Fan doesn't turn

[natedlee]

I've got a 12V 5.9 in my '98 BB TC2000.

So it doesn't appear that my fan is turning - ever. I haven't taken it long distances since I've mainly just been working on the interior conversion, but we have our first trip coming up and I need to know if it's an issue.

As a side, I'm replacing my belt tensioner this week b/c it's rattles loudly and it's loose. I'm hoping that's related to the fan not turning and once it's replaced everything will work as expected.

Anything else I need to be thinking about?


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[cadillackid]

can you spin your fan by hand when the engine is turned OFF? when you say it doesnt turn. not even very slowly? it just sits there? if the fan is connected to the water pump and the belt tensioner is bad it could mean nothing on your bely drive is spinning.. and that means dont drive your bus at all or you will damage it.
-Christopher

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

can you spin your fan by hand when the engine is turned OFF? when you say it doesnt turn. not even very slowly? it just sits there? if the fan is connected to the water pump and the belt tensioner is bad it could mean nothing on your bely drive is spinning.. and that means dont drive your bus at all or you will damage it.
-Christopher

Ah - thanks for that question. So a point of clarification --- it DOES spin by hand, and quite freely. It never turns on when the bus is running.

So yeah - I'm going to let it sit until I get the tensionor done.


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[natedlee]

Tensioner replaced and rattling has stopped. But the fan still doesn't seem to turn on. My mechanic said he saw it turn after a while, and that these fans only turn when they need to - which I have read. Maybe it's fine. Hard to say. Bus runs great though.


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[Elliot Naess]

The fan runs on a clutch which engages when needed, yes.
And that fan clutch is probably electric.
I recommend you install wires to a switch on the instrument panel, so you can run the fan at will. This has been a great help in keeping Millicent's TRANSMISSION cool. Explanation elsewhere hereabouts. But in a nut shell -- turn the fan on when approaching a hill; and also shortly before stopping, to cool the engine a bit.

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

The fan runs on a clutch which engages when needed, yes.
And that fan clutch is probably electric.
I recommend you install wires to a switch on the instrument panel, so you can run the fan at will. This has been a great help in keeping Millicent's TRANSMISSION cool. Explanation elsewhere hereabouts. But in a nut shell -- turn the fan on when approaching a hill; and also shortly before stopping, to cool the engine a bit.

That's an awesome idea. I'll have to find some good info on that.


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[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

The fan runs on a clutch which engages when needed, yes.
And that fan clutch is probably electric.
I recommend you install wires to a switch on the instrument panel, so you can run the fan at will. This has been a great help in keeping Millicent's TRANSMISSION cool. Explanation elsewhere hereabouts. But in a nut shell -- turn the fan on when approaching a hill; and also shortly before stopping, to cool the engine a bit.

Found the fan clutch wires :/

Crap. Is there any way to reconnect these without taking the radiator out?


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[Elliot Naess]

Clear something up for me first, please: Is this a pusher, or front-engine?
TC-2000 can be either.

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Clear something up for me first, please: Is this a pusher, or front-engine?
TC-2000 can be either.

Front. I was feeling around and I can feel where the wires got ripped away, but I can't imagine being able to repair them without accessing from the front.


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[Elliot Naess]

Ah. Well... I'm afraid I cannot judge that from here. It is the sort of thing where I would not be able to make that decision for myself until the moment I turn the first wrench.

Taking the radiator out is a lot of work, but it will also let you service tons of other stuff that probably needs it.

The radiator and intercooler are bolted to the fan shroud. The fan shroud is actually the radiator support. Once you know that, it all makes more sense.

I had hecka tough time getting tools on the two bolts at the bottom of the fan shroud. I actually cut clearance in the frame-extension with an angle grinder. Then I cut more clearance before reassembly, so it will be easy next time.

I actually heard of one guy who cut the fan shroud apart, then welded it back together before reassembly. Don't do that. You CAN get to those bolts with a bit of cleverness.

As for the fan clutch itself... it is tempting to wonder why the wires were torn off. I do have a good guess: The clutch in the fan hub is kept from rotating by a bracket on the engine. The physical connection is a piece of rubber, to allow for slight movement. If this were not reinstalled at some point, the wires would have been torn off right away.

[BlackJohn]

I think they have soldering robots for those repairs. Kind of like heart surgery. They don't make house calls though.

If me, I'd just pull the motor right away because that will never be dependable again. To make really good joints would be near impossible.
Do it right, might coast you the engine or worse someday.

John

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Ah. Well... I'm afraid I cannot judge that from here. It is the sort of thing where I would not be able to make that decision for myself until the moment I turn the first wrench.

Taking the radiator out is a lot of work, but it will also let you service tons of other stuff that probably needs it.

The radiator and intercooler are bolted to the fan shroud. The fan shroud is actually the radiator support. Once you know that, it all makes more sense.

