Early V8 fan assemblies SURVEY

al's28/33

al's28/33

Well-known member
OK not a REAL survey perhaps....I've seen and participated in those here on the Barn....but please offer your opinions....

I've read many times on the "A" side of this forum that the old original propeller fan blades are prone to age cracking at the hubs. Ok I can see that. The "A" guys also mention that the 4 blade era replacement fans are also prone to cracking at the rivets and hubs......so here's my question...........

The early V8's had riveted fan blade assemblies too so what have YOU guys found to be the case ?????

What's a reliable replacement that anyone has used ???
 
They can all crack and fail. I've seen a blade go up through the hood of a '36 Ford. A small bend will work the metal from vibration till it cracks.

On the good side of an accident like that, your insurance will pay for the damage the fan blade does, but won't replace the fan itself.
 
I've had very good luck using original Ford fans on both my V8's.
They are both generator mounted types
I have thought about using a modern plastic fan, but haven't
figured out how to mount one
 
have been lucky enough to never have had a problem with generator fans nor have friends with same set up. Geoff
 
Lawrie said:
The V8 fan is made way different to the A fan,
Lawrie
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I think he wants information about the V8 fans to evaluate the 1933-34 4 cylinder fan (46-8600) which frequently appears on the Model A and '32 4 cylinders in the US. I assume it was the same in Australia.

Charlie Stephens
 
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Its a whole different animal. The breaking A fans were due to the construction of the fan blade itself. It was made of two pieces of metal sandwiched together for the single blade fan instead of one piece as the four blades were.
 
I have never had a problem with the stock '33-'36 generator fan mount pulley, or fan. Never saw an early V-8 pulley mount fan fail where it rivets to the hub, but then I probably have not seen these fans used in really abusive applications that might lead to this type of failure.
I did recently see a friends '34 pu pulley mount fan fail because he had someone bore the ID of the pulley to fit the armature shaft of a later generator. This left the mounting ID of the pulley so weak that the pulley with fan broke loose from the generator and tore up the radiator, fan and a few other items in the same area. If he had used the correct pulley that was made in '39 for this application, this failure would not have happened. His insurance company paid to fix everything (~$1500.00) including the cost of a new radiator from Brassworks.
 
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I've never seen a late V8 blade crack or come apart, but we have to remember we're dealing with old stuff here. things fail. Heck, as we get old, we fall apart!
It's not a new problem, it can happen at any age of the metal. Back around 1976 when I was working at my first Ford dealership, we had a campaign for replacement of blades on the 351W engine, because they flew apart. I remember the part number of D6OZ 8600-A. we replaced a ton of these.
So I guess it's a hazard of owning an old car or truck. Just remember when you're working on the engine to be careful and take caution around the fan.
 
I have seen them fail when they are cut down for clearance issues (hot rod). I guess it pays to have it balanced.
 
Early on in my engine education days, I was warned to never have any part of my body in line with the ends of the spinning blade. In the event a blade flew off it had gone through engine hoods before and could do a lot of bodily harm. Never saw one come off or heard of one injuring any one, but the possibility is always there.
 
back when Alpha Romeo was first imported we had to check advance at 5000 rpm, it got very hairy holding a timing light on the pulley with the engine screaming away, and the fan 3" away.
 
Was in a 52 ford pickup when the blade threw off and went through the hood at 50 mph. That was loud ! New cooling vent in hood. I will not get in line with one since then !!
 
I have had many, many V8 flat-heads and many of my friends have also. Never saw a 4-blade V8 fan come apart at the rivets. Many of my friends have had dirt track stock cars and drag cars without any that I know of had a fan failure at the rivets. Coming off of the intake, now that is a different scenario.

Charlie,
The heading reads, Early V8 fan assemblies SURVEY.
Jim
 
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jimTN said:
Its a whole different animal. The breaking A fans were due to the construction of the fan blade itself. It was made of two pieces of metal sandwiched together for the single blade fan instead of one piece as the four blades were.
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You are trying to bring the two blade Model A fan or the one used ion 1932 4 cylinder engines (A 8600 and B 8600) into the discussion and that was not the question. As far as the 4 blade fans go I wouldn't say it is a whole different animal in terms of the blades and that is what is being discussed. The fan in the first two pictures is from a 4 cylinder (46-8600) and the fan in the last two pictures is from a V8. My guess is that the 4 blade fans failed from people using them to turn the engine and then bending them back. I think the only basic difference is one is designed to mount on the front of the generator and the other on the water pump shaft but the blades are basically the same.

Charlie Stephens
 

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Thank you for the input guys....... basically the worst fan is the ORIGINAL two blade "A" fan......and I can see where metal fatigue & age have caused them to fail and get a bad report. I run the 4 cylinder 4 blade replacement fan on my "A" and a '35 four blade V8 fan on my '33 pickup at the generator. Seems that those four blade fans do hold up as well as any other 82 year old engine part, who knows when and or if they will fail.

I appreciate all the feedback...
 
Charlie Stephens said:
You are trying to bring the two blade Model A fan or the one used ion 1932 4 cylinder engines (A 8600 and B 8600) into the discussion and that was not the question.

Charlie Stephens
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I think he mentioned it, because the original post referenced the "A" forum, and issues they had seen.
 
They don't take a lot of abuse. Every time I grab hold of a fan to turn the engine I see a grenaded one in my mind, and take the spark plugs out first. But vibration is mainly the culprit.
 
Kahuna said:
I've had very good luck using original Ford fans on both my V8's.
They are both generator mounted types
I have thought about using a modern plastic fan, but haven't
figured out how to mount one
Click to expand...

Here's an industrial 6 blade fan I made an adaptor for. With the 6 blade fan, shroud and Skips pumps it runs super coool. A Ford 6 blade makes a lot of noise, this one sounds like this stock 4 blade. G.M.
 

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Vibration is the problem with A/B 4 cyl engines
4 Cylinder engines have 10 times the vibration and harmonics than a V8
 
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