Fan Shroud frustrations!!!!!!!!!

[Pakrat]

OK, so last week I took a working vacation to get some things done around the house with the idea that I would reserve Sunday for my car. Well, despite a surprise visit from the in-laws, I still managed to finally install a lot of stuff in my engine bay with my father in-laws help. I put on my new braided hose lines and finally installed a thermostat and even faked in the hoses that would normally go to the now yanked heater core. Last step to make it complete was to finally install that fan shroud I ordered like 2 years ago. I decided to remove the fan as opposed to the radiator and it actually went smooth and quickly. Of course as soon as I had it all bolted up I realized why the PO decided not to put one in. I can only assume that either the radiator sits a tad to high or the engine angle is off a bit because the blades rub against the bottom of the shroud and there is about a ¼ inch gap at the top. My father in-law suggests I either trim down all the fan blades or notch out almost the whole bottom half of the shroud. (Keep in mind, while he is very mechanically inclined and knowledgeable he is also a hack and will take the quick or cheap route over the correct one every time). I don’t like either of those solutions and chopping the shroud defeats its purpose. My thought is A) to just check and make sure the radiator is down as far it should/will go and if so, then to increase the length of the oval holes that the shroud screws into with my dremel by about an 1/8 of an inch so it aligns properly. It’s that or notch up the holes in the shroud which is easier to trim than metal but will require screws without washer heads to still fit in the recess and likely make a weaker but probably still sufficient connection.

Any other bright ideas out there or something I am overlooking? I’ve scuffed up the bottom of the shroud now by starting it and hoping for a self correction so I can’t return it and I hate to let it sit and not get used. What would you guys do?

 

[oz]

This may not be fun but do you know for a fact that the motor mounts are good?

I had a slight issue when I installed my rad, shroud and fan a couple of weeks ago. The lower hose would not go on unless I raised the radiator away from the frame. The radiator was less than the thickness of the hose from the bottom frame... I assume my car was hit or something but once it was all together, it all lined up.

I did have more than 1/4" total clearance thought. I used a 17" flex-a-lite 7 blade fan on mine. No clearance issues.

Godd luck.

 

[crushnut]

I realized why the PO decided not to put one in. I can only assume that either the radiator sits a tad to high or the engine angle is off a bit because the blades rub against the bottom of the shroud and there is about a ¼ inch gap at the top. My father in-law suggests I either trim down all the fan blades or notch out almost the whole bottom half of the shroud. (Keep in mind, while he is very mechanically inclined and knowledgeable he is also a hack and will take the quick or cheap route over the correct one every time). I don’t like either of those solutions and chopping the shroud defeats its purpose. What would you guys do?

I guess you dont want my advice, since i did both of the mentioned above.
Your father in-law and i must think the same way (actually it is your father in-law and my dad, but i wont get into that )
But since doing it i havent had a problem with it, my engine still cools penty enough and it doesnt hit the shroud any more.

 

[geegee]

When restoring my '65 I ran into similar problems. I bought a shroud, fitted it and had blade/shroud conflicts...must be damn reproduction shroud...got OEM shroud...no joy.

I finally checked the stampings on the fan to learn it was a '67 (five-blade assymetric flex fan). I had bought a Classic Auto Air aftermarket air conditioner and it came with a six-blade fan and shroud. I never tried it because it was added work and hey, everything on the a/c seemed okay.

As a last ditch effort I tried the CAA fan and lo, it worked perfectly! Not only that the a/c blew colder with better pressures than before. I was happy.

 

[Bonestock2k]

It sounds to me that appearance is the issue here so I would proceed along the path you've described. Keeping in mind that a minor trim on the shroud would prob only be visible or noticed by you. I do not have a shroud installed and my engine runs cool.

 

[NorCal66]

I had the same problem when I tried to put mine in... 17" flex-a-lite
The fan shroud I got is a pos anyways though, like an inch thick. =\

 

[Pakrat]

Well, my car does not have cooling issues either, I did buy it for appearance and correctness sake, and now that I have it I hate to not use it. I hate the idea of butchering the entire bottom on a brand new shroud, and if it does not have a complete circle around the blade exposing half in and half out, then it might as well not even be installed from what I understand because there is no suction created between it and the radiator. Plus it seems that If I did trim all the blades (6 of em) then I would end up with even more gap at the top. Making the 4 half inch long oval holes in the radiator 5/8 inch long seems the easiest solution. I will have to notch out the section of the shroud that goes over the bleeder valve though anyway since currently it sits right on it and won't drop the 1/8 inch needed on both sides if I don't. But that is a pretty small notch compared to removing the whole bottom half.

