powdercoating fan, lessons learned.
 

just wanted to post this for others.

it was trickier than i imagined. and yes the powdercoater covered the edges of the fan. that and the added thickness around the housing created a rubbing issue. i filed off the edges edges, and test fitted it. free and clear! after installing everything back into the car, i noticed it rubbed worse than before. so off it came. i filed until clean virgin fan material was seen and then test fitted it. WTF? it still rubbed, then it dawned on me! the lesson is; you need to use all the nuts that attach that inner shroud thingy on to pull the alternator and fan EVENLY into the housing. that way your have a clear picture of clearance. i probably didnt need to file the last time. second lesson, file carefully lest you hit the visible side of the fan with the tool. bummer. also be careful about dropping those tiny nuts, they appear to enter another dimension, and will never be found again. and just how long and strong were the fingers on those original porsche engineers? every fastener is just barely in reach. bottomline, my fan looks sweet, my alternator is working, and i have become a pro at removing and installing that sucker. pictures later, it got dark last night.

cliff
p.s. i am seriously on the fence about schitcanning my AC and backdating the heat. alot of extra work with all that around.

Dump the AC and backdate. You will be glad you did.

Hi Cliff,

I know the following advice is too late, but perhaps it will help others.

When I had the powdercoater do my fan, I specifically mentioned to him that he should avoid coating the tips of the blades. He did that by spraying the powder at right angles to the blades, being careful not to get any on the tips. He said it was easy not to get the tips.

So you could have saved a lot of effort, but just think, now your're done and it looks good, right?

this thread is useless w/o pictures.

Picture of fan
 

Okay k911sc (without a name?),

You forced me to show this picture again. Hope I don't outstay my welcome.


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110305595.jpg

yeah where's the pics cliff? let's the picture quality of that nikon D70.

Lets see that fan Vash!!

Fan? Did someone say fan?
 

You call those fans?

THIS is a fan!


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110308559.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110309288.jpg


mine is actually painted not PC'd. its about 500 miles in and so far its got only minor chipping. i baked it between coats of paint. i got more time than money and a cheapo blast cabinet, so i will redo if needed.

cliff, where's my proppers for inspiring your "new look" fan???

ditch the AC you puddy. you are cool enough just plain:cool:

i am so gonna kick your fans outta here just as soon as i get home and fire up my camera! :D :) ;)

I think it looks great!!! Job well done.

Hey Andras and Zoanas
those fans look awsome . Are they powder coated or polished?. Andy

rick will we see you saturday?

Is this a "who's got a bigger fan" thing?

Here's mine. It's powdercoated as well. Both the fan and the housing. I took this when I was backdating my heat. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110312271.jpg

Hi Andy,

My fan was powdercoated along with all the other sheetmetal, valve covers, chain covers, etc. The powdercoater had a nifty color called "chrome", which is really a powder paint, but when baked, looks like what you see.

Powdercoated, without rubbing issues the first try. :)

About 85% yes Toby.

Someone need a picture of a fan? I can oblige:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110325092.jpg

And yes, remove AC and backdate. One of the best decisions I have made, ever.

Oh, and yeah. Porsche should have placed a plug connection behind the alternator cone, so those nuts can be dealt with on the bench.

plug connector behind the cone???

sounds like a worthwhile mod...

wheels are turnin now

ok you hijacking fools!
 

yes, i thought about making a pigtail connection behind the alt, but....i got lazy.

here are MY fan pictures.



http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110331658.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1110331699.jpg

i am actually not sure if a pigtail plug will work behind the fan. wont the fan-cone thingy get in the way if it was attached? it is hardenough wiggling the fan and alt into place without having all the extra BS hanging off of it.

and i also dont agree with the alternator seeing all of this cool air from the fan. with the cup section of the fan covering the front and the shroud cone thing, i think it is pretty isolated.

You could measure the Tair down there with a thermocouple or a radio emitting sensor...

Them are nice fans.

whats that big, huge, heavy looking silverish thing with the pulley to the right of the fan?

the flux capacitor!

My God! It looks like some kind of energy sucking parasite! Is there any hope for this patient Doctor?

Nice Vash... SC's rule. I just felt compelled to say that :D

Trash the A/C, but keep the heater blower fan. It might not look as pretty, but it works much better, and the big accordion hose on the left is a snap to remove; like 30 sec.

ianc

But if you do get rid of the fan you might have a buyer if the price is right...

OK, now did you powder coat or Jet-Hot the fan?:confused:

I'm in a quandry, I'd like it to look like factory new natural alloy without ever getting surface corrosion, and the faint tinge of preservative:mad: so many German cars have on them.

Pat

I don't understand why the fans get powder coated; I know it's probably the most durable coating, but what about the balancing issue. If you look on the back of the fan you see a series of holes used to balnce the fan; doesn't the powder ruin the balancing of the fan? I doubt it feasible to apply exactly the same amount of media to maintain the balance; am I missing something?
Regards,
J.P.

I don't think there is enough of a difference in weight distribution across the fan to matter at the RPM's it is turning. Never gave it a second thought.

I powder coated my fan and housing. I did not get any clearance issues. What I did notice, that "Tire Boogers" like to get sucked up in the fan. The "boogers" then mark up the housing (kinda like a black sneaker on a basketball court). They come off easily with a rub of a towel.
I do not think this would be an issue with a street car.

Dam! I just powder coated my fan myself and didn't consider this a problem. Thanks for the information everyone, my fan and other items came out great and was relatively easy to do. Not to mention, saved a bunch of money.

Alex

Fan?
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1112374356.jpg

I've been told by a well known 356 restoration expert that media tumbling of the fan is the method of choice. He quoted $125 and then said it was too cheap. So, I don't know where he stands. I know where I do; hand rubbing!