[s-cars] RE: radiator fan clutch

Thu Mar 6 10:06:27 EST 2003

My fan is cast with a ring on the perimeter to prevent flexing, and it
doesn't flex, for sure! Anyway, the fan should 'suck' the air like a
propeller. Is the serpentine belt put on wrong? (is that possible?) If
your mechanic doesn't manage to see which way the fan should go, (I
think it's also marked 'front' on the front side..), I'd rather find a
new one.. ;o)
My fan is about 3cm from the 'nut', and I'm not able to flex it so much
that it hits the 'nut'. Is it the right fan?

Bjorn  :o)
'92 S4 sucking away in 20cm wet snow..

----- Original Message -----
From: <KRohnstock at BHF-Law.com>
To: <ray at s-cars.org>
Cc: <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2003 12:03 AM
Subject: [s-cars] RE: radiator fan clutch

Ray & Matt,

Thanks for your responses, but the fan was not hitting the radiator, so
I
don't think the radiator supports were the problem.  Instead, the fan
blades
flex towards the motor at high rpm (not towards the radiator), and they
were
rubbing against a hexagon shaped plate (earlier I improperly described
it as
a nut).  This plate, which is about an inch or two wide, was mounted on
the
power steering pulley (not the motor as I originally described) and
stuck
out about an inch towards the radiator fan.  The paint on the offending
plate was worn off from the fan rubbing against it, and presumably this
is
what caused my fan to explode, and this is the part my mechanic removed.

Should the fan blades flex towards the motor?  My mechanic thought he
might
have installed the fan backwards, but when he tried to flip it around,
it
would not fit.

Thanks again for your responses, and any other insight would be
appreciated.

Kevin

ps: Yes, Matt, like you, I am from Contoocook, NH.  Small world!  Good
to
hear from you.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Tomlinson [mailto:ray at s-cars.org]
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 3:32 PM
To: Rohnstock, Kevin R.
Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: radiator fan clutch

Kevin,

I concur with Matt R. re bent or otherwise malaligned upper radiator
support.  The "nut" you are referring to is likely the "key" that
secures
and spaces the fan clutch to the pulley on the serpentine belt.  When
properly aligned, the blades should not contact the radiator, even at
high
RPM.  Plus, the fan clutch limits the RPM's of the fan.  Make sure the
fan
clutch is tight.

Also, look at the four bolts holding the upper radiator support to the
fenders.  Has the paint been marred?  Has your car ever had any *light*
front end work?  The support is designed to push back upon contact, and
even
the slightest above-the-bumper contact will knock the support out of
alignment.

Ray Tomlinson
Boston (BBO # 654855)

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Matt Russell
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 12:44 PM
To: KRohnstock at BHF-Law.com; frank at s-cars.org
Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] (no subject)

Kevin-

This is just a stab in the dark, but is it possible that the radiator
supports are bent or slightly out of wack, causing the radiator to sit
closer to the fan than normal?

-Matt, co
92s4

ps - are you originally from NH?

I can't visualize the nut you are referring to. More importantly, I'm
not
sure if you are better off by having removed it. This being said, I have
cc'd the S Car List on this response, and I trust that they will come up
with BTDT and pertinent suggestions to help you out. Good luck.

Fellow S Listers,
Can you help a brother out?

Frank--

-----Original Message-----
From: KRohnstock at BHF-Law.com [mailto:KRohnstock at BHF-Law.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 2:30 PM

Frank,

I have a 1995.5 S6 which recently gave me some problems. Recently, while
accelerating hard from a stop light, I heard a ?pop? sound, which was
quickly followed by an illuminated low coolant/engine overheating
warning
light, a stalled motor, and coolant gushing from the radiator. When I
opened the hood, I found all of the blades of the radiator fan strewn
about
the engine compartment. I took it to a local mechanic who replaced the
radiator, the radiator fan, the fan shroud, the fan clutch and the
thermometer. Turns out that at high rpm, the radiator fan blades would
flex towards the motor and rub against a large six-sided object mounted
on
the motor (basically, this object is a nut (not a bolt in the motor) to
receive a wrench or socket). Eventually, the blades got too close to
this
nut, and they all shattered and came off the fan (damaging the radiator
and
other parts in the process). When my mechanic replaced the fan, the new
blades where again rubbing against the nut, so he removed the nut, and
now
I don?t have a problem...or do I? I searched through some S4/S6 chat
rooms
and couldn?t find anyone who was complaining of a similar problem.
Sounds
like a design flaw in either the motor or the radiator, but since no one
else has complained of this, I?m wondering if and why I had this unique
(and expensive) problem. Have you ever heard of such a problem? Please
advise.
Thanks for your help,
Kevin Rohnstock

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