My Radiator Fan Exploded Today!

I’m in the middle of my biannual oil change. With the images in my head of the pictures posted here I checked mine. The fan clutch feels not as stiff as I think it should. What deeply concerns me is it looks like oil is seeping from it.

109702 miles. 4.0.

Browsing parts, looks like rock auto has the Aisin for $90, which I’m guessing is oem?

 

This just happened to us- on a 2015 4.0 with only 38000 miles on it. (I bought it on a salvage title- it had apparently sat for a long time before someone fixed it up and sold it to the previous owner.)

We were coming into Denver for a friend's wedding when the fan exploded as I gunned it to pass someone on the interstate. Quickly pulled over, noticing the dents in the hood as I did. Shrapnel everywhere, the little elbow on the PCV line torn off... We decided to drive it, at least to the first off ramp. Interestingly, the temperature continued to be fine- I guess the air temperature was just cool enough- so we limped to our friends house in Denver.

We found a new fan at a parts store, but when I got the fan clutch off, it was obviously sticky and not right. The local dealer didn't have one, but I found one at an O'Rielly's and got it together. Driving home today, I realized we've been hearing odd sounds for a while that must have been the unhappy clutch- they just hadn't been loud enough to really get my attention.

Anyway- it's hard to say if the fan's plastic was aged enough to do that, but the clutch was definitely wearing out, I guess from old age? Maybe from sitting so long without moving?

I will say that the valve cover gaskets have dried out and do leak some oil, so the fins on the clutch were pretty grimy...

Something to keep an eye on for sure...

Anybody in Utah or Colorado have a white hood for sale?

 

Last weekend was my next biannual oil change, 111k miles and just over 2k since the last oil change. I had the replacement fan clutch from rock auto. It appears to be the exact same part. I expected the new part to have a stiffer feel but the difference if any is unnoticeable.

I’ll share a couple tips. To get the old fan clutch out. I used a 6 point socket & 1/4 ratchet. Made absolutely sure the socket was seated, gave the ratchet a quick yank got the nuts loose. It was tight but the fan & clutch assembly came out the bottom without having to remove the shroud. I don’t off-road, still the fan had mud stuck to it which I scraped off. Made sure to mount the fan on the new clutch EXACTLY how it came off the old one. Getting the assembly back in was harder without gravity helping. I thought situating the mount studs I would be able to get it back in, that was too hard. So I pinned the tensioner to slack the belt. Getting the mounting stud nuts tightened was tricky. It might have worked to have someone holding the fan from the top while I tightened from the bottom but I was by myself.

The new parts in, maybe unnecessary, peace of mind feels good.

 

Well crap. Glad I found this post. I live in Reno, NV, we pulling out of work today on a road where fuck tards usually go 60mph in a 40mph and I gunned it when I saw some guy flying around a corner then BOOM. The truck shook. Coolant mist sprayed out from the seams of the hood, and I saw literally dozens of plastic pieces bouncing in the road behind me showering the douche that was speeding.

I pulled over and found something similar.

 

That looks like a lot of.damage. What is the mileage on the truck?

 

I just hit 253k. I like one of the suggestions here of checking the motor mounts too. Could certainly be a problem at my mileage so I’ll be doing that.