Fan Doesn't Fit with New Engine

[fiasco]

I see what happened. Your old engine had the alternator on the passenger side. You new engine has the alternator on the drivers side, so the v-belt goes across the engine the previous one did not. I believe that the alternator was put on the drivers side in 1979. Dont know how many groves the old crank pulley on your old engine had, but the newer ones have three , which puts it in line with the location of the old fan alignment. Newer fans were raised and reversed. The easiest solution is to get a slimline fan for the radiator, unless you want to reverse the alternator and get a smaller crank pulley.

Classic case of using parts from different years and get them to align.

You're at least partly right. The new engine is a '77 and has the alt moved to the other side so that the smog pump can go where the alt was, thereby removing it from the cam pulley. And the crankshaft pulley on the old engine did not have the extra (possibly AC) groove on the crankshaft pulley.

On the other hand, the radiator and fan in a '77 is exactly the same as the radiator and fan in a '76, so it seems strange that it does fit in a '77 engine bay, but does't fit in mine. The main interference problem is not necessarily the v-belt, but the pulleys themselves.

-- se

[mbouse]

a two litre radiator carbureted is not the same as a two litre F.I. radiator when you consider the location of the tabs for the fan bracket.

i attempted to use a F.I. radiator last year and discovered the different tab locations when i installed my stock fan. so i used a version of Manoa Matt's procedure. worked great for a couple of weeks. I am POSITIVE i tightened all the bolts adequately... but.

one bolt/nut came loose, and the bolt found its way between the alternator belt and the alternator pulley; shattering the pulley. of course, this happened at highway speed (indiana, not California) far from a safe place to pull over. the shattered pulley HAD to send shrapnel into the radiator....grounding me for a full week of repairs.

[kilrwail]

Steve - We have exactly the same dimensions, but I suspect the mounting tabs on your rad may be lower. Mine are centred 5-1/2" from the top of the rad. The fan motor is almost entirely above the water pump pulley, except for the last 1/8" where the clearance is 1/2". The crank pulley doesn't enter into the issue at all, complete with the third pulley for the A/C. By the way the alternator is on the driver's side in my '78.

[manoa matt]

Steve,

The engine, pulley and alternator configuration you have now is exactly like the 78 1800. And if you mount the fan like in Kirwal's photo it will work.

One thing to remember with an aftermarket fan is you still have to mount it somehow. There are two ways to mount an aftermarket fan to your radiatior. One is the method I described earlier with the aluminum stretcher bars either vertically or horizontally. What ever you do, mount it with lock washers or nylock nuts so you don't end up like Mike B.

The other way to mount it is with the plastic tabs that poke through the fins and tubes of the radiatior itself. I have never been a fan of this mounting technique, although others may have employed it for years without problems, the thing to remember is the cooling tubes and fins are very delicate and with that fan mounted direclty to them, the repeated vibration and jolting of the fan will likely lead to a leak or a break in the cooling tubes. A rad repair is much more expensive than a fan.

[manoa matt]

Notice the black vertical stretcher bars mounted on each side: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtimes_fiat/3365594869/
Its a Yugo rad and a huge fan, but very similar to a spider. If the fan is smaller and the mounting points do not reach to the sides of the rad, then some intermediate horizontal stretcher bars will be need.

Remember, the goal is to get the fan or shroud as close to the rad as possible without the fan blades contacting the fins, or the shroud vibrating against the cooling tubes. A steel shroud will eventually wear thru the copper tubes from vibration.

I've placed that vinyl door/panel edge protector around my shroud so it does not cut into the tubes, it also creates a better seal for the shroud to rad, so air gets pulled thru the rad instead of around the shroud. It comes in white, black, or chrome. Some people overdo it with the chrome, installing it at every panel edge, wheel arch, door edge, and wherever else it will fit. Same stuff that is sometimes seen on the top rim of the map pockets by your feet.

[TulsaSpider]

I agree, the fan needs to be on the passenger side at the very top of the radiator. I just installed a new water pump and my fan doesn't have any clearance issues, mine is a 78. I know you don't need any added expenses right now!!

[fiasco]

Thanks all - and I appreciate all the variations on "if you put it on the [passenger/driver] side, it will fit." But I'm telling you, it doesn't fit. Here's the missing piece of information. My car has significant front end damage. It has clearly been hit at some time in its life. I'm guessing that the cross-piece in the front has been pushed back an inch or more, taking up all the space that the fan needs to fit.

So, I got a 14" slimline, electric fan from Mark Allison, and mounted it on a couple of bars that attached on the mounting tabs that already existed on both sides of the radiator. It works perfectly.

Thanks again!
-- se

[So Cal Mark]

that's great news!

[pope]

The easiest solution is to get a slimline fan for the radiator.

So I was right!

LOL, thanks for leaving out the detail about front end damage. Our group psychic abilities seems to be slipping.

[rlux4]

Pope, why do you sound surprised that you're right? That would be normal in your case.
Steve, I'm suspecting that now that the car is road worthy, you'll be using it to look for a second job to catch up. I hope you have no problems for a while, so you can get a little rest.
Good to hear you have it sorted out.
Ron