into holes in the chassis. The only thing could be if the aftermarket radiator had slightly different mounting points which meant the rear face of the radiator is slightly closer to the fan. Like I say this damage to the radiator has just bent the fins, it hasnt been enough to actually cause a hole in the radiator so it must be only slightly brushing the surface.
 
How much flex have the fan blades themselves got? Any cracking in the blades? There's not really a lot else it can be, unless that corner of the radiator sits closer than the rest of it to the fan. I couldn't tell you how much clearance mine has off the top of my head, but the fan blades sit roughly half way of the depth of the actual blades into the rear of the shroud (if that makes sense)

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just measured my d-22 radiator to fan clearance and its 60mm. i wonder if your fan is flexing from changes in rpms. i would say if you can,t move the radiator away from the fan you might need to modify the fan blades abit to give more clearance but then again if the center fan hub is also around the 30mm clearance theres really nothing you can do other than move the radiator away more.
 
yes it might be in perfect nick but its not in the correct area to the radiator at present, if you don,t do something about fixing this issue, you will be up for rad number 4. whats the core width of the new core ?
 
If you do a water crossing, when the fan is submersed in water the blades twist and will hit the radiator. Water bras or tying the fan to stop it spinning are common solutions.
 
If you do a water crossing, when the fan is submersed in water the blades twist and will hit the radiator. Water bras or tying the fan to stop it spinning are common solutions.
shorty has a clearance of only 30mm where the normal clearance should be 60mm.
 
30mm was a guess, not measured. Regardless it is mounted in the factory position with the factory mount tabs up top. Also this damage happened when I did the CREB track, there was two tiny water crossings which were like 100mm deep, I notiriced the damage before doing the daintree river crossing which was thigh deep. So this damage occured without the help of water. Also I know to enter the water slowly, I never hammer through it because I know you can push the fan through the radiator this way. I will get a proper measurement soon though.
 
I think the front of the fan is the same all over. Unsure, but is hard to tell unless you remove the shroud which means removing the top hose and coolant everywhere.

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