hi all
have had some problems recently with some contact with the radiator fan, this happens mostly when the car is put in reverse after starting. a friction sound can be heard. oddly enough not the same problem when its put in to drive.

Is this a common problem and does anyone have some pearls of wisdom to get around this?

many thanks

 

Is the fan hitting the shroud somewhere? It could be the shroud coming loose, or it could a motor mount that has loosened or broken. When you load the engine by putting it in gear, it will want to rock slightly in a direction opposite the motion of the driveshaft. The motor mounts prevent this, but if one has failed, the motor might shift more than it's supposed to, allowing the fan to hit the shroud.

The fact that it happens in reverse more than in drive is consistent with this. The engine will want to rock one way in reverse and the opposite way when in drive, and perhaps the rocking it does in the reverse direction is enough to allow the fan to hit the shroud or whatever it's hitting.

I had a similar problem on a '94 Chevy Blazer I once owned. The problem did turn out to be a loose fan shroud that had shifted. It was an easy fix. With luck, yours will be as easy.

 

thanks jaunty, i'll check that out in the morning.

yep, you're right. when i put it in reverse the engine rocks to the left a bit, i'll have a look at the shroud and the engine mounts. hoping its an easy fix as well

 

Good luck on the repair. Keep us posted.

 

Does your car have a fixed fan or a clutch fan? While I suspect that the problem is the shroud or motor mount mentioned above, one other suspect is a fan clutch with bad bearings.

 

Even more items which can cause a fan to scrape the shroud:
-- mounts for core support.
-- damage to core support.
-- damaged or sagging frame.
-- worn or loose transmission mount.
-- damaged transmission crossmember.

That last one got me on an '80s G-body. They use rubber isolators where the crossmember bolts to the frame rails. The rubber traps moisture which rusts the crossmember. Mine completely dropped one day, allowing the tail of the transmission to drop as far as the twist of the motor mounts would let it. Major fan scrapage.