fan pulley question regarding shims

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

I am in the process of reassembling my alternator and fan assembly.

The issue I'm running into is no shims came off the car when I removed the motor. I also noticed the old woodruff key had a slice in it along with a groove in the shaft of the alternator. I had it rebuilt but never looked at the key or shaft prior to...

Now as i'm putting back on a new factory belt (the 710mm standard length) it seems too tight without shims which makes sense but as you can see from the photos i don't have a large base for the other pulley to sit on, meaning my ledge is less than what I think should be there.. I posted a couple pics along with one from the internet showing a larger ledge.. is there something wrong with mine? It worked fine for the previous owner so trying o see what is going.

If I added shims the outer 1/2 of the pulley wouldn't lock into that rectangle shaped ledge which is what locates it.. I would need to run 0 shims... seems odd.

Thanks for any help!!!

Marc Bixen · Marc Bixen's Garage

Yup, Looks like you need a new fan.

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

Marc, thanks for the comment.

How does this fan look great in every other way but has that shorter stub on the end.. it's not a wear item so I'm trying to see how it is possible that it looks like this... hoping this is something I can get around instead of ordering a new one.. just seems odd. I never noticed it until I put it back together.

I'm guessing the notch in the woodruff key was due to that outer 1/2 of the pulley spinning around the shaft.

I'll wait and see what others say, hopefully someone has dealt with this before.

icarp · icarp's Garage

I think it is the spacer behind the fan , at the alternator .
Common problem
icarp

Marc Bixen · Marc Bixen's Garage

There's a guy on this forum who rebuilds these. Perhaps someone else can chime in with contact info. Perhaps he has a hub, and can repair/rebuild it for you.

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

icarp, it can't be the spacer as the part I'm referring to is physically part of the fan so it doesn't matter how far back it travels.. my issue is the front side of the fan where the stub is smaller on mine compared to other fans.

Marc, rebuilds the fan itself? In my case it would be to have an extension welded on then milled down if that is the correct fix.. at that point depending on cost it may make more sense to just buy new one if thats the correct action.

dyount · dyount's Garage

Looks to me that you are missing a conical washer behind the fan which will move the face of the fan more to the edge of the key. Then, start with say 4 shims between the fan and the outer pulley face and check for tightness.... just right ,,, not too loose or you'll stretch the belt and reduce power too tight and you'll kill the alternator

dyount · dyount's Garage

Also you can put all 6 washers on there and the outer fan will still lock into the flanges on the fan

x98boardwell · x98boardwell's Garage

dyount, look at my message to the last person. It's in front of the fan, it's actually part of the fan which is shorter on mine other than the last pic I added from the internet.

My issue is that any shims that go in there won't allow the outer pulley to locate itself on the rectangular stub... which is part of my fan.

Solamar · 07-06-2020, 02:27 PM

Looks like at some point in the fans life, someone ground that snout down.

The center part of the fan (with that snout) is steel and riveted onto the magnesium fan. More common for someone to break the magnesium fan, then the steel hub, so I bet you can find someone with a good center hub that you can have re-riveted to your fan.

Or, if your crafty you can bolt the hub to the fan. Just need to cut the hub countersink to match the fastener your using (100 deg iirc).

I know of at least one shop hear in San Diego that will correctly rivet a hub to the fan.

Solamar · 07-06-2020, 02:30 PM

Heres a pic of mine that I bolted together -

icarp · icarp's Garage

Yes your fan blades are at the correct spot in the housing . The shaft is set too far back.
This can happen when the Alt is not assembled correctly
Just a thought
icarp

Solamar · 07-06-2020, 03:22 PM

Found a pic of my fan hub, you can sortof see the thickness of the snout -

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

His problem is not behind the hub it's the hub it self.

Marc Bixen · Marc Bixen's Garage

If you can't find a hub closer to home, I have a pile of old fans here at the shop. You pay S&H

dyount · dyount's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solamar

Looks like at some point in the fans life, someone ground that snout down.

The center part of the fan (with that snout) is steel and riveted onto the magnesium fan. More common for someone to break the magnesium fan, then the steel hub, so I bet you can find someone with a good center hub that you can have re-riveted to your fan.

Or, if your crafty you can bolt the hub to the fan. Just need to cut the hub countersink to match the fastener your using (100 deg iirc).

I know of at least one shop hear in San Diego that will correctly rivet a hub to the fan.

Totally looks that way.. I didn't notice at first as "why in god's name would anyone do that".

911 SLANT · 911 SLANT's Garage

It's your hub. Change it with a nice cad plated one. Your fan will look nice.

911 SLANT · 911 SLANT's Garage

Check with flyingjay. He restores them. Does a great job.

flyingjay · flyingjay's Garage

You need a new fan hub. Unfortunately I don't have any extras laying around, but it seems that Marc has a pile of them at his shop. If we can get a hub from him, I can plate the new hub and assemble it for you.

icarp · icarp's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete3799

His problem is not behind the hub it's the hub it self.

Yep my mistake , I see it now , Sorry for the miss read .
icarp