EricCR Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 Hi folks, I was replacing my radiator and took the chance to clean everything I could while the old radiator was out. The fan was black with soot and once I cleaned it I saw about 3 small cracks, the biggest one (pictured) is probably half an inch. Given that these cars use a fan clutch which exerts a lot more force on the blades than electric fans, should I replace it or is this a non-issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamperDan Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, EricCR said: Hi folks, I was replacing my radiator and took the chance to clean everything I could while the old radiator was out. The fan was black with soot and once I cleaned it I saw about 3 small cracks, the biggest one (pictured) is probably half an inch. Given that these cars use a fan clutch which exerts a lot more force on the blades than electric fans, should I replace it or is this a non-issue? I think it's best to just replace it, you wouldn't want this possibly ruining your new radiator. I'm just saying. Chris. Edited November 27, 2023 by CamperDan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricCR Posted November 27, 2023 Author Share Posted November 27, 2023 Sigh... I guess you are right, and I just checked and the blades are only $40 @ rockauto. The annoying thing is that I only noticed only after I put everything back together so that means another mess in the garage and more wasted coolant. The more I look at that photo, the more it's clear that big crack goes all the way through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R50JR Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 2 hours ago, EricCR said: Sigh... I guess you are right, and I just checked and the blades are only $40 @ rockauto. The annoying thing is that I only noticed only after I put everything back together so that means another mess in the garage and more wasted coolant. The more I look at that photo, the more it's clear that big crack goes all the way through. The cracks on the fan are common. All of us have/had them but I have never seen a fan fail from the cracks. You definitely do not need to drain any coolant to replace the fan. Just remove the bottom shroud and the fan should come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strato_54 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 My 97 had it, 1 full crack and it never let go. I ended up removing it in favour of electric fans. That looks better than what I had, but still wouldn't put my full trust into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dbot Posted December 2, 2023 Share Posted December 2, 2023 I ain't proud to say it, but I've had cracks on my fan ever since I bought the rig in 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricCR Posted December 4, 2023 Author Share Posted December 4, 2023 Ok then, perhaps it isn't that bad then. Thank you, guys. I'll order a new fan before things become NLA. I also bought the original plastic skid plate only to realize that out of the 9 screws that hold it in place, 6 rusted out and broke who knows how many years ago. It's been a real fight to drill new holes to get that damn thing attached. Oh, I also ran my VIN through carfax and it turns out my Pathy had at least 4 owners in the US, so I'm the 6th overall. It had a cluster replaced by the last US owner, which magically removed 20k miles off its history, lol (instead of 140k it apparently has 160k, which is still on the low-ish side). I'm actually surprised this thing is in such a good shape given how often it changed hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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