When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Looks like it came out of a crashed vehicle, doesn't it? But no, these are the remnants of my fan shroud after it literally disintegrated in place. I had two fan motors fail in 2012, so I ordered an aftermarket replacement assembly....one of the $150 or so units. I forget what company it was. It worked just fine until this week. This thing had apparently been rotting into Swiss cheese with no warning.....no reason to screw with it, it cooled perfectly.
The other day I hear a quick grinding noise and then I smell smoke in the cabin.....that "magic smoke" leaving an electric motor smell. The fan had broken out of its mounting as the shroud disintegrated. It then ground into the radiator, very nearly tearing it open. When I got home (yup, it got me home!) I pulled the whole fan shroud out piece by piece by hand. It was like a crumbling cracker.
Obviously, that fan shroud was junk. The kind of aftermarket replacement "OEM" fit we often see for sale. Can't recall the brand or where I got it. It only says "Taiwan" on a faded sticker, otherwise I'd warn you away from the brand. I'm sure many aftermarket shrouds work just fine. In fact, the motors on this one ran great. I guess the plastic was just not rated for this use.
So, check yours if you've bought one I that price range. It'll crumble in your hand if it's bad like mine was. I run my car stock, so I've got the OEM spendy parts enroute from Nissan. Radiator wasn't leaking, but appears to be possibly nicked. New radiator going in out of prudence, along with a new thermostat and hoses because it's all apart anyway.
First, I'm glad to read that you made it safely home and no one was hurt.
Second, I honestly think you bought a counterfeit product.
Like you stated, be careful who you buy from. Cheaper is not always better. Even if you think you're saving just a couple of bucks, make sure you're buying from a reputable source that also guarantees or warranties their products.
For anyone who might be looking for this information down the road....
I've learned (poking around here on my350z.com) that Nissan refers to the driver's side as fan 2, and the passenger side as fan 1.
Also found on the site: Passenger side wires are red, black/white, black, red
Driver's side wires are white, blue, black, yellow.
New fans, shroud, and radiator are due in a few days. New thermostat, hoses, and cap are in. Got me a Lisle funnel, I'm gonna lift the front end for the fill, and I'm gonna massage the s**t out of the hoses......wish me luck.
Days to ship these parts in and the OEM Nissan shroud arrives with a nice fracture down the side. Another one ordered.....another week.
Good news, the new radiator and thermostat were fine and went in - which means squat til it's all burped. Also, found out when I opened the box that the Nissan T-stat comes sans gasket....not that I don't wanna pay for it, but if you're bolting on new t-stat the gasket's supposed to be replaced. At least local Nissan had that for a mere $5.
So as I continue to read up on this, I see the FSM doesn't get to setting the heater to "on" until the system has been filled, bleeder opened, cooled down, etc at least three times. Only about midway into the process do they say to turn the heater on.....and then that includes going from idle to 3k multiple times.
This contradicts what seems to be a consensus that says to turn the heater on from the outset. Opinions?
I've always turned mine on and no harm no foul. I've never had a problem with air bubbles after changing coolant on Zs. However, in all fairness, I use a UView 550000 Air Lift Vacuum and Cooling System Tool that runs off a compressor to make sure that the system gets drained and filled on vacuum. Once you price out a UView and a compressor, and you might as well take it to the shop (unless you do a lot of cars).
Where did you order your new OEM parts from? Courtesy Nissan?
I use a UView 550000 Air Lift Vacuum and Cooling System Tool that runs off a compressor to make sure that the system gets drained and filled on vacuum.
That thing is rated five stars at a couple hundred reviews on Amazon. I can get it for $117 shipped......I've got my 80 gal compressor, but was unaware of this air lift device. Not to mention, I maintain three other cars. Crap, I was contemplating paying $80 for a pressure tester, and this thing apparently does that too.
I'm very interested in this. That's a bargain price for a time saver......kind of like when I discovered the vac brake bleeder, nice firm brakes on all the cars.
I'm hopping back and forth between here and the reviews....can you give me a quick primer? Mainly, what in the FSM and all the other tips and tricks I've read will I not need to do?
Ordered the parts via parts.com, which routed the order to McKinney Nissan in Texas. I prefer to use other sources, but their's was the best price.....by a lot. However, it appears that the parts come from Nissan to the dealer, then are fedex'd out. I'd say that no one opens each box to inspect the goods, and that the shroud was busted on another continent.
I'm ordering this UView 550000 today. I'd appreciate a quick rundown on how to use it on the Z. Thanks.
Since Nissan is taking it's sweet time to send the new radiator, I'm educating myself a bit. I've ordered the Airlift 550000, watched videos on it and am ready to go when it gets in.
In all of the instructions, the FSM, and tips and tricks here, it says to turn on the heat in the car, either at the beginning or at some point in the process. Presumably, this would be to get coolant flowing through the heater core to eliminate air pockets.
So, my car sits with no coolant in it, waiting for parts. I'm remembering that I'll need to turn the heat on. The last time I drove it the AC was on. Reading the instructions for the Airlift 550000, you're told to turn the heat on at the beginning of the process. I begin to ponder how I'm going to get the heat on without starting the car. Our HVAC controls are electronic, not directly connected to any control cables or valves. I was assuming either a vacuum or electric control valve existed somewhere in there. So I go hunting around the FSM and elsewhere to determine whether or not this valve would be electrically controlled (easy, ignition to accy and turn on heater) or vacuum (not easy, if engine can't be started due to no coolant).
Do these cars even have a heater core control valve? I can't find it. It appears that a blend door controls whether or not heat gets into the cabin. Which is dandy, but why the need to set the heat to "on" when filling and burping? Is coolant not always going through the heater core, heat "on" or not? The blend door just controls air movement, not the coolant flow, yes?
I'm sure I'm over-complicating a simple question. Anybody know? If it's always flowing through, why bother turning the heat on for the fill and burp? Is this instruction a holdover from older/other cars that control the heater core with an inline valve?
Turned out fine. The Airlift is slick. I still had to add a small amount of coolant to the reservoir the next day, but it's gtg with no overheating.
Posting back to remind anyone with a similar failure that they may need to replace the 40amp fuse for the fan after replacement. It evidently blew when the fan careened into the radiator.
11-05-2015, 05:14 PM
Fan shroud disintegrated
