2.8 CRD Radiator Fan & Pulley Come off!

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

The Radiator fan and pulley has come away from the shaft on our 2005 Jeep Liberty 2.8CRD.

Is it broke or is it a case of just a bolt coming out?
How can it be fixed?

May have damaged the radiator as well.

Help please?

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 2:56 pm

Not a bolt! Fan pulley is pressed on the hub bearing. Sounds like your bearing may have come apart? :shock:

Can you post any pictures?
IF it did not damage the radiator, you can run without the mechanical fan in cooler climates, many on this forum have done away with their mechanical fan completely... :wink:

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

Need the water to circulate around the engine so need to get it fixed as have no aircon or power steering without that pulley!

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:16 pm

reeflodge wrote:

Need the water to circulate around the engine so need to get it fixed as have no aircon or power steering without that pulley!

If yours is a 2.8 diesel, the water pump is driven by the cam belt, not the serpentine belt!

For a replacement fan hub pulley assembly:
OEM part no. 5142661AB

http://www.factorychryslerparts.com/pro ... 661AB.html
-----------item no. 14 on diagram

These site has it for $157:> http://www.drivefordparts.com/dodge-514 ... n-bracket/
or

http://www.idparts.com/fan-bracket-bear ... -4237.html

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

Its the one in the middle at the front and has a fan attached that cools the radiator which now has a dirty great big hole in it!

Does the metal fan attach to the one above?

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:48 pm

Yes. That is the bracket and pulley for the large metal cooling fan. It is an idler pulley - not driving anything else. You can bypass that pulley entirely by redesigning the belt routing with a piece of string, then measuring it and buying a 6-rib belt of the appropriate length. Most parts stores will happily help you sort this out, be aware your measurement will need to be about 1 inch shorter to account for the tensioner which will be fully relaxed while you are working this out.

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

The Fan has a clutch attached to it, has does this attach to the pulley?

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 3:59 pm

Yes. The big 36mm nut is part of the clutch and threads onto the pulley like any other nut - lefty-loosey.

Did your clutch come apart or did the pulley? Pictures would be helpful. Where are you located? I'm the traveling mechanic for these and while this is a fairly simple job (for me), I'm concerned about the rest of your engine. Has the timing belt been replaced? These pulleys generally don't come apart at such low mileage.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:01 pm

reeflodge wrote:

The Fan has a clutch attached to it, has does this attach to the pulley?

The fan clutch threads (screws) onto the end of the serpentine belt hub pulley like a big nut!!!

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

Dont suppose you could fly accross the pond to England?

Timing belt was done about 8k miles ago at 69k
is it a difficult job for someone who is quite good with DIY?

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

geordi wrote:

Yes. The big 36mm nut is part of the clutch and threads onto the pulley like any other nut - lefty-loosey.

Did your clutch come apart or did the pulley? Pictures would be helpful. Where are you located? I'm the traveling mechanic for these and while this is a fairly simple job (for me), I'm concerned about the rest of your engine. Has the timing belt been replaced? These pulleys generally don't come apart at such low mileage.

The fan and clutch are still attached to the pulley that the belt goes around, these are the three parts that have come away from the engine and have smashed into the Rad!

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 4:24 pm

Travel costs are paid by the customer, so sure - I'd be happy to visit Blighty and have a look. If you are over there though, you have a much better list of people familiar with the VM engine. They are used in the Caravan minivan as well as the Black Cabs. The VM Specialist (google them) is also over there and probably has a stack of those brackets that you can buy for a lot less than having one shipped from the USA after it came from Europe originally.

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

Space is very limited, what's the best way to access this part to swap it out?
Will need to remove radiator as well as now leaking.

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:33 pm

Well, if the fan is no longer attached to the pulley, then it will be a lot easier to get the shroud out of the way.

Unbolt the shroud from both sides (10mm) just under the water hose on your left as you face the engine, and the air hose on the right. The shroud can then be worked upwards past the hoses without disconnecting them, it may take some careful maneuvering to get it past, and try to avoid flexing the aluminum AC line much at all - it doesn't like to bend. Once the shroud is up a bit you should be able to get your hand in there to grab the fan, and they have to come out together the first time.

Then use a saw and cut the bottom of the shroud off, just below the two tabs with the bolt holes. The tabs stay with the top half, and it is now a safety cover. This design is USELESS for directing the air, so there is no reason to worry about the bottom half.

