Thread: Loose radiator fan clunking. what to dooooo

Have a look at this link (thanks to UP again)...
www.discovery2.co.uk / Viscous Fan Pulley - Bearing Replacement

I think a few of us Disco2 owners would be lost with out his helpfull site.

On mine I had the bearing rotating in the housing.
I ended up getting grub screws fitted while on a trip to hold the bearing outer shell.

your viscus unit could be shot. If so its a replacement job and even if only the fan boltshas loosened wobbling around like that it probably needs replacing anyway along with the fan maybe. But get it off first and it will be clear where to go from there.
Cheers Scott

As above it could be the fan unit itself which can be replaced. It could also be the bearing for the pulley the fan bolts to. If it is the pulley bearing, then get on this as leaving it too long could mean the bearing collapses and worst case is it stuffs the timing cover the bearing sits in. This then becomes expensive.

Cheers nick.

I have just had this problem on my TD5.

The sooner you try to get it off the better. Too loose and it will chew through your radiator too.

It usually starts with the car 'chirping' when it stops. It is the bearing behind the fan that sits on the timing case cover.

After years of mechanics telling me 'they all do that' mine was really wobbly one morning last week.

The wash-up was the bearing had collapsed completely and disintegrated on disassembly leaving the outer race stuck inside the casing.

A far cheaper way than dropping the sump, removing the timing case, harmonic balancer, seals and the rest is to weld lines around the inside of the bearing shell and allow it to cool - believe it or not, it will shrink the bearing until it moves. Now comes the fun part, wiggling it out. All up expect it to take a couple of hours before it comes out with firm and patient pressure as you work around the bearing to wiggle it out.

Have a look at the link provided earlier to get a good understanding of what you are looking at. There are a couple of other good posts on the topic on this site to - that is where I got the idea to use the welding. (But you reckon I can find it to thank them?! :-)

I was quoted between $250 if the bearing comes out in one piece and $1000 to take the sump and timing case off and pull it all apart.

Assuming the bearing is in one piece, you can make the tools if you are handy with a drill press to drill the three holes in the spanner to undo the bearing cover and a $12.00 Super Cheap tow-ball spanner can be ground out to undo the fan bolt.

Good luck. Persistence will save you a bucket of money and very rewarding.

Originally Posted by RNQLD

Hey all,

A few weeks ago on my trip from Bris to Syd i noticed a clanking sound which occurred intermittently from the front of my TD5 engine bay. it comes and goes and i heard it again this week after 3 weeks of nearly nothing.

I took off the radiator fan cover and noticed my fan was hitting the circular metal piece below. why?, my fan unit ( and clutch) have a fair bit of play. How do i tighten this? i can take the fan off no worries, but where to from here? i heard that there are Allen bolts on the actual fan and clutch that need to be tightened. what is this doesn't work.

my fan doesn't have the large round ring on the circumference.

Sounds exactly like what I had, except mine let go.
Interested to hear you can pull the timing case without pulling the head, local LR shop didn't think you could...
Ended up getting mine replaced, new belt, intercooler flush, new coolant, etc for about $700 at a local indy.
Good luck with it.

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Sounds exactly like what I had, except mine let go.
Interested to hear you can pull the timing case without pulling the head, local LR shop didn't think you could...
Ended up getting mine replaced, new belt, intercooler flush, new coolant, etc for about $700 at a local indy.
Good luck with it.

I have removed the timing case on my TD5 without removing the head.
Care around the head gasket is required, as is taking time to reseal it properly.
From memory I lowered the sump and rechecked the oil pump bolt while I was at it.
The stud at the front that goes up through the head can be undone but not removed, I used 2 narrow nuts to undo it.
Cheers, Kyle.

I may not have explained myself properly - the timing case and everything stayed in place.
The bearing had let go, leaving only the outer casing wedge in the timing case cover.
We ran a couple of continuous beads of weld (5mm high x 6-8mm deep) around half of the casing circumference with everything in place except the viscous fan.
As the weld cooled it shrank the circumference to the bearing to get it out by wiggling it with screwdrivers.
There is no room for pullers.
I did not want the sump and timing case off if I could avoid it as they are both completely dry - not a leak in sight!

Hi again, my only contact with OHC engines and timing cases has been with Ford Falcons.

From memory the crankshaft seal was fitted from INSIDE the cover not from outside. Anyway for whatever reason we had to take off the timing case, the seal at the top (head gasket) was a rubber gasket, at the bottom it was the sump gasket, I don't know what the setup is on the TD5 (yet).

We used to remove the retaining bolts from the timing case and wriggle it free, to replace it we fitted a new rubber gasket bit at the top and cut the sump gasket level with the block and fitted a new section only there, silastic was used in a bead across the cut sump gasket. Well it might have been, just can't remember!

Those that have seen what the setup is on the TD5, is there any chance this MIGHT work for the landy?

You can but ask.

Cheers

Mike