Fan Blade Broke

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2014: Fan Blade Broke
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Skip Wheeler on Sunday, November 09, 2014 - 09:59 pm:

Traveling on some back roads in south Texas yesterday and we heard a load bang and the engine started making funny sounds. We had a blade break off and damage the hood. We were able to remove the fan and keep driving with no problems.

The picture is a little hard to make out, but the gray area is the hole it put in the hood.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ted Dumas on Sunday, November 09, 2014 - 10:30 pm:

Better a hole in the hood than a hole in the radiator. A little body work and a new fan and you are good to go.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warwick Landy on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 12:03 am:

Read your post Skip and thought it might be my Dad with his first post! We took his 1910 Touring out on the weekend, it lost a blade and went straight into the radiator core and made a real mess. A good reminder to everybody to take a good look at the fan blades regularly to avoid disaster!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend ; ^ ) Gresham, Orygun on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 12:12 am:

Skip-
I've got one of those in the hood of my 1919, too. Welcome to the three-bladed fan club.

: ^ )

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 12:41 am:

Well, another reminder to avoid putting non needed stuff on your Ford.

I believe many more can drive their cars without a fan - I've tried and it works fine. When I've driven fast it can gurgle for a minute after shutdown, but that's only showing the self circulation works. If you're not doing parades you can try too - nothing to loose, lots of less risk for injury if it works.

Best chance for success if you have a Z head or any other high compression head - more compression gives less waste heat to cool off.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By george house on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 08:34 am:

Now how did that happen on a '26 'New and Improved' Skip? I've got plenty of good fans. . . .come and get one. I would've been with ya'll Saturday but took sick and didn't want to jeopardize my Wurstfest performances. Most often, a blade held on by 4 little rivets breaks off and this is the earlier fans, I've had one stick in the bottom radiator tank on my '14 runabout. Roger is more correct for Sweden and the northern tier of the U.S. than for us in south Texas. A fellow from San Marcos arrived at my house only to find he was sans fan belt. Although he became worried, I told him it would be safe for him to drive the 18 miles home without a belt. Sure enough, he barely boiled. Just don't do a 4th of July parade in that condition. Come get another fan. .


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ron Patterson-Nicholasville, Kentucky on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 09:03 am:

Failed or failing Model T fan blades are very common. Here is a photo of what I found on my fan while replacing the hub bushing.
1
It is important to remember original fan blades have been flexing for 80+ years. It only takes few minutes to remove and closely inspect for the problem shown in the photo. Mine was a very expensive accident waiting to happen.
The new fan blades sold by Lang's for Improved cars are very well made and black powder coated.
Ron the Coilman


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gary H. White - Sheridan, MI on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 10:34 am:

My speedster has open sides on the hood. Been thinking about some kind of screen to keep errant blades from becoming flying shrapnel. Or I might just remove the fan. Don't do parades anyway.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 10:52 am:

Above some speed, the fan is resisting air flow, not aiding it.

I learned to remove the fan from Tom Carnegie via a post on the forum. It's still on the garage wall, if I didn't sell it..


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry VanOoteghem on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 04:51 pm:

When this happens everyone tends to comment on "how lucky that the radiator wasn't damaged" or "wow, expensive accident".

Has anyone considered what that might have done to a human being if the hood were up while working on the car? I've never heard anyone say, "Wow, I'm sure lucky that didn't hit someone". How many times have all of us crowded around a T while the owner is working on it, and revving the hell out of the motor, with no thought as to the condition of the fan blade?

EVERYBODY: CHECK YOUR FAN BLADES REGULARLY !!!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chuck Hoffman - Gold Country of Calif. on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 05:49 pm:

I knew a guy many years ago who was leaning over the radiator of his military jeep razzing the throttle. The fan let go and he got a blade in the armpit. Nearly bled to death. These things can be deadly.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Killecut on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 06:06 pm:

Happened to me on my model A. I was lucky, it didnt hit anything. It took 20 minuets of bending the other blade back and fourth to break it off to balance it out so I could continue driving the last 75 miles home. I drove it awhile before replacing it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Allan Bennett - Australia on Monday, November 10, 2014 - 09:36 pm:

Roger, what works in southern Sweeden may well not work at all well in Texas. I have to run a fan in South Australia in summer, especially in stop start driving in the city in our hot summers [think 35-40C]

Allan from down under.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Karlsson, southern Sweden on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - 09:27 am:

I know many live in much better climates than here - now at 3.26 PM it's 50F/10C outside. But Ralph Ricks lives in southern California - that's why I'm not afraid to recommend everybody to at least try. It's likely Ralph's Frontenac has higher compression than std just like my Prus head, that might be the important variable besides the condition of the radiator?

But Tom Carnegie has T's with std heads I think and he's from Spokane, Wa. Can't tell the temperature there, but likely colder than Texas or Australia, might be warmer in the summer than Sweden?


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