I had hecka tough time getting tools on the two bolts at the bottom of the fan shroud. I actually cut clearance in the frame-extension with an angle grinder. Then I cut more clearance before reassembly, so it will be easy next time.

I actually heard of one guy who cut the fan shroud apart, then welded it back together before reassembly. Don't do that. You CAN get to those bolts with a bit of cleverness.

As for the fan clutch itself... it is tempting to wonder why the wires were torn off. I do have a good guess: The clutch in the fan hub is kept from rotating by a bracket on the engine. The physical connection is a piece of rubber, to allow for slight movement. If this were not reinstalled at some point, the wires would have been torn off right away.

Oi. Well I'm tackling this tomorrow because we're supposed to leave on Thur for our maiden voyage. I really hope we can. My mechanic will be helping me - he comes to my house. This setup is new to him as well - but with our minds together hopefully it's doable.

Thanks for the help!


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[cadillackid]

im assuming those wires went up to the clutch at the front.. if they got ripped away, theres a partially good chance that the bearing between the rubber piece elliot mentioned, and the clutch itself..

the way it works, the rubber strap is tied down to something on the front of the engine. in my case when i added my fan clutch, I tied it down to the A/C bracket. that strap is stationary and the 2 parts of the fan clutch spin around it..

I placed a pic below that shows ny clutch when I installed it. the white strap has the wire at the end.. if the bearing betwenn that strap and the spinning pulleys freezes then the strap will be ripped away and the wires severed.. the clutch is in need of repair / replace at that point..

if for some reason your wires just got a bit of clack and got caught in the belt you can splice and re-attach and be on your way..



-Christopher

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

im assuming those wires went up to the clutch at the front.. if they got ripped away, theres a partially good chance that the bearing between the rubber piece elliot mentioned, and the clutch itself..

the way it works, the rubber strap is tied down to something on the front of the engine. in my case when i added my fan clutch, I tied it down to the A/C bracket. that strap is stationary and the 2 parts of the fan clutch spin around it..

I placed a pic below that shows ny clutch when I installed it. the white strap has the wire at the end.. if the bearing betwenn that strap and the spinning pulleys freezes then the strap will be ripped away and the wires severed.. the clutch is in need of repair / replace at that point..

if for some reason your wires just got a bit of clack and got caught in the belt you can splice and re-attach and be on your way..



-Christopher

Awesome thanks!! This was a great explanation and the pic speaks volumes.

I was thinking the same about the wires maybe being repairable -- but maybe I should just replace the clutch since I'll be in there anyway.

I started pulling things off this evening. Hope to see more clearly tomorrow.





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[cadillackid]

from the pic it looks like a good idea that you are pulling it apart.. that radiator looks clogged up unless its just the illusion with the pic.
-Christopher

[Elliot Naess]

Replace the belt while you have the radiator out. NAPA Auto Parts should be able to get you one quickly.

[natedlee]

Originally Posted by Elliot Naess

Replace the belt while you have the radiator out. NAPA Auto Parts should be able to get you one quickly.

The previous owner claims they were replaced within the last year. I'm wondering if the wires got sorta misplaced when everything was being put back together. They do look pretty new to be honest. I'll be inspecting them though. Thanks for the tip.

You guys have been super helpful!! When I bought this it was still cold out so I didn't have any issues till it started warming up. First sign something was wrong was my universal alarm would go off and there wasn't any apparent reason. Pretty sure it was a temp alarm now. I should probably replace the sensor as well.


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[natedlee]

Originally Posted by cadillackid

from the pic it looks like a good idea that you are pulling it apart.. that radiator looks clogged up unless its just the illusion with the pic.
-Christopher

I think it's the pic quality compressed when it uploaded, but now that you mention it I'll be inspecting tomorrow. Thanks!


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[Elliot Naess]

Of course, if the belt is fairly new, no worries.
(Mine was on its last legs when I finally got in there.)

[natedlee]

The fan clutch sent to my mechanic was the wrong one. This seems to be a consistent problem when looking for parts for this bus. Or the person ordering them is not very good at it.

So we fixed the existing one, after verifying it worked, and reinstalled. After putting it all back together and running the bus, the fan never engaged. So we’re figuring it’s the temp sensor, which NOBODY HAS. So we bypassed the temp sensor and connected to my control panel so I can turn it on whenever I want (thanks for the tip @Elliot Naess!).

Then we discovered that the intercooler blades were closing every time I started the engine. These must also run off the temp sensor, eh? So I disconnected the harness and they stay open all the time now -- until we can figure out the temp sensor issue.

Where the heck can I get correct parts for this bus??

Also, I am in the middle of all the insurance issues posted about all over this forum. MD seems to be telling insurance companies conversions have to be done by an RV conversion company. :/ Trying the Commercial for Personal Use route now b/c we were planning to leave tomorrow.