Once that is out of the way you will have a lot more room to work and the usual fix for the radiator damage is to locate the specific injury and clean it with brake cleaner spray (after draining the coolant) and shove a small glob of JB Weld epoxy into the back of the radiator around the injury to seal it up. Saves much hassle and is fast and reliable as a fix.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:09 pm

geordi wrote:

Well, if the fan is no longer attached to the pulley, then it will be a lot easier to get the shroud out of the way.

Unbolt the shroud from both sides (10mm) just under the water hose on your left as you face the engine, and the air hose on the right. The shroud can then be worked upwards past the hoses without disconnecting them, it may take some careful maneuvering to get it past, and try to avoid flexing the aluminum AC line much at all - it doesn't like to bend. Once the shroud is up a bit you should be able to get your hand in there to grab the fan, and they have to come out together the first time.

Then use a saw and cut the bottom of the shroud off, just below the two tabs with the bolt holes. The tabs stay with the top half, and it is now a safety cover. This design is USELESS for directing the air, so there is no reason to worry about the bottom half.

Once that is out of the way you will have a lot more room to work and the usual fix for the radiator damage is to locate the specific injury and clean it with brake cleaner spray (after draining the coolant) and shove a small glob of JB Weld epoxy into the back of the radiator around the injury to seal it up. Saves much hassle and is fast and reliable as a fix.

The fan shroud has a specific roll and actually does it,directing airflow.It's not some fancy safety cover.You can loose 25% or more cooling ability without the whole shroud in place.

2nd JB weld and any other epoxy will never fix a radiator,temporarily at best but will fail in a few months if not sooner.I've seen it all done before and none has worked,be it the plastic tanks or aluminum core.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:25 pm

Cutting the shroud is a good mod though, with the frequency these seem to need work.

I just used these draw latches mounted with an inside plate so the butted sides don't overlap.

https://www.google.com/#q=draw+catch+latch+spring&tbm=shop&spd=1683704504138467314

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 12, 2016 10:45 pm

Go away gasboy, nobody here has any spark plugs for you to change.

For the shroud to be effective at ducting the air, it would need to be less than a 1/4 inch from the edge of the blades. This is why the electric fan shrouds are so close-built to their blades. But with a gap of over 3/4 inch in most cases to allow the engine to shift around, the ducting performance is greatly reduced.

This is not a problem however on a diesel engine as the cooling performance far exceeds the needs of the engine and the thermostat has to restrict the flow to retain some heat in the system at all. Witness how many CRDs run excessively cold whether the shroud is in place or not. Many CRDs have also operated for extended periods with no mechanical fan at all. The CRD also does not usually develop any pressure in the cooling system, especially if the ARP studs have been installed.

As far as JB weld not being successful - Maybe you should be more careful in cleaning and use a proper mix of the stuff. It will certainly fail if the surfaces have any grease or oil or coolant contamination on them, or if the hardener to component mix is wrong. I like using the SteelStik version of the product, it creates a very thick gum that grips extremely strong. I have helped several CRDs with damage with this, and none have complained about failures afterwards. I have also used it on my own VWs, to full success.

Clean the surface, then clean it again, then clean it a third time. Dry it off and if there is a question, clean it again. Let the SteelStick or JB Weld cure for at least a day, and the problem will be solved.

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

The fan blades, Clutch and pulley have all come away from the bracket that is mounted to the engine,
What would cause the Pulley to come away from the bracket?

How was it held on in the first place?

reeflodge · **Joined:** Fri Apr 25, 2014 12:35 pm **Posts:** 101

Someone else had it happen to them on this forum this looks exactly the same as mine!

deeprecon1 wrote:

:banghead:

Got all my goodies installed in about 10 hours.

Wouldn't you know it the fan pulley let go and the and ate the radiator. So now I have to source the assemble and a radiator
before it will be back up and running.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:50 am

reeflodge wrote:

The fan blades, Clutch and pulley have all come away from the bracket that is mounted to the engine,
What would cause the Pulley to come away from the bracket?

How was it held on in the first place?

The fan pulley is just pressed onto the shaft.
I have no idea why it would come off but obviously you are not the first.

I've been running with a electric fan only for several years now. No issues.

2.8 CRD Radiator Fan & Pulley Come off!

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