Spewing Green Goo! Fan out of comission.

[Kneale Brownson]

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At 06:45 PM 05/10/2002 -0400, Zoot531 at aol.com wrote:

>Listers,
>
>     It seems that i should have knocked on the laminated zebrano when
> last i said the car was running in tip top shape.  Just yesterday i had
> it at the carwash idleing and next thing i know, steam is billowing from
> under the hood and the car is leaking coolant at an alarming rate.  Upon
> checking, i find that the coolant is gushing out of the filler cap which
> is still secured to the overfill tank.  Here's the caveat...i check the
> temperature gauge and it's two ticks past halfway and the fan has not
> clicked on.  The fan usually starts up about 1 or 2 ticks before
> halfway.  Further testing concludes the fan will not click on in any
> circumstance....anyone have similar issues?  What should i be
> checking?  Thermostat?  Fuses? Relays? I dunno.

If your fan doesn't come on with the A/C turned on, you probably have a
broken fusible link.  It's in a black plastic box attached to a bracket
held in place by one of the screws fastening the coolant overflow
reservoir.  When you pry open the cover, the box usually breaks unless
you've replaced it within the last four or five years.  On my 200q20v, even
the screws holding the box to the bracket were rusty (Michigan's salty
roads) enough one broke off and had to be drilled out.  The box is part
number 281937505A, the box screws (2) are N0139567, the fuse itself, an
80-amp piece of metal that seems to just get brittle with age and break
without melting/burning, often failing without visibly coming apart, is
N0171253 and the fuse bolts (they're metric machine screws) are
N01412811.  I ordered two boxes and half a dozen fusible links a year ago
because the same item is on our V8 and that car's link had failed, but I
didn't get the box screws or the link bolts, but when I order a new "spare"
box, I'm also going to get the screws.  Actually, the 200q20v's bracket was
rusted enough I couldn't clean it up with a wire brush but had to use a
grinder before priming and painting, so I'll probably also order one of
those too.  That's part # 443971845AM.
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