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Funny Fan Blade Length

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S

Swiss Toni

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I'm wonder if anyone has come across this one?

The previous owner (or mechanic) has trimmed the water pump mount fan blades.

The clearance to the the upper fan shroud seems to be different. The current fan has had its blades trimmed to about 8" where they are about 11" on the new fan I bought.

I asked AH Spares (where I bought the new fan from) and they say they've not seen it.

I have to say on first glance the rad or the engine doesn't seem to have any special mounts, though I've not compared it to another one.
 

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The radiator brackets seem original on the pictures. The previous owner just trimmed the fan too short from what I think. On my car the clearance between the tip of the fan blades and the radiator shroud is less then one inch
 
Thanks for the thoughts.

The new fan has no chance to fit as the blades 3" longer and they'd hit the rad for sure.

I thought about engine mounts but everything (valve cover height, exhaust, transmissions) seems to be in the right place, but I could be wrong. Does some have a picture what they should look like?

Are there different water pump or pulley dimensions? Maybe it just sits closer and therefore less space?
 
You should get that temp gauge sending unit coil away from that area and put it back against the firewall where it belongs.
 
It appears the fan is too close to the radiator. The blades should be behind the tank, depending on the spacer you have between the fan and the water pump. Mine sits about 1/2 inch behind the tank, with a 3/4 inch spacer on the water pump, and a flexalite 415 fan blade. I suspect the fan you purchased will not require a spacer since it is made for the healey, like the texas cooler which I didn't need a spacer for. If it still will not clear the tank after you remove the old fan and find no spacer, then the motor is sitting too far forward. I measured 1 5/8 inch between the flat front of the water pump and the radiator face. Note that the texas cooler is a 14 inch diameter fan. I think the max diameter fan that will fit is 15 inch diameter. Perhaps the radiator is tilted rearward instead of forward? Hope this helps.....
 
Is the safety shroud mounted too low on the radiator tank? They are just soldered on. The top of the center of the shroud should be even with the top of the tank, Careful running the cut-down one. The balance can be destroyed when cutting them like this, leading to vibration or the fan actually breaking apart.
 
You need all the blade you can get to push the max amount of air. That loop thing you got going with the temperature tub belongs in the rear near the fire wall, away from the fan's blades. If the engine sits high, you should be able to see it in the way the water hoses line up with the radiator.
TH
 
healeyblue said:
check the motor mounts. Is the motor sitting higher than it should?
Click to expand...
I agree with healeyblue here you can find some photos - and a diagram (assuming that radiator are the corect one)
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770819864514987162/DropBox#5440793005833026850
and the supports must respect this diagram (with the engine on it)
here a photo of my engine bay with the same FAN that can be useful to confront to your measurement
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770819864514987162/AHWORKSAndUPGRADEProject#6009098221236010866
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770...MayJune2011endMayJune2013#5700892151949530370
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770...MayJune2011endMayJune2013#5715002124674917378
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770...MayJune2011endMayJune2013#5719299827843529714
Here with my webers at test you can see the correct FAN blades distance from the protection scroud
https://picasaweb.google.com/112770...MayJune2011endMayJune2013#5713882661113046258
Hope this can help
 
I just went through a similar problem installing a new rad on my BT7. Turns out that during a previous repair job the PO had changed the geometry of the mounting brackets. Check all the measurements on the engine side of things. I have my original radiator out of the car if you need detailed measurements on mounting brackets and dimensions.

Jim
 
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