I hope the mounts aren't the issue, but if they were and I replaced them at a later date, I still won't have lost anything by making the holes on the radiator longer, I can just shift the whole thing back into position.

OK, guess I'm settled on that then, thanks for the feedback.

 

[WORTH]

Pak, measure the shrowd side to side and top to bottom and make sure it's round. then measure your fan blade, the blade should be 1 inch less than the fan opening in the shrowd. You may have the wrong blade, or they made the shrowd wrong.

 

[bnickel]

pak, i am faced with the same dilemna on mine, i beleive it is most likely a probelm with the repro shrouds. i'll probably end up modifying mine to make it work, although i'm not sure exactly how just yet

 

[Pakrat]

Pak, measure the shrowd side to side and top to bottom and make sure it's round. then measure your fan blade, the blade should be 1 inch less than the fan opening in the shrowd. You may have the wrong blade, or they made the shrowd wrong.

Well, the shroud is definitly round, no question there, but my fan blade is only about a half an inch less than the opening (doesn't look like any stock blade in my books, the fins have extra curved sections riveted on the end length wise). I will measure both tonight though for exact comparisons and try to take a pic of the blade.

So are you saying Worth that even if I nudge the shroud down to make an equal 1/8th all the way around that I will still have issues without the extra clearance? It's a tight fit, but so is almost everything really.

 

[Pakrat]

pak, i am faced with the same dilemna on mine, i beleive it is most likely a probelm with the repro shrouds. i'll probably end up modifying mine to make it work, although i'm not sure exactly how just yet

Yeah, I wanted the OEM, but it was out of stock and the repro was cheaper and claimed exact so I figured WTF. It is the thinest cheapest most flimsy thing I have laid eyes on though, that's for sure. Doesn't look at all like $50 worth of plastic to me.

I still think I'm on the best track of modding the holes in the radiator though and just making a tiny notch for the bleeder. It's not like a radiator is permanent or anything.

 

[Mach-One-Man]

Buy a 16" plastic puller fan from Summit for like $16.

 

[bnickel]

It is the thinest cheapest most flimsy thing I have laid eyes on though, that's for sure. Doesn't look at all like $50 worth of plastic to me.

i take it you have the 20" radiator then? mine has the 24" (factory ac) and it is fiberglass not plastic, so i have some more serious modding to do than you do. i hate grinding on fiberglass, especially in the summer, always have to wear a long sleeve shirt, jeans, gloves and goggles. nasty stuff

 

[WORTH]

Well, the shroud is definitly round, no question there, but my fan blade is only about a half an inch less than the opening (doesn't look like any stock blade in my books, the fins have extra curved sections riveted on the end length wise). I will measure both tonight though for exact comparisons and try to take a pic of the blade.

So are you saying Worth that even if I nudge the shroud down to make an equal 1/8th all the way around that I will still have issues without the extra clearance? It's a tight fit, but so is almost everything really.

YA, 1/8 isn't enough, your engine vibrates more than that. I would go 1/2" space, so 1" smaller blade or enlarge the shrowd, which ever is easier. I would do the blade.

 

[Pakrat]

YA, 1/8 isn't enough, your engine vibrates more than that. I would go 1/2" space, so 1" smaller blade or enlarge the shrowd, which ever is easier. I would do the blade.

Well, I measured the Blade, and it's right about 18". I then measured the round opening of the shrowd and it is about 18.5" from top to bottom and about 19" across, so it's not a completely round circle like I thought, but it does not appear warped or distorted at all and the hole line up fine with the radiator. Shouldn't it be the same all around?

I don't see how I can enlarge the opening of the shrowd that much, so it appears I will have to both center the shrowd as my original idea and shorten the blades, or by a 17" blade I guess. Sigh! Nothing is ever an easy bolt on it seams.

 

[Pakrat]

i take it you have the 20" radiator then? mine has the 24" (factory ac) and it is fiberglass not plastic, so i have some more serious modding to do than you do. i hate grinding on fiberglass, especially in the summer, always have to wear a long sleeve shirt, jeans, gloves and goggles. nasty stuff

Correct, no AC for me.

 

[WORTH]

Well, I measured the Blade, and it's right about 18". I then measured the round opening of the shrowd and it is about 18.5" from top to bottom and about 19" across, so it's not a completely round circle like I thought, but it does not appear warped or distorted at all and the hole line up fine with the radiator. Shouldn't it be the same all around?

I don't see how I can enlarge the opening of the shrowd that much, so it appears I will have to both center the shrowd as my original idea and shorten the blades, or by a 17" blade I guess. Sigh! Nothing is ever an easy bolt on it seams.

sounds like the shrowd needs to be trimmed, they made it wrong, or it warped.