How to put a fan blade through the radiator

[Jon Wildsmith]

Just a bit of a FYI post on something to maybe watch out for: Doing a deep water crossing a couple of weeks ago I noticed the car was shaking when I stopped back on dry land. Strange because the engine fetch smooth. Long story short, probably while I was giving it plenty of right foot to clear a very soft bottom, one of the engine fan blades snapped off and chopped a hole in the radiator. Not clear if hitting the radiator snapped the blade, or it snapped due to flex and or hitting the shroud, and then hit the radiator. Either way, a quick track side repair and we were on our way again.

I took the photos after I got home, so the fan got dirty, but the broken and cut blades were kept in the truck for a better look later. When I get a replacement fan, I might try snapping another blade off to see how much force it takes and what it looks like for comparison as someone suggested maybe the snapped blade was already stress fractured from previous escapades.

I cut the opposite blade off the fan, to balance it and cured the shaking. Crimped the leaking radiator tubes, dried it, squeezed in a big blob of epoxy putty and tipped a tub of k-seal in. Topped off the coolant and ran it to circulate the k-seal which stopped the small drip after about 10 minutes. Good stuff that k-seal.

I'm sure the fan blade is original and so is 30 years old. Also not too long ago, I very unscientifically topped up the fan hub with a tube of OEM silicone because it was a bit slack / not engaging properly, so there will have been more strain on the fan blades than on any of the many deep water crossings done before.

 

[Michael80]

Is your Landcruiser fitted with the pull down radiator cover? I think it's used for cold weather etc but would also help with wading.
I'm unsure if all Landcruisers had them fitted but mine do.

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

Good stuff that k-seal.

Only in the Direst of emergencies. Doesn't do the heater matrix a lot of good though.

 

[felix2566]

I wonder if the water pressure deflected the radiator core which is how the contact happened?

 

[frank rabbets]

That happened to me with a Morris Minor which had a two bladed metal fan. Revving the pants of it racing my friend and there was a terrible bang and a hole appeared in the bonnet. I lost. Terrible vibration until I broke the other blade off and limped home. I had often been under bonnet revving the engine. It would have cut my head off.

 

[Towpack]

Is your Landcruiser fitted with the pull down radiator cover? I think it's used for cold weather etc but would also help with wading.
I'm unsure if all Landcruisers had them fitted but mine do.

IMO the rad blind is aimed more at wading protection rather than cold weather. Mine has one and I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in warm up times in Winter with it up or down.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Heater valve stayed closed. On the side of a track in the middle of knowhere 1000 or so miles from home it seemed the best option.

It doesn't have the radiator blind and didn't have it for the many much deeper crossings it did in the last 20 years or so.

The nissens radiator rather than oem is another difference in recent times.

The engine and gearbox mounts were new about 12 months ago, so engine movement should be normal.

 

[Shayne]

I reckon Toyota themselves bust a blade in testing and so added the wading blind to prevent it . Truck is air cooled when it’s not in water .

 

[thelal]

not heard of that before. Good fix. Presume some fiddling trying to get it balanced

 

[yogi]

IMO the rad blind is aimed more at wading protection rather than cold weather. Mine has one and I haven't noticed any appreciable difference in warm up times in Winter with it up or down.

Its not really for warm up times, in Siberia etc fan shrouds are used to keep engine temperature up while actually driving

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

not heard of that before. Good fix. Presume some fiddling trying to get it balanced

I've read of it happening a few times over the years but it's usually just fan interference, not a blade snapping off.

No fiddling, the fan balanced good enough on the first cut.

 

[frank rabbets]

The blind would cause big resistance in water.

 

[chadr]

The blind would cause big resistance in water.

Though probably not a huge amount more than the actual radiator behind it? As water will go through the "open" grill and still hit the "solid" radiator a few inches behind.

 

[Towpack]

Isn't that the whole point of the blind, to stop a sudden inrush of water through the rad to hit the fan?

 

[Grimbo]

I thought the rad blind was more of winter thing to help keep the engine warm.... which reminds me... I must roll mine up .
I forgot once and TBH it was summer and hot and it still ran in the same place on the gauge .

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I think the blind was part of the cold climate spec, along with the 24v start. I've read of people putting a tarp or similar over the front for water crossings if they haven't got a snorkel, to increase the bow wave, so the blind might achieve something similar. This water was too deep, flowing and the wrong angle to be making any kind of bow wave though, so that fan was getting submerged whatever.

 

[Ben Stratford]

The blind does a good job preventing silt and mud from blocking up the rad fins which is a bugger to clean out without removing the radiator completely