1989 Carrera Oil cooler fender fan not working

[mikeferg75]

Fan on the front fender cooler on the 89 targa is not working, It has power all the way to the connection/plug, from there wires look good going into motor.

Poking around tonight I reached my hand up and could not move/spin the plastic fan blades by hand? Is that normal? I'm wondering if the fan shroud is kinked in preventing movement? Or does it not freewheel?

Also, can just the fan be removed without disconnecting oil lines and dropping the whole cooler? I was planning on a respray of the front valance anyhow if that helps.

TIA

Ferg

[964TargaC2]

it is a freewheel..after you find out why it isnt moving, check the ballast resistor..search for posts about jumpers on the relay although if you have power at the plug then either the motor has seized (not so likely) or as you have already surmised, something is stuck in the works

[ganun]

It's easier to take the whole thing out as a unit. Undo the oil lines. With the rad/fan unit out you can clean and paint as necessary.
Watch out for the two electrical connectors at the top of the rad.

[mikeferg75]

Looks like I have a weekend project.

Does anybody have a source for a aftermarket fan that is a easy fit in case mine is kaput? Also dimensions of original?

TIA

Ferg

[Pazuzu]

Spal 7.5 inch pusher seems to work well with the aftermarket coolers, should be good with yours.

[KTL]

Fan doesn't do a whole lot on the pre-964 cars in my experience. If your Carrera never gets above normal operating temp (the middle black area on the numberless gauge)



then the fan doesn't even come into play. I've run the fan on the track both on & off and I could never detect a noticeable difference in temperature on the gauge. I just manually activated the fan via the fog light switch wiring and it gave me piece of mind more than anything I guess.

[Reiver]

Disagree on the fan. I have an SC with the later Carrera oil radiator/block off and fan.
I have the fan switched in the cockpit. When idling and I engage the fan I can see the temp drop...at speed if pushing it I get the same result.
The key is having the block off surround the radiator so the air, fan forced or not, is pushed thru the radiator and not around it.
I also have a duct/scoop in place of the right running light.
It runs so cool this way that when cold weather arrives (in Phx, Az) I need to block the scoop off to maintain the proper temps.
I run all summer in up to 110 degrees ambient and so far have never been over 210...mostly 1t the 194 mark or slightly above.
The fan works great when set up correctly.

[mikeferg75]

I was seeing just past 9 O'clock, so likely 230ish sitting in traffic, about 92 degrees out...

[KTL]

You're exactly right and that's why I said the fan is not doing anything on a stock car like Ferg's '89. I don't believe the factory set up the cooler & fan arrangement correctly in terms of allowing air to get to the cooler and ensure it goes thru the cooler

The air seeks the path of least resistance and it's easier for most of the air to flow under the cooler when the bottom is open. Plus, not a whole lot of air gets to the cooler because it's blocked by the bumper and valance. I do realize there's a slot cut on the underside of the bumper. But even that slot doesn't do a great job of getting air to the cooler.

When you get air to the cooler, it makes a whole lot of difference for sure! The car moving at a high rate of speed can push a lot of air across a cooler. When not moving at high speeds, a fan will certainly provide a good amount of substitute air flow.

[ganun]

Originally Posted by KTL

Fan doesn't do a whole lot on the pre-964 cars in my experience. If your Carrera never gets above normal operating temp (the middle black area on the numberless gauge)



then the fan doesn't even come into play. I've run the fan on the track both on & off and I could never detect a noticeable difference in temperature on the gauge. I just manually activated the fan via the fog light switch wiring and it gave me piece of mind more than anything I guess.

The fan switch is set to 236F.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by ganun

The fan switch is set to 236F.

I know that.

My fan was manually switched on by using the fog light wiring. Meaning, I disconnected the fan wires and made an adapter harness to connect the wires to the passenger side fog light wires. I was able to do that because I had removed the fog lights already.

[JAR0023]

My early 86 did not come with a fan. Now that it's hot out I see 230* frequently and sitting in traffic temps will start to creep up from there. I purchased a cheap "7 inch" fn off Fleabay and when it arrived it was closer to 8 inches then add the cage and it does not look like it's going fit. Digging around I found this fan from Flexalite that should be a good size for the cooler. I'm just going by posted dimensions, though.

Flex-a-lite 106 Black 6 1/2" Trimline Electric Fan (reversible) : Amazon.com : Automotive

I also made a template to block off the area under the cooler. I have a 12" x 12" sheet of ABS coming that will be just big enough for my template. $10 or so.

-J

[Barrpete]

Check Elephant Racing's website. I installed their fan on my '86 and it works great. Makes a huge difference when temps here are above 100.

[mikeferg75]

Pulled the fan tonight, as I suspected, one of the shroud supports was broken, making the shroud not round anymore and preventing the blades from turning.

The foam padding/insulation around the cooler is toast, and missing by the bumper bellows completely, I could not find just the rubber seal here or elephant racing. Any ideas?

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by mikeferg75

Looks like I have a weekend project.

Does anybody have a source for a aftermarket fan that is a easy fit in case mine is kaput? Also dimensions of original?

TIA

Ferg

Replace the fan switch with the BMW switch which will activate the fan @ 196F.

I used another brand, but the BMW will work.


^^^
BMW


^^^
Nason

Good luck,

Gerry

pm me as needed

[wrinkledpants]

Elephant racing has a fan kit. Comes with the mounting hardware, too. It's about 100 bucks. Might as well get the BMW low-temp sensor while you're doing it. You can source that from Elephant as well. Just got my kit last week and plan on installing it this weekend.

[wrinkledpants]

Also - here is the foam seal. It's under the oil circulation in the engine section of Pelican. I have read that you can use other generic seals, but the OE one looks pretty thick after I got it, so I'm glad I flipped for it rather than trying to save a few bucks.

Pelican Parts - Product Information: 930-207-353-00-OEM

[cashman]

You can buy the foam seal from McMaster Carr for $10. Do a search and you will find the part number. I used a 7.5 spal fan and it was a perfect fit. You can use the oem metal bracket by drilling in holes match the spal mounting locations. I'm traveling or I would provide the nber for you.

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by 86 911 Targa

Replace the fan switch with the BMW switch which will activate the fan @ 196F.
^^^
Nason

Good luck,

Gerry

pm me as needed

Why would you want the fan to come on at 196F as that temperature is below the optimum operating temp for engine oil (210-220)? Not to mention that oil temps need to be above 250F to be a cause for concern . . .

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

Why would you want the fan to come on at 196F as that temperature is below the optimum operating temp for engine oil (210-220)? Not to mention that oil temps need to be above 250F to be a cause for concern . . .

The unit I installed activates @ 210F, and de-activates @ 197F.

Many P-Car folks do use the BMW switch, and, although the prevailing wisdom appears to be 180-210F, I don't think that 220F is of any consequence.