[mz107]

Ok, so when it’s too cold out to finish the work on the car outside, you bring parts inside and spend way too much time on them! I have been working on all those fiddly things I took out of the car. When I bought the car it had one original radiator fan and one after market, neither looked good so I found another pair of used ones and cleaned them up. One of the fans was making noise so I went through it and fixed it, than I sanded them and painted them. These will look much better than before!

 

[ghnl]

Looks great!

What was the fix for the noisy one? Can the motors be disassembled for cleaning & lubrication? Got any photos of that?

 

[mz107]

I should have put more detailed information on that fix, there are 3 main part in this fan:
1) armature
2) Brushes
3) bearing
The armature doesn't usually go bad, but these fans are not the high end type, the brushes are like almost any other, but those shelve bearing are garbage! I used lithium lube to ensure the fans worked smooth but the shelve bearing was worn out on one side of the first fan and I had a spare bearing from another fan. I have yet to find a source for these, but they are the same bearing used on both sides of the motor. I will add some pic's to show what I am talking about.

 

[mz107]

These are the Shelve bearings and as you can see the one is real bad. Still have to find a source for these!

 

[76Satisfaction]

Nice work! I did the same with mine - one at a time in case I f'd something up…

FWIW - My dad (engineer) had a close look at the assembly. He suggested the shaft bushings are what he called hardened 'scintillated' steel (a google search doesn't seem to confirm or disprove) - The steel bushing is porous and lets oil from the felt ring wick through to the shaft.. So I soaked the felt real good in motor oil.

Best,
- Art

 

[mz107]

Your dad is correct, they are designed to be porous and wick oil. I was going to use 3-n-1 oil but one of the electric motor shops I visited suggested lithium. I am sure the motor oil will do well. I just went to a store that deals only in bearing and he didn't have anything like it. I was hoping if he had something close I could machine to shape but no luck! He did give me a machine shop that could make them but let see what he thinks it will cost to make? If he can give me a good number, I will get a dozen made up, I am sure there are a few bad fans out there that just need one or 2 of these bushings and are back in the car again.

 

[Balocco211]

Did you check with Spal USA? They would have a replacement fan set that fits or Spal might have a replacement motor bearings...

https://webstore.spalusa.com/en-us/faq/faq+product+technical+documents.aspx

Check under "fan technical documents"

 

[mz107]

That's why I love this site, you guys know and are quick to help. I had not heard of them and I have asked around, however I will give them a call and see if they can help.

Thank you

Michael

 

[Mark Cooper 916]

Nice work! I did the same with mine - one at a time in case I f'd something up…

FWIW - My dad (engineer) had a close look at the assembly. He suggested the shaft bushings are what he called hardened 'scintillated' steel (a google search doesn't seem to confirm or disprove) - The steel bushing is porous and lets oil from the felt ring wick through to the shaft.. So I soaked the felt real good in motor oil.

Best,
- Art

The term is "sintered'. This is a process of creating a bearing or bushing by compacting powdered metal with pressure. This creates a porous bearing that can be loaded with lubricant. The bushes on the starter motor of my old VW Beetle had them.

It was common practice to place a bush on your thumb, fill the inside to overlowing with oil then compress the oil with your forefinger until the oil weeped through the wall of the bush.

 

[76Satisfaction]

It was common practice to place a bush on your thumb, fill the inside to overlowing with oil then compress the oil with your forefinger until the oil weeped through the wall of the bush.

Thanks for the info Mark, I'll be sure to use that method when I refurbish the 2nd fan.
-Art

 

[mz107]

I figured a few more pictures of the finished product are in order!

 

[italcarnut]

Very nice work. If you need the bearings I have a few fans from Alfettas. Should be the same.

 

[planetmojo2]

From parting out a few GTV6s, I've found that they came with two types of fan motors. One had the bracket as part of the motor... that style was riveted into one piece. Not as easy to get the motor free as the second design. The second version was mounted to the bracket with small bolts. Easier to separate the two.

This detail might matter when you go looking for replacement motors. I took one of each style to a local shop that rebuilds electric motors. Altho this was his specialty, he just shook his head and handed both back to me. Too strange for him, I guess. Maybe another shop wouldn't have given me such a bleak assessment?

If there is a source that can provide fresh motors (at least for the version with the bracket and motor easily separable), we'd be interested in hearing the price and availability here. Thanks.

 

[Cobralfa]

Here's another suggestion while you're renewing this necessary assemblage:

I have had mixed results with the thermal switch that controls the fans; during one surprise failure (that replacement switch was less than 6 months old!) I jury-rigged a grounded wire directly in place of the switch. This forced the fans to operate continuously, and I was able to get home without cooking that sweet V6.

After that, I permanently attached a ground wire to one of the thermostat housing bolts, and added a female spade connector to the loose end; in the event that this happens again (and it has), I simply unplug the clip from the switch, and plug it to the ground wire, and drive home.

Cheers!

JB

 

[mz107]

On the fan motors, (Italcarnut) I would like to get another motor if you have a good picture of the unit send it to me. Those small shelve bearings are the killer, I have had no luck sourcing them. I bought a second pair of fans that were equally as weathered as mine and at this point I can build a third full fan with the gloss black cage, I would need one bearing and a fan blade to make a forth unit. I figured it would be good to have a spare set for the future or perhaps find another needy Alfetta that wants to be original.
As to rebuilding the motors (Mojo) I had the same problem when I went to a few (6 or 7) shops, they said they couldn't do anything for me. The brushes are easy enough to swap, but those bearing are key, I am sure somewhere out there is a guy with a coffee can of these acorn shaped things! The guy that had 114 before me had also by-passed the thermo switch, which I fixed and the new thermo switch (From IAP) has lasted for 2 years now so I guess I got a good one.
The new replacement fans work very well and I half way thought I was wasting my time on this old fan unit but they are holding up well and it looks good when I open the hood. I was also thinking I could get a regular bearing mount it in there, but I wasn't ready for such a re-design.

 

[mz107]

Just a few more pic's

 

[mz107]

Just a few other pictures in the bay!

 

[Omega86]

Hi Michael, I've just done the same thing, but i found it really difficult to remove the staining on the yellow fans. I'm still not happy with the result, but yours look amazing! How did you do that?
Cheers Jay

 

[mz107]

I used plastic spray paint, you can get them at any Auto store. Clean the fan good and do not remove the little clips on the blades, they were for balancing. Although I don't know how well they were balanced in the first place! I got a bit carried away with those but it was winter and I was bored. They have been holding up well.

 

[Omega86]

OK, I thought you may have done that. I was hoping you had some wonder product. I'm not sure I want to paint them, might have to do it again sooner than I would like to. Still . . . they look really good.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Please? (maybe a new thread so as not to hi-jack michaels')(any more)(sorry Michael)