Hey all,
Lots of great info here, just got turned on to this place by a someone at an unrelated forum.
I searched through a lot of what was here, and ran a search to see if this question was answered, but only thing it came back with was advice on broken motor mounts - my mechanic says they are fine.
Forgive me for not being as savvy of the right terms or names for things that I should be, messing with vehicles is something I do sometimes without any real training or whatever.
I have a 1994 Bronco 5.0
The fan that's in front of the radiator, it has a plastic piece that sits around it attached to the front of the engine compartment. I think it's called the shroud?
Sometimes the fan rubs against the plastic piece, with a quick repetitive clacking sound.
This only happens when the vehicle is not sitting flat, like if one of the front wheels is on a curb and the other 3 are on the street, or very rarely when i'm turning.
Once when I had a wheel on the curb and it kept making that sound, I threw it in park and popped the hood. Looking underneath, I could see that the fan was hitting the plastic cover, and tracked this down as the source of the noise.
Seems to me like it's not really anything to worry about directly, but it does have me a little concerned about a possible bigger problem.
If it only happens when one wheel is higher then the others in front, or sometimes when i'm turning, does this mean I might have a problem with the frame of my truck?
I'm worried that there is extra give and flex in the body of my truck, letting it deform enough to cause the rubbing.
My mechanic says my motor mounts are fine, and it doesn't happen during acceleration or braking, only when one front corner of the truck is higher then the other, or sometimes when I'm turning.
I have 33 inch tires on it, and no lift if that plays a part in the diagnosis. Have never had a problem with rubbing tires.
I routinely ask more of this truck then it has any right to give, overloading it hauling scrap, construction materials, yard waste, etc... Should I be concerned about taxing the vehicle too much?
I also take it camping a lot and carry all our gear to off-road camping sites. Usually we take a second vehicle for the people since the Bronco can easily transport the weight of everything we take.
I don't tow often, but sometimes i'll drag around trailers of various sizes, never pulled a huge one though and I don't own one myself, so it's only a sometimes thing.
I do, however, make it my mission to pull out cars that get stuck in the snow when it happens. Doesn't usually snow enough for this, but just two nights ago I pulled 3 vehicles back onto the road over in New Jersey on route 55 who slid into the downhill grassy median.
I mention this stuff so you can get a handle on the stresses I put the truck through, so you can better judge if I have a problem or not. Long and short of it is that I use the truck for what it can do, and not as just transportation.
Built Ford tough absolutely applies to the Bronco, and I love this truck and what it's proven to me it can do, so I don't wanna go and break it if there was a problem I should fix.
So should I be worried about this, or is it no big deal?
If you need more info I can probably describe it more in-depth if necessary.
Thanks for the advice!
Lots of great info here, just got turned on to this place by a someone at an unrelated forum.
I searched through a lot of what was here, and ran a search to see if this question was answered, but only thing it came back with was advice on broken motor mounts - my mechanic says they are fine.
Forgive me for not being as savvy of the right terms or names for things that I should be, messing with vehicles is something I do sometimes without any real training or whatever.
I have a 1994 Bronco 5.0
The fan that's in front of the radiator, it has a plastic piece that sits around it attached to the front of the engine compartment. I think it's called the shroud?
Sometimes the fan rubs against the plastic piece, with a quick repetitive clacking sound.
This only happens when the vehicle is not sitting flat, like if one of the front wheels is on a curb and the other 3 are on the street, or very rarely when i'm turning.
Once when I had a wheel on the curb and it kept making that sound, I threw it in park and popped the hood. Looking underneath, I could see that the fan was hitting the plastic cover, and tracked this down as the source of the noise.
Seems to me like it's not really anything to worry about directly, but it does have me a little concerned about a possible bigger problem.
If it only happens when one wheel is higher then the others in front, or sometimes when i'm turning, does this mean I might have a problem with the frame of my truck?
I'm worried that there is extra give and flex in the body of my truck, letting it deform enough to cause the rubbing.
My mechanic says my motor mounts are fine, and it doesn't happen during acceleration or braking, only when one front corner of the truck is higher then the other, or sometimes when I'm turning.
I have 33 inch tires on it, and no lift if that plays a part in the diagnosis. Have never had a problem with rubbing tires.
I routinely ask more of this truck then it has any right to give, overloading it hauling scrap, construction materials, yard waste, etc... Should I be concerned about taxing the vehicle too much?
I also take it camping a lot and carry all our gear to off-road camping sites. Usually we take a second vehicle for the people since the Bronco can easily transport the weight of everything we take.
I don't tow often, but sometimes i'll drag around trailers of various sizes, never pulled a huge one though and I don't own one myself, so it's only a sometimes thing.
I do, however, make it my mission to pull out cars that get stuck in the snow when it happens. Doesn't usually snow enough for this, but just two nights ago I pulled 3 vehicles back onto the road over in New Jersey on route 55 who slid into the downhill grassy median.
I mention this stuff so you can get a handle on the stresses I put the truck through, so you can better judge if I have a problem or not. Long and short of it is that I use the truck for what it can do, and not as just transportation.
Built Ford tough absolutely applies to the Bronco, and I love this truck and what it's proven to me it can do, so I don't wanna go and break it if there was a problem I should fix.
So should I be worried about this, or is it no big deal?
If you need more info I can probably describe it more in-depth if necessary.
Thanks for the advice!