Fan Blade Turning freely on shaft?

[Space54]

Whilst searching for an oil cooler in which to affix a (currently!) spare sensor probe my mehcanic friend was somewhat concerned to find the radiator fan turning quite freely on it's drive shaft. (engine not running of course.)

Is he right to be concerned?

Cheers
Keith

[Forumadmin]

Yes. The weld may have sheared around the boss or the nut has loosened and allowed the morse taper to come loose. Either way fix it, otherwise you have no cooling.

[Jack]

Also of concern is that if it has sheared the spinning of the shaft can still spin the blades, but there is nothing to stop them hitting the radiator.

We had exactly this on Amy's car, definitely worth getting sorted. Also a fairly good reason for having an electric fan on the back of the rad, if you are not bothered about concours it makes a good backup if required and can easily be switched on manually in the field if you do manage to shear it.

We fixed ours temporarily using two very large washers, which worked for a little while to get us home but certainly isn't a long term solution as it will work loose eventually with the forces involved.

Jack.