Jump to content
SAU Community

A Reminder To Check Your Radiator Fan For Cracks And Stress Fractures


Recommended Posts

I was just doing some routine maintenance and discovered some serious stress fractures and 2 big cracks in the radiator fan base. Obviously if this let go it could cause some serious collateral damage (radiator/hose/water pump/belts etc)

Many of our cars are at the age where plastic parts have experienced numerous heat and stress cycles. The radiator fan is one of the most stressed plastic components in the engine bay. Check not only for cracks but discolouration which is indicative of plastic deformation inside the part.

So take 5 minutes to check yours and replace if necessary. It could save you a lot more than the cost of the fan.

post-106570-14193743445125_thumb.jpg

  • Like 1

GKTech make a nice aftermarket fan which also offers higher flow as a benefit.

With mixed results. Certainly not everyone that's used them is happy.

  • Like 1

Cracking on Skyline fans is a common problem (I have more cracked ones than good ones on my cars) and if they let go a high revs they can do some serious damage.

I have seen factory bonnets with major damage from fans letting go - by comparison an aluminium or fibre glass bonnet would just be mince meat with the same impact.

GKTech make an aftermarket fan that moves quite a bit more air volume but it does have its drawbacks. Moving more air generates more noise so it depends on your application. For a normal street car the noise can be a problem but if you have a modified car where engine temps are an issue then they could be the answer to your situation.

With mixed results. Certainly not everyone that's used them is happy.

Mat, 34GeeTeeTee I believe was not happy with the GKTech.

Not enough Cooling.

The Gktech fans are not a fantastic upgrade for RB or VQ engines as Mattgeeteetee and I both found.

The VQ25det fan is visually almost identical to an RB25det fan, so the shroud clearance and depth are essentially the same. I was also using a brand new Nissan fan clutch.

The gktech fan is identical in dia to the stocker

For starters; LUDICROUSLY loud!

The fan could maintain control over the cooling system whilst moving (mid 80's) (even slowly) but as soon as the car was stationary, the fan would slowly lose control of temperature over about 5 min, until it got to around 95 degrees; then it would skyrocket over 110 degrees in less than 30 secs.

This was using a temp reading from the ECU temp sensor on a perfectly bled cooling system with a Nismo thermostat and brand new 42mm thick dual pass Mishimoto radiator. All in mid 20's ambient temperature; so nothing silly at all.

Change NOTHING but the fan and clutch; cruising temps dropped to 78 deg, and never rose above 86 degrees regardless of how long I sat stationary in traffic. As soon as I start moving; temps drop quickly back to the low 80's.

It isn't silent, but no clutch fan is.

Matt's experience was extremely similar to mine.

They obviously work on SR's, but they are 20mm larger dia than the stock fan; tightening the clearance to the shroud may improve flow, but I don't rate them at all.

  • Like 1

Thats interesting Daleo, i have one on an rb25 and am in Brisbane where at the moment, friggin hot, and often is. I've had no oheating issues and it holds the same spot on the temp gauge. I don't have a digital gauge but when i have monitored temp via consult after drag runs, the temp stays the same/ even as with the stock fan. It is bloody loud tho lol. From your report it might ve worth doing more temp datalogging though.

Thats interesting Daleo, i have one on an rb25 and am in Brisbane where at the moment, friggin hot, and often is. I've had no oheating issues and it holds the same spot on the temp gauge. I don't have a digital gauge but when i have monitored temp via consult after drag runs, the temp stays the same/ even as with the stock fan. It is bloody loud tho lol. From your report it might ve worth doing more temp datalogging though.

With regard to the sensitivity of the dash temp gauge; mine (NM35 Stagea) sits in the same spot, 1 needle width below halfway.

It is exactly the same from 73 degrees to 116 degrees.

When bleeding the cooling system the temp spiked briefly to 123 degrees ( recorded as peak hold on Greddy Informeter) and the gauge only rose one graduation.

I believe that the gauge is quite non-linear in the "allowable range" but once you go outside; it ramps aggressively to get your attention.

I have no idea how this relates to the RB gauge.

I would be more curious to see how the GKTech goes on a standard clutch.

Gktech make a CNC'ed billet adaptor to suit the RB Viscous clutch. Around $20 from memory.

With regard to the sensitivity of the dash temp gauge; mine (NM35 Stagea) sits in the same spot, 1 needle width below halfway.

It is exactly the same from 73 degrees to 116 degrees.

When bleeding the cooling system the temp spiked briefly to 123 degrees ( recorded as peak hold on Greddy Informeter) and the gauge only rose one graduation.

I believe that the gauge is quite non-linear in the "allowable range" but once you go outside; it ramps aggressively to get your attention.

I have no idea how this relates to the RB gauge.

