First Place Trophy but.....................

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #1

I took the Midget to a local open car show and my car won 1st place in the Foreign Car Class. That was nice but I had a failure driving to the car show. Without any warning the fan and fan clutch assembly came loose from the water pump pulley and was hitting the radiator. I couldn't remove the fan & clutch assembly at the car show and stuffed a rag between the fan & radiator so no further damage would be done to the radiator. I limped the car home.

Has anyone with a 1500 Midget seen this problem? I'll remove the radiator and fan/fan clutch assembly this coming week to see if I can determine what part failed. If anyone has any information on why this failure occurred I would like to know. I can't determine what actually holds the clutch assembly to the water pump. I noticed that Moss or VB don't list a radiator for a 76 Midget. I may have to replace the radiator if the fan & clutch caused major damage to the radiator. It isn't leaking but the fins are really bent. I may also need to find a new or good used plastic fan. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

SilentUnicorn

Yoda

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #2

Never heard of that problem...did the fan and the clutch stay together? If so you may have had the tolerance ring fail. Number 57 https://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29280
this is what holds the clutch to the pump.

moss also has fans. As far as the radiator, take it to your local raditor shop and have them fix it for you.

mark

 

OP

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #3

Mark - The fan & clutch stayed together. They separated from the water pump shaft. I guess the Tolerance Ring holds the clutch assembly to the water pump shaft. I have never seen this type of assembly before. I don't think Moss or VB sells the plastic fans. I don't see it listed in their catalogs. I'll take the radiator to a local radiator shop. I hope that the core is available for the radiator so the radiator shop can solder it to my end caps. Thank you for the info.

 

SilentUnicorn

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #4

Here is the fan, it has to be a new item, they used to be unavailable https://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=46335

mark

 

JPSmit

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #5

I once had that happpen on the 401 in my 62 Meteor. The rad shop fixed it but I had a nice half moon pattern on the back of the rad till I sold it

 

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Phireman

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• Oct 1, 2006

• #6

I replaced the fan clutch and water pump this summer in my 1500. I also had the local shop renew my radiator. This ended my overheating problems. If you order a new fan clutch and pump you probably don't need to order the tolerance ring. My water pump had one on it from the factory so I have a spare. I ordered these parts from VB. I used a rubber mallet and socket to attach the clutch to the pump. It is a poor design, you must force the clutch onto the pump. A better solution would've been to take it to a machine shop to have them use a hydraulic press. I used a 160 degree thermostat for the summer months. I may switch to a 195 for the colder months ahead.

Sorry for your problem but glad you won forst place.

Marvin

 

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #7

Mark - wrong fan. My fan has many more blades on it. I think it is the same 13 blade fan used on Spitfires with the 1500cc engine.

Marvin - doesn't your MG have a 13 blade fan? It is a bad design. I'll take it apart today and see how bad the damage is to the radiator.

 

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Phireman

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #8

Tony,

Yes, mine has the 13 blade fan. When you reassemble and mount the shroud/radiator back in the car you’ll notice the top two bolts that hold the shroud to the car are adjustable and can slide up and down in their holder. I had a dickens of a time with this getting all lined up correctly. I ended up sticking a small piece of shrink wrap under the bolts to keep them in their uppermost position. My southern engineering tip of the day.

Marvin

 

Darwin

Jedi Knight

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #9

If it is the same fan blade spitbits has them here;https://www.spitbits.com/1500/1500cooling.htm

 

fmichaels

Jedi Knight

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #10

congrats tony ... can imagine you were a bit nervous when they asked to see the engine compartment! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif my response, "that's how they all look!"

 

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #11

Darwin - the 13 blade fan isn't available.
fmichaels - They asked me if all MGs had a rag stuffed between the fan and radiator. I told them what happened and they understood why I had a rag stuffed in there. I still beat out a Nissan Z, 2 VWs, and a tricked Honda.

I have attached a picture of the damage to the radiator. Not pretty. I have already disassembled the front of the engine. The radiator needs to be recored. I have ordered a new water pump and fan clutch. I can't tell why the tolerance ring came loose but it appears that the ring was loose on the water pump pulley shaft. I have also bid on a used plastic fan on Ebay since was really messed up.

 

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OP

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #12

It doesn't appear thet the download worked on the reply above. I'll try again.

 

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jlaird

Great Pumpkin

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #13

Oh that's lovely, modern art.

 

SilentUnicorn

Yoda

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #14

Hey! thats a Crop circle if ever i saw one.


mark

 

weewillie

Darth Vader

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #15

nice job, wouldn't want you to give me a haircut

 

Morris

Yoda

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #16

Hey Tbird Tony,

If you lose that auction, I have an extra fan sitting on my shelf I will gladly give you to make space. Just send me a PM if you still need it.

 

fmichaels

Jedi Knight

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• Oct 2, 2006

• #17

that's some nasty damage. lets hope your event was an isolated one. good luck on the repairs, looks kind of expensive overall.

 

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• Oct 3, 2006

• #18

Morris - I sent you a PM. Thank you very much.

fmichaels - I also hope that this is an isolated case. After looking at the parts I think that the water pump pulley shaft was worn (probably caused by the fan clutch assembly being taken off and re-installed by the previous owner). To ensure that this doesn't happen again I am replacing the water pump, fan clutch, & tolerance ring. I also need to repair or replace the radiator and the plastic fan.

Does anyone know anything about the radiators offered by VB? They list a new radiator for 1976 - 1979 Midgets for $159.95. Moss does not list a new radiator for the late model Midgets. Why would VB have a new radiator and Moss doesn't? The local radiator shop wants $260.00 to replace the core on my damaged radiator. Any thoughts on getting my radiator repaired vs a new radiator from VB? I would welcome you comments. Thanks.

 

Trevor Jessie

Yoda

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• Oct 3, 2006

• #19

I bought a radiator from VB for my 1970 Midget several years ago. It seems to be working fine, but it was not quite the correct shape and it did cause some fitting problems. I was not happy with the design, and I plan on having my original repaired and reinstalled someday. However, I do not know anything about the '76-'79 replacement units.

 

jlaird

Great Pumpkin

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• Oct 3, 2006

• #20

Both of our favorate companys parts lists are a bit different. Always check if one does not have the other just may.

Now if you want a real radiator, LOL.

https://www.rondavisradiators.com/Radiators.htm

And if you need to ask the price you can't afford one.