Broken fan - What Now

[Rubble]

Hi All I have an 04 Gen III.

Started getting a weird vibration through the entire car the other day. It was intermittent and did not matter if the car was moving or not. I suspected some sort of balance issue with the cooling system in the belt or the pulleys related to it. (Sorry I am not technical) The internet is a wonderful thing and soon I discovered posts with the same symptoms I was getting. All indications were that it was a cooling fan issue. Perhaps a crack or a piece breaking off the fan causing it to go out of balance. I got out the flashlight today and rotated the cooling fan and it took me approx 1 minute to discover a piece missing off the outside end of the fan blades. I am pretty sure this is the issue.



So....what now ?

If anyone of the viper experts can suggest the most efficient and cost effective solution to my problem I would appreciate it.

Thanks
Rubble

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Viper Specialty]

We can track down and replace your fan blade if it comes down to it. A pain in the ass for sure, but cheaper than a full replacement if you can find one.

 

[Rubble]

Hey Dan, thanks for the quick reply.

Are you suggesting that just the fan and not the whole assembly can be replaced ?

Thanks
Randy

 

[MoparMap]

Do you think it would be possible to rebalance what you have or would that be more cost and effort than it's worth? It's missing a piece, so seems like it could potentially be "easy enough" to add some material back to get the balance back (like wheel weights on a wheel), but given the design of the fan I'm not sure how realistic that idea is.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Hey Dan, thanks for the quick reply.

Are you suggesting that just the fan and not the whole assembly can be replaced ?

Thanks
Randy

Yes. The best route is always to replace the whole thing, but thats only if you can find one and not have it cost a fortune.

I have tracked down and installed replacement blades before. It's not cheap, but its cheap... er.

See what you can find first, it's always an option.

 

[Viper Specialty]

Do you think it would be possible to rebalance what you have or would that be more cost and effort than it's worth? It's missing a piece, so seems like it could potentially be "easy enough" to add some material back to get the balance back (like wheel weights on a wheel), but given the design of the fan I'm not sure how realistic that idea is.

You would never want to do this. The blade is breaking apart, not just unbalanced.

 

[Rubble]

Hi all thanks for comments and feedback. In my opinion repair or rebalance of the fan blades is not the way to go for several reasons

My question is can you just replace the plastic fan assembly ? The part that has the blades with the frame or is that part of a larger assembly that would need to be replaced. With the goal of Also keeping total labour and parts costs to a minimum
Thanks

 

[MoparMap]

You would never want to do this. The blade is breaking apart, not just unbalanced.

I guess I meant also reinforcing that break while rebalancing. Like putting a metal strap across where the piece is missing, but being careful to do it in a way that wouldn't throw off the balance.

Hi all thanks for comments and feedback. In my opinion repair or rebalance of the fan blades is not the way to go for several reasons

My question is can you just replace the plastic fan assembly ? The part that has the blades with the frame or is that part of a larger assembly that would need to be replaced. With the goal of Also keeping total labour and parts costs to a minimum
Thanks

My understanding is that theoretically speaking at least the fan is balance with the fan motor, so they tend to advise against it, at least in the service manual. That being said, I believe that is exactly what I did when I found out my fan module was bad. I had a relief valve sticking open that was causing the steering rack to be bypassed all the time and constantly boiling my fluid. I put a salvage fan module in it and swapped my fan over to the new module. So far hasn't given me any trouble. I'd probably look at Don Scharf and see what they might have for salvage parts first.

 

[99RT10GTS]

This is a great time to shitcan the hydraulics and go to a Gen 4 electric fan option. There is a reason why Dodge did not use the same fan setup in the 08+ cars.......... Eliminate the leaking lines, broken/hard to find fan modules........

 

[Rubble]

Yes I see that option debated on some forums. Some say the HYD is a superior and more efficient system but has some draw backs. I have had zero temp issues. Temp is right on all the time. So hesitant to change that. Just trying to fix the broken fan and move on
Thanks

 

[Viper Specialty]

Yes I see that option debated on some forums. Some say the HYD is a superior and more efficient system but has some draw backs. I have had zero temp issues. Temp is right on all the time. So hesitant to change that. Just trying to fix the broken fan and move on
Thanks

Hydraulic Fan is far superior. It has a bad reputation due to the sheer number of techs and owners who dont understand it and/or half-ass repairs or do other stupid stuff, and end up creating problems that never would have occurred otherwise... combined with bogus tune files, overspeed issues, and the occasional fracture due to the same + age + rock damage... and here we are.

Fix the hydraulic, fix it right, and dont worry about it.

 

[aacrewchief]

I had this exact issue a few years ago on my ‘06, I found a brand new fan assembly unit and replaced it myself, fairly easy job if you are mechanically inclined. From what I understand, each fan assembly is balanced individually from the manufacturer as there are minor imperfections in the manufacturing process of the plastic so the fan itself has to be balanced after it’s installed on the complete assembly to make sure it will be vibration free. I’d be cautious of just trying to install the fan blades only on your existing unit as you won’t have any way of balancing it. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Viper Specialty]

I had this exact issue a few years ago on my ‘06, I found a brand new fan assembly unit and replaced it myself, fairly easy job if you are mechanically inclined. From what I understand, each fan assembly is balanced individually from the manufacturer as there are minor imperfections in the manufacturing process of the plastic so the fan itself has to be balanced after it’s installed on the complete assembly to make sure it will be vibration free. I’d be cautious of just trying to install the fan blades only on your existing unit as you won’t have any way of balancing it. Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.

Blade is balanced. Motor is not. Shaft diameter is insignificant from a balance standpoint.

 

[Rubble]

Thanks guys for all your feedback I really appreciate the comments. Any suggestions on where to purchase the parts would be appreciated.