Mechanical Cooling Fan broke during 6000 rpm burnout.

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mean318

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Good evening everyone! As I was getting ready to go on a road trip tomarrow I decided to do a nice smokey burnout, well while in second gear at about 6000 rpm I heard a nice dull thump and then someone told me I had coolant coming out from underneath. So as I pull back into the shop I open the hood and find a mangled fan that tried to go through the radiator and tore the top half of my shroud apart. At first I decided to check the motor mounts and they were both good. I have been running a fan with clutch for quite sometime now, except for two years ago when I tried an electric fan. This setup so far has not gotten above 190 degrees in stop and go traffic. Did I buy the wrong fan? When I bought it 5 years ago it had a sticker that said it was not good for over 4500 rpm. My question is: Doesn't the clutch keep the fan from spinning that fast when the engine is cold? BTW this is by far not the first time doing such burnouts. Did many of them in Hockenheim last year at the races. Just looking for some sense behind my misfortune.
 

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Aren't big heavy clutch fans cool?

lol
Lucky you weren't setting the timing when that happened, could'a ended up in your forehead.

I run a flex o lite, it's rated for the rpm's us lead foot's turn, unlike those factory fans...
And people always go on about flex fans coming apart, maybe the fiberglass one's of the stone age...
 
So, am I right in my assumption with too much rpm? Why now and not the whole last two weeks that I have been driving my car on the autobahn and everything else?
 
It's just an old stressed part, thats all.
I myself stay from them, overpriced when new...and can't be trusted as used.jmo

It must have been torqued down by goliath over and over.
Or?

but I dont think 6k is too much necessarily, they advertised the 340 @6k with a warranty, so...
 
Oh and to all you folks out there, NEVER leave your hood open while unattended...like at car shows

There are some real pos people out there that will reach in and bend one of your fan blades as to cause you to lose a water pump, then radiator, and $$$$
 
Because everything has a life span, fatiuge life.

Last night at work (RailRoad Yard) the crew was moving cars in and out of tracks to take out dead cars/ damaged cars for repair. They moved 3 pair (6 cars) pasted the same manual switch and all was fine.

When the next train that came into the yard had to pass "That switch" again, it would not throw properly and left a gap about 3 inchs wide, wide enuff to allow the train to fall onto the ground.

Lucky the conductor seen the issue before it became a major operation.

The worm gear, very much like the steering box of a car, just simply and finally gave out.
 
Yeah, I guess so. I would like to stay with my fan clutch setup. Is the Mopar viscous fan setup rated to at least a higher RPM?
 
thats sticker that said not to exceed 4500 rpm is there for a reason, the original mopar clutch fans are fine for hi rpm, tens of thousand muscle cars mopar, ford, GM, are still using them today at hi rpm. find a good original
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
thats sticker that said not to exceed 4500 rpm is there for a reason, the original mopar clutch fans are fine for hi rpm, tens of thousand muscle cars mopar, ford, GM, are still using them today at hi rpm. find a good original
Click to expand...



I agree, that looks like a parts store replacement fan, I'd try and find a good original fan.
 
mean318 said:
So, am I right in my assumption with too much rpm? Why now and not the whole last two weeks that I have been driving my car on the autobahn and everything else?
Click to expand...

Just had to check and make sure...but yeah, you are right about it not being able to handle more than 4500rpm.

I was under the impression it was a 40 yr old factory fan.lol

my flex fan says good to 12k
 
Dang! Does not look like it is to close to the rad. Do you think it hit the rad then came apart or came apart then went in to the rad?
 
EL5DEMON340 said:
thats sticker that said not to exceed 4500 rpm is there for a reason, the original mopar clutch fans are fine for hi rpm, tens of thousand muscle cars mopar, ford, GM, are still using them today at hi rpm. find a good original
Click to expand...

to add to this wernt the originals aluminum and these crappy new ones are steel?
 
805moparkid said:
to add to this wernt the originals aluminum and these crappy new ones are steel?
Click to expand...

In my aging recollection, most of the old school originals were steel. Some of them were pretty darn heavy

I HAVE seen at least one come apart. About a 67 GTO had a hole in the hood looked sort of like an axe blade--from the inside. Yup. Fan blade
 
67Dart273 said:
In my aging recollection, most of the old school originals were steel. Some of them were pretty darn heavy

I HAVE seen at least one come apart. About a 67 GTO had a hole in the hood looked sort of like an axe blade--from the inside. Yup. Fan blade
Click to expand...

ok maybe it was just the 7 blades cuz all the ones we use on our SS hemi darts are i think 7 blades but aluminum... original w/Chrysler part numbers
 
The hubs are always steel, the blades can either be aluminum or steel.
At least it didnt take out the hood.
 
mean318 said:
Where would I find a good original replacement?
Click to expand...


In Germany, it might be kinda hard to find. They're usually on Ebay. Part # for an 18" 7 blade clutch fan would be 2863215, and the 18 1/2" is 2863216.
 
A friend of mine lost a fan during a burnout an stuck fan blade about 3/4 of an inch through the hood.
 
Remember everyone-Fan RPM is not the same as engine RPM. You have pulley ratios to figure out to find the fan RPM.
 
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