Broke Down on Southern Oregon Coast

Glennman · October 06, 2023, 06:32:12 PM

Sorry, I meant to put the quote to luvrbus (above) in a reply, not a quote!

Glennman · October 07, 2023, 07:22:53 PM

Boy, do I have my posts mixed up! Anyway, I don't think I mentioned in any of them that I found a steel rod about 1/4" across, 10 inches long and tapered to a point at one end. It was sitting upright in the fan shroud. It has to be what got stuck in the radiator, as it fits perfectly in the 2" deep hole in the upper right hand corner. How it got up there I have no idea. At first I thought that maybe it flew up off the road and got caught in the fan belt at the crank pully and got thrown upward into the radiator. Then I got to thinking that maybe it was left by someone on top of the radiator and it finally fell down into the fan. It's just crazy, but once it made the 2" hole, the blades would have hit it quite a few times before it finally dislodging and falling into the shroud. Who knows!

At any rate, I don't like the idea of putting an old fan back in, so unless I find a newer one, I'll put the one in that's coming from Fowler until I get it home, then I'll be searching for a new one.

dtcerrato · October 08, 2023, 06:26:12 AM

Bummer misfortune! We run an old fan off a parts bus and it serves us well. Hope a fast recovery for you. Better than being in the line of fire (bullet) me thinks.

luvrbus · October 08, 2023, 09:12:01 AM

You always raise the tail gate on a D to check the radiators, intercooler and fans mounting there are a lot of parts back there that can go crazy and cost you a bundle to repair when a $10 bearing goes out,a intercooler fan breaking can cost you $1500.00 (before CV-19) for a new intercooler

epretot · October 08, 2023, 03:17:11 PM

I'm going to have to inspect my fan/radiator components.

Glen and basically have the same bus.

Jim Blackwood · October 08, 2023, 04:36:46 PM

Ditto, but it all seems to be working and I hate to borrow trouble. What would be the important things to look at?

Jim

Glennman · October 08, 2023, 07:54:05 PM

For me a better understanding of the fan clutch system would be in order!

Jim Blackwood · October 09, 2023, 07:59:50 AM

That rod through the radiator is kinda weird. Any chance it could have been picked up by the fan and flung into the radiator? A screwdriver or ratchet extension or something left behind by accident

Jim

Boomer · October 11, 2023, 07:36:43 PM

Sorry, I got busy and forgot to get back to you. My fan is a 9 blade 34". Sounds like you are covered now anyway.

Glennman · October 11, 2023, 09:02:36 PM

Quote from: Boomer on October 11, 2023, 07:36:43 PM
Sorry, I got busy and forgot to get back to you. My fan is a 9 blade 34". Sounds like you are covered now anyway.

Thanks boomer! Mine is a 30" x 9 blade anyway. Take care...

Glennman · October 12, 2023, 09:53:53 PM

So, I got my new to me radiator in. It looks like it will be a perfect fit.

However, the fan (came from the same place) is different. The plate in center where it fits against the clutch is flat and the one off my bus is concave. That will put the new fan blades 1" further away from the radiator, and so likewise 1" further towards the rear hatch. Since I don't have the bus with me, I can't tell if it will hit anything being further into the rear, and the best I can tell from my pictures is that it shouldn't conflict with the belts or clutch. I'm hoping it won't affect cooling, as the fan blades will still travel within the plane of the shroud.

That being said, I'm going to go down anyway, as I have outdone my welcome at Face Rock Creamery in Bandon OR. It's about 9 hours there and I will have my pickup with us too. If it doesn't work, I'll be having it towed to one of the truck repair outfits in Roseburg OR from the list provided earlier in this thread.

Wish me luck!