Radiator and Fans

[griff430]

My Griffith has the twin fan upgrade, and I discovered that one wasn't working, because the motor had seized. I managed to free the motor with a liberal amount of WD40, so it's working again. This is the second fan that has gone in two years, and I think it's caused by water running down the bonnet, and straight into the fan mechanism. Has anyone found a way around this?

Whilst tinkering with the fans, I noticed that the radiator is not secured to the engine bay!! (Might be the cause of some strange noises I've heard coming from under the bonnet...) Is this normal, or should it be secured somewhere. If so, where should it be secured?

Thanks,

Dan.

[apache]

Ive had mine for 3 years and not had this problem. You need to get some silicon sealant from a DIY shop and liberally coat thenm with it

[Ballistic Banana]

From Memory and i may be corrected there should be two retaining Bolts either side/end of the radiator.
It also has to legs on the rad that slot into a gap in the Body work.
In teh past I have had the connectors near the Fan corrode and play up. would do as apache said.

BB

[simpo two]

griff430 said:

Whilst tinkering with the fans, I noticed that the radiator is not secured to the engine bay!!

Mine (500) is fixed by a bolt on each side - but the brackets had to be modifed by the company that changed the radiator. They made the cut-outs rather too large but it's just secured by a nut and washer by about 1mm. I look at it regularly and it hasn't budged though.

[simon.b]

My fav subject (not).

The radiator should be mounted on rubber bobbins one either side of the rad. The bobbins are round blocks of rubber with a bolt tail on each end (same as exhaust mounts) one end is bolted to the body the other to a bracket on the rad. The brackets often cause bodywork damage when the rad is removed so most have been cut back as much as possible and opened out to a slot, this is fine as long as a big washer is fitted. There are also two spigots at the bottom which engage into the body. The rad it’s self should have foam glued around the edge so when bolted up the foam is compressed sealing the gap and preventing movement.

The problem is the rad keeps failing usually the end cap seal to the tubes (a soldered joint). I and I guess many others have tried to avoid this by not holding the rad to rigidly to the body and picking up shock loading. So on mine the lower spigots have been removed, the foam softened and the brackets cut well back. My rad therefore although held by the bobbins and big washers is not held solid but it doesn’t rattle or knock either.

Cheers,

Simon.

[griff430]

I see what you're getting at with the silicon sealant, but where do you apply the sealant? I think the water is getting in via a moving part, which means I wouldn't be able to seal the gap.

There's definitely no foam supporting my radiator, and I can't see any brackets either. Would some 'expanding foam do the trick?

Thanks,

Dan.

[Guillotine]

put a ring of sealant around the hole where the end of the shaft is. this will cause the water to run round the high spot past the shaft and hole.

dont make the ring complete, leave a slot in the bottom at 6 oclock, so that if any water does get in the ring it can drain out the bottom.

[griffter]

When I had a new rad fitted, the coolant pipes were resting/rubbing on my fans. The metal cooling pipe on the n/s was rubbing on the back of the motor, which subsequently failed and acually sunk into the (slightly melted) shroud due to the pressure. I think the motor just failed due to old age, and it was clearly getting pretty hot at sometime. Whether the pipes rubbing on the motor contributed to failure I don't know, but it's worth checking they clear the fan when you refit.

[griff430]

All the coolant pipes are well clear of the fans, so I they are free to run without obstructions. It's definitely a corrosion problem in the motor somewhere.

I'm intrigued by the silicone sealant remedy. Guillotine, would it be possible to send me a picture of what you mean, because I'm finding it hard to visualise, and I don't want to end up putting it in the wrong place.

Thanks,

Dan.