my before and aftre pics after having the fan shroud powder coated and strap cleaned

[FinallyGotOne]

Here is a couple pics to show my engine bay after it has been cleaned up a bit and the fan shroud powdered black. The pulley was sand blasted and powdered a clear. I am going to spend this week polishing up the car and I hope my new wheel center caps come too. more pics later
(I know this is pretty basic compared to some of the engines I've seen here, but time and money are not THAT readily available for me)
I used a few cans of brake cleen stuf for th AC and such, and wiped down the plastic air box with armor all. i will be replacing the heater hose with a new one, but have to figure out the reducer sirtuation to bend around and under the AC bracket.

[DRACO A5OG]

Sweet

So how much did it set you? back

[tweezers74]

Wow! Nice job! Looks awesome!

[FinallyGotOne]

powder coating and sand blasting $85
Mechanic to help fix botched alternator and alt casing bolts $50
miscellaneous cleaners and new allen bolt for strap $25
New alt belt $11
Could have saved $50 if I was more careful with the alternator! but now i know
I have to figure out what i am going to do with heater hose. I want to maybe just keep it black, but the rips and stuff I think is making me smell like oil when i use the heater and I get outta the car...

If I had to do it again, i'd use a rubber mallet as a main tool. and id first gently persuade the fan off the shaft of the alt. before removing it from the shroud. I'd then place the shroud on a couple 2x4's and wiggle the alternator out patiently instead of pounding the bolts. Then reassembly I'd put the alt in first with the help of the rubber mallet, tighten 3 of the nuts to ensure its seated all the way and then put the fan back on.
Also, powder coating the fan and shroud is possible, you'd just have to take a dremel or grinder to the ends of the fan to make it fit best. They glass bead blasted the inside of the shroud where the alt sits, but then taped it off before powder coating the shroud. That made the alt fit it very nicely.

[Pyregrine]

very nice! Thats something we'll have to do someday.

[911_Dude]

Looks great. How well does powder coat hold up to the persistent oxidation of the fan and shroud metal? I had mine polished to a mirror shine and painted. That lasted just a few years. If powder coating lasts Id like to redo mine as well.

[rolls 912]

My fan has light pitting.... How should I prep the surface prior to powder coating as I imagine it gets pretty rugged in there....

[al lkosmal]

Your fan turned out very nice. You might want to look into backdating the heating system. It works well and really cleans up the engine compartment.

[Tom Macy]

I do really like the look of the powder coated fans. However , and this is up for discussion, an old porsche mechanic suggested to me not to powder coat the fan because of balance problems. He thought it may shorten the life of the alternator. What are your thoughts.

Tom
88 Carrera Targa

[al lkosmal]

Originally Posted by Tom Macy

I do really like the look of the powder coated fans. However , and this is up for discussion, an old porsche mechanic suggested to me not to powder coat the fan because of balance problems. He thought it may shorten the life of the alternator. What are your thoughts.

Tom
88 Carrera Targa

I've powder coated several w/o problems...at all. My thoughts are that a nice even coat of paint/powdercoat will not effect the balance of the fan.

[balleta]

[QUOTE=Tom Macy;6144944]... an old porsche mechanic suggested to me not to powder coat the fan because of balance problems. He thought it may shorten the life of the alternator. What are your thoughts.

If those are his thoughts I will not let him touch my car...

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by balleta

If those are his thoughts I will not let him touch my car...

He reservations have a basis in fact. When powder coating a fan you want to make sure the fan is hung horizontal to make sure the coating isn't asymmetrically distributed.