Tales of the Exploding Cooling Fan
A Plea for Good Advice, General Uninformed Opinions, and Thread Drifting Comments
Alternator stand broken cleanly off at the base all the way around
BANG! While checking for fuel starvation around 5600 rpm (hmmm, thought I'd set the rev limiter to 5200), I heard a large bang and saw my oil filler cap take off across the road behind me. The engine was running fine but the generator light came on so I knew it had to do with the fan belt. Pulled over and looked in the engine bay to see the alternator sitting at an angle, the alternator stand broken in half, a nice 2 inch hole in the top of my shroud and the alternator belt completely untouched (gee, I saved $10). Evidently I did not have one of the balanced, TIG welded fans in this engine.
So, anyone who has gone through this, I could use some advice. I need to buy a good doghouse shroud and replace at a minimum the fan and the alternator stand (and maybe the alternator). After reading about alignment and balancing woes, I'm wondering if there's a magic purchase of a pre-balanced alternator/fan set to be had. I don't plan on super high revs although the engine seems to really like the 5000s. I don't have the valve train to support more than that. However, I don't want to have another exploding fan adventure so a 7000 rpm fan would be welcome. Any suggestions on sources for good parts?
Many thanks,
Mike