I have a Yahsio factory gauge (which uses the ECU sender in the coolant neck) in my car and from about 60 degrees up to about 100 the needle doesn't move at all

Like you, while bleeding it i must've caught a hot air bubble and it spiked to 115 or so and the needle, much like yours hardly moved at all

Take from that what you will, i guess that's why we run aftermarket gauges right? :P

  • Like 1

As for the GKtech fan, like others; I've heard great things for SR's, but not RB's - Stock works perfectly for me, no plan on changing it.

I will however check for cracks or hot spots when i get home after reading this so thanks for the tips!

  • Like 1
  • 9 years later...

I noticed a few cracks in my fan today, which lead me to this post. Has anyone actually seen a fan explode? Is the GKTech replacement still no bueno?

I have seen the aftermath of a rotten old stock fan. It took apart the shroud, wrecked some other stuff (PS or A/C, IIRC) and damaged the bonnet. Not ideal.

Sometimes they die more gracefully. Sometimes they live for years and years looking like they should come apart.

The GKTech fan is not different to how it ever was. At least as far as I know. Whether it is any good or not is more a question of what climate you're using it in. In Canuckistan it seldom gets hot enough for the capability of the fan to matter as much as it does here in Fourex. So you should be able to use it without too much concern. You can always sell it to a driftkid in an S14 if you don't like it.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • No. Turbo shuffle and surge/flutter are not the same thing. Specifically, on a GTR, turbo shuffle has a definite meaning. On a GTR, the twin turbos are assumed to be the same thing and to operate the same way, exactly. In reality, they do not. Their exhaust sides are fed and exhaust a little differently, to each other. Their inlet sides are fed and exhausted a little differently, to each other. Consequently, when they are "working" they are often at slightly different points on the compressor map compared to each other. What this means, particularly when coming on boost, is that one of them will spool up and start producing extra flow compared to the other, which will put back pressure on that other compressor, which will push the operating point on that other compressor up (vertically). This will generally result in it bumping up against the surge line on the map, but even if it doesn't, it upsets the compressor and you get this surging shuffle back and forth between them That is "turbo shuffle" on a GTR. It is related to other flutter effects heard on other turbo systems, but it is a particular feature of the somewhat crappy outlet piping arrangement on RB26s. There are plenty of mods that have been attempted with varying levels of success. People have ground out and/or welded more material into the twin turbo pipe to try to prevent it. Extending the divider inside it works, removing material doesn't. There are aftermarket replacement twin turbo pipes available, and these exist pretty mush purely because of this shuffle problem.
    • You can temporarily* use lock collars to keep it in place until you can do the bushes, back the nuts off, slide them in, snug back up. *temporarily is often for ever
    • Thanks for the quick reply. To be clear, when you say turbo shuffle do you mean turbo flutter "stustustu" or referring to something else? I had thought they were the same thing. When I wrote the post my intention was to say it wasn't a flutter/compression surge sound. My understanding was that a flutter sound would be occurring when throttle is released, whereas I can keep the throttle in the same position for this noise
    • Hi everyone, I've been wrestling with this for a while now and have been trying to find out the cause. For context, the turbos used are Garrett 2860 -5s, the BOV is a BNR32 HKS SSQV IV kit, the car is currently tuned to ~470 whp on 17.5 psi. The car drives normally, pulls well when it doesn't happen, and I can replicate it fairly easily. It does not sound like turbo shuffle or flutter. The engine has only a thousand or so miles and has had this behavior since it was completed. After my engine was built for my R32 GTR, I noticed that the car now sometimes makes an air discharge sound on what appears to be positive boost pressure that sounds really similar to a BOV. I had thought that it was a BOV issue but even when replacing it with a brand new unit, the sound persisted. It seems like it's coming from the passenger side but I may be mistaken. The closest scenario I could find was this post here https://www.gtr.co.uk/threads/maybe-a-boost-leak-opinions.147955/https://www.gtr.co.uk/threads/maybe-a-boost-leak-opinions.147955/ started by @yakshii and it sounds very similar. As in, at partial throttle once I reach positive boost I begin to hear the same psh psh psh psh psh sound like air is leaking somewhere when I keep the throttle in the same position. It most commonly happens in 4th gear at around 3-3.5k RPM and 5th gear around 2.5-3k RPM, which seems to coincide with normal positive boost thresholds. It might be similar to what @Austrian GTR mentioned about his own HKS SSQV. Notable difference would be that when he applies more throttle when it happens, it stops. In my scenario if I apply more throttle during this repeated psh psh psh sound, the cadence of the sound gets faster and louder rather than stopping. If I lift off slightly and apply throttle again, it will normally stop and pull without issue. I've checked all rubber couplers to ensure that they are tight, but have not gotten the opportunity to properly do a pressurized boost leak test. If anyone has had similar experiences or thoughts on what might be the cause, I'd be very keen to hear them. I also have a video of it happening from inside the cabin, if that would make it easier to understand: https://youtu.be/2zqZXcx8jbA
×
×
  • Create New...