Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Fan hit my radiator- Nova

My car is a 62 nova with the 67' 230 engine. Today was the first time for me to drive the car so I have no prior history. I heard a rattle when I would accelerate a couple of times... sounded like something loose. A few min. later the the fan had tore into the radiator. The motor mounts are fine and the pump shaft seems ok... not loose at all and turns smooth. So how close should the fan be to the radiator on these L6's? I good reference might be the fan bolt heads to the core. Mine measures about .650" from the bolt head to the radiator. I beleive the fan is the stock type. Looks like to me the fan started hitting the upper and lower tanks... bent a blade tip or two...then the blades tips chewed into the radiator.
Maybe the water pump is the incorrect one? the engine came from a camaro but not sure if they had the same pump or if prior owner swapped it anyway.

Thanks, Clyde

Ouch. That hurts. I hope the baler twin that holds my rad in place doesn't let go before I'm done those mounts.

Here are some pics... maybe someone will see something that could cause this. http://community.webshots.com/album/86356492fGDxkm

Thanks ,Clyde

Clyde
have you checked to see if the fan is flexing
when the RPMs come up. With hood up rev the motor and watch to see if the blades flex and get close to your rad.
Your fan is very close my Chevelle is not that close. There is about two inches on mine.
I dont think the pump could be the problem
if it was then your hamonic balancer would also have to be changed to keep the pulleys lined up. Or at least a different pulley on the pump.


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Jason

http://home.wizard.org/twchevelle

Well my fan is now bent up. Need to find a new fan first. Went to the local parts house and their book shows the same water pump for 194-250 from years 62-67 camaro or nova. I ordered a new one just to be safe... it sat for a long time not driven.
In my assembly manual I found measurements listed... it shows .66" minium from the fan to radiator (tanks).

Thanks, Clyde

Clyde
First off I don't think that is a chevy2 Rad.
The Chevy2 Rad their should be enough room to Just Fit Your finger on the head of the bolt. That is about all there is room for.And That Is with the stock to core Rad. What I have Found to work Very Well Is the Later Nova Rads From 68-74 Rads If not useing the stock Yr. Rad. and want more cooling What I had done with this is Get a New Rad and have the Tanks Fliped This Will Give More room Between Rad. And The Fan Blade Bolts.
Hope This helps.}[oooooo]


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NovaMan/Twisted6/Larry

Hey Larry,
Good to hear from ya. My bolts are very close to the radiator core... about like you say.... I finger width. Somehow the 2 of the fan blade tips hit the upper and lower tanks... bent the tips toward the radiator and procedded to chew up the radiator.

62Clyde,I agree with Larry,if that is a chevy 2 radiator it is a V8 one.On the six set up there's about 2" of clearance between the radiator and the hub of the fan.

Humm.. The radiator tank at the top measures about 2" thick. I did notice that the top radiator hose pipe was really too small for the new hose I bought.... I made it work. Maybe the radiator is V8... is the top hose smaller dia. on V8's? If so this may be it.

Clyde

Hi Clyde!
I have a 62 convertible also with a 71 250. My tank measures about 2 inches also, it is a 3 core radiator. The 71 fan was to big in diameter and hit the bottom radiator hose. I replaced the fan with a 15" Flex Fan. I have a spacer that I had machined down to 3/4 inch. I did not see a spacer on yours. The end of the water punp shaft is about 1/8' from the radiator and protrudes past the fan. If you need more info you can e-mail me at novaconv@yahoo.com.

Just uploaded some more pics. Included is a pic of my water pump. Maybe take a peak and let my know anything else looks strange. http://community.webshots.com/album/86356492fGDxkm

Clyde

I have a 63 nova conv. with 67 230 and 3 row v8 rad. fan is 1" from rad. fan bolt is 1.25" from rad. use a 62-65 nova water pump. I got a pump for the 6 that was 1" to long. hope the 194 fan pulley and pump where swapped. hope this helps good lock

New news... the new pump I got yesterday has a shorter shaft than the old one. The parts house says this is the correct one So maybe my pump is for a different application?
I measured the difference between the the pumps and it is 1 5/16". The old is about 4 1/2" from block surface to pulley surface and the new one is 3 1/8".
This will move my fan back from the radiator... but now I need a different pulley so my belt lines up with the alternator. My old pulley is 3 1/8 tall... so I need one about 1 13/16 tall ( sound stock?).
So I need a fan (maybe a aftermarket one now would work?)
And I need a pulley if someone has one I could purchase.... otherwise junkyard looking I go for something that might work.

The bolt pattern and size is different on the block pressed onto the pump shaft too. See the pics

Here is the link to the pics of the pumps and radiator.: http://community.webshots.com/album/86356492fGDxkm


Thanks, Clyde

the pulley for 62 nova is 25/8" 4 bolt and i have one but can't find the fan right now. that pump don't look right to me.i got my last one at auto zone. 4 bolt just right.when you look for fan and pulley look for 60's nova or chevelle "small cars"

I assume a machine shop can press off the peice on the shaft and put the 4 bolt one on? The shaft size is the same. I need about a 2" tall pulley though to line up with my alternator... junk yard looking I guess... First I want to find the pulley... before I swap the bolt pattern peice on the pump.

Thanks, Clyde

That new pump looks like it belongs on the 2.5 liter 4banger in an S-10. The larger bolt circle appears to be the same as the later model diameter. I've found pulleys on S-10 pickups that work fine on the 6cyl's but it may take a while for you to locate them. Conversely, all of the pulleys I have on my 292 right now are from late 70's applications, and they had P/S and A/C, which puts the two outer belts quite far out on the crank. That make for grooves on the water pump pretty close to the pump flange, which is what you need.

If you can find a pulley that is the right depth but not the right bolt pattern, leave the flange alone and merely file the pulley holes radially (slot them) until they fit the flange. That way you will have a pulley that can be used on either an early or late water pump without going to any trouble of swapping flanges. I've seen the results of poor workmanship when swapping those flanges, and it ain't pretty when the fan comes off the shaft. There is a lot of forward load from the fan trying to pull itself like an airplane into the radiator.

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David
newbie #4153

Thanks David,
I will just take my pump to the junk yard and see what pulley I can find... modify if needed. I have to find one that puts the belt close to the pump so it will align with my alternator. I will use a spacer between the pulley and fan if needed so the fan clears the engine parts and radiator this time!
Thanks again, Clyde

if you still need fan and pullet see ebay item 2444348330and ask seller abour pully

Thanks... Did well at the junk yard and got all the parts I needed.

Clyde