Problem with Cooling Fan

Whilst trying to look for enjoyable tasks to pass a few hours on last weekend, I stumbled across the idea of cleaning off the dust and grime that always seems to accumulate on the fan blades. This naturally was a purely cosmetic job, and I'll admit to not having thought of an adequate justification for it before starting out.

Now, my girlfriend is a very understanding person, and usually gives me free reign to do as I wish with The Toy, and accepts that the work I do on it is towards a tangible (if vague)goal of steady improvement.

But the look on her face when she walked into the garage and caught me with my face in the blower, an old tooth brush, cleaning compounds and several half used rags scattered around was something else.

"are you actually POLISHING under there now Matthew??"

Well. What could I say? Nothing. She was right. My only justification was that I would be pleased when I popped the engine lid and admired my handiwork (again).

Her attitude bought me swiftly back into 'reality', and left me wondering if indeed I had become obsessed with my Porsche.

Have I??

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'72 911 TE

Not at all Matt. To me it is clear you did not cross the dividing line by cleaning the fan as long as it remaind in the car. To cross the line is to remove the fan from the car and polish it on your work bench.

Does that allay your fears?

Cam

However, I believe that if you had removed it from the car for the purpose of painting it, you would be ok. Depending on the color you picked...

Matt,

While I'm sure your girlfriend could have very easily found an unpleasant and important chore (for her, anyway) for you to do instead of cleaning the fan ... I am equally sure she is not aware of the tendency of magnesium to corrode rather badly, and since that fan turns at approx. 9000 rpm ... we don't want it coming apart like a DC-10 engine, do we? I'm sure reminding her that a fan disk failure brought down that DC-10 that crashed in Des Moines a few years back might cut you a little slack in the future! The preceding ... only slightly tongue-in-cheek!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

If she ever asks you "Honey....what are these wheels doing soaking in the bathtub"?? or "What are these brake thingys doing in the oven"???? You know you are on the road to true domestic bliss!!! Good point about the magnesium fan ...I never thought of that one!!! Once again, you guys are great!

9000 rpm is 150 revolutions per second. Let's see, that's about two feet (outside diameter) per rev. 300 feet per second. Somewhere just over 200 miles per hour. I consider it to be a safety thing. Whaddya think?

Further, corroded fan blade surfaces cannot possibly move air as well as ones polished smooth. Heat being the main enemy of engines...

And finally, people are always asking to see our engines. Well, they mean under the deck lid where there's really nothing notable to see. Except........

Wait, there's more. A toothbrush is to a concours guy what a chainsaw is to a carpenter. Concourse guys, Honey, use q-tips UNDER THE CAR.

I've been married a long time

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'83 SC

Another thing, Matt, you can't let her catch you off guard when you are rubbing those Fuchs down with Vaseline! You must be prepared with the metallurgy dialogue ... or the battle will be lost as she prepares papers to have you committed ...

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Hey Matt think you've got problems, my wife just found the invoice for the metal polishing and clear coat spray and bake I had done on my fan and housing, whilst having the alt rebuilt. Just no way I could talk my way out of that one!

Regards,

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Paul
911T'69

Fan drag..hmm that's the ticket. Polished blades have a higher aerodynamic efficiency thus cutting down on drag. Drag which equates to lowered gas mileage....and we all know where the price of gas is going! Polish that fan partner!!!!!

Forget the fan Matt, how did you achieve the 'free reign' level? I have a hard time just going to the garage without being interrogated. Maybe it's because I have used too many "I'm going to set the trash out at the curb" and then 40 minutes later come back inside smelling suspiciously like hand cleaner.

Tom
'88 911 Carrera Cab
'80 911 Coupe
'60 Wife
married only 3 years Superman.

At least you weren't caught using HER toothbrush to polish the fan.

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Bill Krause
'79 911SC Euro

You said girlfriend right? Dump her - now - before it becomes wife and you have to sell your car and hang your balls from the rear view mirror of your new minivan.

I have a tried and true method for avoiding the scowls of my soon to be wife.. whenever I go into the garage to "work" , I spread around as many old parts as I can on the floor.. a good smattering of tools and jackstands helps also. Grease to the elbows is the final touch.. Now when I tell her that she can't take the car tomorrow because I haven't "finished" with it (ther real reason is rain in the forcast...) I get no argument....

My favorite excuse for the large parts bills?? "honey, this is an old car with over 150K miles on it.. things wear out... You want I should buy a new one for $800/month???"

Matt,
Last winter I went out to the garage for "just a few minutes" to wipe some grime off of the fan as well.

Three nights later . . .



Damn, I hate it when that happens !



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Tom Sharpes
74 911 Targa
http://members.rennlist.com/5150targa

That is one beautiful engine, Tom! Just one question, Matt and all, what do you all use to polish up the fan and your engine compartment? Thanks!

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Jeff
1976 911S

Matt - Of course you are obsessed! Aren't we all? Many years ago, my Dad was caught boiling a thermostat on the kitchen stove in a sauce pan with my Mom's candy thermometer to see if the thermostat was opening at the correct temperature. I would say that my obsession is hereditary!

If your girl friend is mostly tolerant of your obsession, I say keep her! She must be a strong and secure woman to not feel threatened by your Porsche. A weak and insecure woman is more likely to insist that you give up your Porsche if/when you get married.

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Bob Thayer
1971 911T
rthayer@hdrinc.com

Thanks guys, great responses!! We're all in this together. I shall remember the above justifications for future use. Did I mention that it was indeed her old toothbrush?
We change them a lot nowdays....
I get free reign because she knows it makes me happy, and I'm always ready to reciprocate with her hobbies. Unfortunately, they seem to revolve around buying clothes and cushions, and as we are all aware, it takes at least a year until they are available to the rag pool again......

Well, Well,im not alone!!!!! My wife thinks that im crazy,i too go to the garage just for a minutes and hours later im still in there ,i do polish my engine too,i got tired of looking at the ugly fan that i had,so i send it out and had it powercoated,looks great,this things are just addicting,i always said that the only thing that you will never be able to do with this cars is have sex with them, but i often found my self looking at the 3inch exhaust pipe......

Jeff, I also asked earlier how I might polish my fan. it has dark corrosion patches. As it turns out, this thing is magnesium, so polishing is a waste of time. It will quickly get corroded again. the only permanent fixes involve stuff like paint or powder coating.

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'83 SC

I'm going to try the new POR clear product called Pellucid, which they claim is as tough as normal POR products, is impervious to UV light (yeah, I know, not a lot down that area...unles your lid's always up)and is very easy to apply; self leveling like their other paints.
I'm in the process of building a bead blast cabinet for my home workshop now that my compressor has finally been returned to fully functioning condition, so I'll probably walnut shell blast it first to get it fresh then apply the goop. I'll let you know when I've done it.


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'72 911 TE