TR2/3/3A Tr3 Radiator fan loose

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #1

I was checking out my cooling system, after installing my electric fan.
My stock 4 blade fan is loose!
It looks like the rubber bushings are falling apart.
I sure wish I replaced them when I had the radiator out.......
Can the fan be removed with the radiator in?
Looks like the bolts are too long, and will hit the radiator.
Maybe if I loosen the radiator?
Any thoughts?
Lyle

 

kodanja

Obi Wan

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #2

sounds like ya gotta take the radiator out :frown:

 

bgbassplyr

Darth Vader

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #3

You might take the top hose loose, loosen and pop the top rad supports from the brackets, loosen the bottom rad attachment bolts and get the rad to tilt forward enough to get the fan bolts out.

If that doesn't get it, remove the bootm bolts and bottom hose and push the bottom of the rad forward ntil clearence is acheived. This is not much less than removing the rad, but a little.

Jim

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #4

Thanks for the replies.
I will drive it for awhile until I get some time to work on it.
I don't want to have to take the front apron off!
So I will loosen stuff first and try it that way.
The fan was tight & the bushings seemed to be OK.........
Always something.
Lyle

 

Geo Hahn

Yoda

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #5

You might want to lay off driving for a bit if the fan is wobbly loose. The aluminum blades can flex, work-harden & break.

I suppose this is rare, but it happenned to me last fall (TR4). A blade broke off and exited in the 11:00 direction. Missed all hoses, tstat etc and got to apply it's full force to the bonnet creating an 'outy' dent. Better than some aluminum bonnet Healeys I've heard of where the blade goes right thru.

At a minimum I would resist the habit of standing in the same plane as the fan when the engine is running.

I agree the fan can probably be replaced w/o removing the apron though it would seem to be a real knuckle-buster of a job.

 

M

mallard

Luke Skywalker

Offline

• May 3, 2009

• #6

I agree with Geo, I would not drive the car until the fan has been secured.

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #7

Took your advise, car is up on jack stands!
I bent the lock tabs back, and loosened the 4 hex bolts.
The rubber bushings are falling apart, so glad I noticed the loose fan!
I removed the bottom radiator mounting bolts and the top support rods.
Pushed the radiator as far forward as possible.......
<span style="font-weight: bold">No!</span> The bolts will not come out!!!!!
Thanks Triumph!

I don't want to take the whole front apron off....
Being lazy, I had to come up with another way.
Hey, the hole in the radiator!
If I could raise the radiator 1-1/2" the bolt could go through the hole and come out!
Drained the radiator, removed the top and bottom radiator hoses off the radiator.
Lifted the radiator and put a short piece of 2x4 under it.
Turned the crank until one bolt at a time would line up with the crank hole.......and out they came!

<span style="text-decoration: underline">The fan is off</span>!
The fan is fine no damage.
I will order the Moss #837-558 fan mounting Kit.
It comes with everything, including the balance part I am missing.
Lyle

 

prb51

Luke Skywalker

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #8

You might spend more time trying to do that than removing the apron. Any other jobs need doing while it's off?

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #9

I hope nothing else needs work in the front!
It took me about 2-1/2 hours to get the fan off.
The hardest part was getting the bolts out.
Now that I know how to do it, maybe 1-1/2 hour job.
I know taking the front off would be a 2 man job and take a lot longer. Plus scratching the paint is always a worry.
Hey, it's another way to replace just the fan.
Will follow up on the install.
Lyle

 

PeterK

Yoda

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #10

The apron is surprising light weight. I r&r'ed mine myself but getting it in alignment when I reinstalled it was a pita. If was just bolts out, bolts in, I would remove the apron. But there <span style="text-decoration: underline">are</span> a lot of bolts, and the crossbrace, etc. to contend with.

 

prb51

Luke Skywalker

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #11

Glad you got to it.
As above...my apron comes off in about 35-40 min and is a one man job. Hardest thing for me is the bumper not the apron...need 3 hands etc.

 

M

mallard

Luke Skywalker

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #12

And you thought the hole in the radiator was for starting the car, how silly. What a great idea from Triumph.

 

Geo Hahn

Yoda

Offline

• May 4, 2009

• #13

Well done. Not sure if you really need those balance pieces as they are meaningless unless you have the hub off and can slide them around to balance the hub/fan combination.

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 5, 2009

• #14

PeterK said:

The apron is surprising light weight. I r&r'ed mine myself but getting it in alignment when I reinstalled it was a pita. If was just bolts out, bolts in, I would remove the apron. But there <span style="text-decoration: underline">are</span> a lot of bolts, and the crossbrace, etc. to contend with.

Click to expand...

I have done it twice and agree taking it off is easier than putting it back on.
The crank support, bumper/supports, lights, fender beading, loosen fender bolts......
Not fun!
Lyle

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 5, 2009

• #15

Here is a picture of how much room I had to work with. Not too bad, I did all work from under the car.
Note the 2x4 under radiator.
The crank hole now is on center of the bolts.
Thanks Triumph for the duel purpose crank hole!
Waiting for parts.
Lyle

 

Attachments

• 
  16887.jpg

  81.3 KB · Views: 136

martx-5

Yoda

Offline

• May 5, 2009

• #16

The job of removing the apron can be made much easier if you pop rivet the beading onto the outer wing. You will have to loosen the bolts on the outer wing where it attaches to the inner wing (under the bonnet). This way you can spread the fenders (wings) out a bit so the beading will clear the apron. There's no more messing around with the beading, and it becomes an easy, one man job. I also run without the front bumper. :laugh:

 

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 5, 2009

• #17

Geo Hahn said:

Well done. Not sure if you really need those balance pieces as they are meaningless unless you have the hub off and can slide them around to balance the hub/fan combination.

Click to expand...

Thanks, being lazy and creative has it's good points.
About balancing, I was looking at the fan and thought about just balancing the fan. The hub is small diameter (not much rotating mass) and should be pretty concentric.
I pulled out my Go-Kart wheel/TR3 fan balancer.
Made up a bushing to fit the fan hub out of delrin.
The fan is out of balance for sure.
Lyle

 

Attachments

• 
  16888.jpg

  54.6 KB · Views: 133

OP

T

TruCraft

Jedi Hopeful

Offline

• May 9, 2009

• #18

Got my fan back on!
Working in such a tight place was a nightmare. The hard part was getting the bolts, washers, plates, locking tabs, balance weight all lined up.
But, everything looks good. Fan is tight and runs true. Also, no leaks from moving the radiator.

Yes, it can be done, but if you have any other problems with the front end, <span style="text-decoration: underline">I would pull the front apron and do everything at one time.</span>Replacing the fan would be a simple job with the apron off and radiator out of the way.

<span style="font-weight: bold">If you have the front apart, don't forget to replace the fan bushings!!</span>
Lyle

 

CDToaster

Freshman Member

Offline

• Sep 2, 2020

• #19

Hi Lyle, thanks for this informative thread. I'm swapping my 4 blade fan for a 6 blade Tropical Climate fan. While doing that, I'm also swapping the generator with a Dynator and also swapping the Moss water pump with a Flying Dugtchmen pump. With the pump, the horns, the crossmember, the generator, and the belt removed, and the radiator unbolted to facilitate changing the hoses, too, can the fan be lifted upwards and out? Thanks for the info!
Tony

 

parkerg1

Member

Offline

• Sep 2, 2020

• #20

Am I missing something here? If you have an electric fan, why are you putting the stock fan back on?



I just realized that this is an old post.