Bronco Forum - Full Size Ford Bronco Forum banner

Fan rubbing shroud - problem?

9K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  BRONCONUT 
#1 ·
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!
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Body mounts or engine mounts.

Make sure the shroud is still fastened securely.
 
#8 ·
Kith, the first thing that I would do is crawl under the front of your truck and look at the base of the shroud. There should be 2 clips that secure the shroud to the base radiator support. If they are missing or not connected the shroud can move or become oval in shape causing it to come in contact with the fan with centrifical or gravitational force. If the shroud has 4 points securely fastened, then look elsewhere. I just dealt with this issue and adequately securing the base attachment clips cured my out-of-round shroud that was very close to the fan on one side.
 
#9 ·
Where on the shrould is the fan hitting-bottom,top or sides.If the fan is hitting on the bottom,the motor mounts may be collapsed or the rad may not be sitting properly on the lower mounts.If the fan hits the top of the shrould,then there may be a problem with the rad support-rusted out or bent,rad support mounts-collapsed,split or missing,the lower rad mounts-bent,rad mount rubber pads-collapsed,missing.The motor mounts not sitting all the way down in the frame brackets on one side or both sides.If the fan hits on the sides,the shrould may be out of round,sitting of to one side on the rad,the rad sitting to one side.There may be more that can be added,but this is a good start.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Thanks for the replies!

I've been busy the last few days and haven't had time to really check up on it, but I did a quick cursory check with a flashlight a few minutes ago (in the rain no less...)

Looks like the clips are all there, and the shroud doesn't look like it's out of shape.

I haven't checked the radiator yet, but i'll do that on my day off tomorow during daylight.

I'm kinda hoping now that my radiator isn't seated correctly, because i'd hate for it to be a motor mount.

i've been using my mechanic since i've been driving for 9 years now, and my dad used him for a long time before that. He's a friend of the family, and the people in his shop do good work and have been the same people for as long as I can remember.

I've been through just over a dozen vehicles. Some were totalled, some weren't worth fixing after a certain point, one was stolen, but I am hard on a vehicle. I've had my bronco for a little over a year and a half now, and not only have I had it longer then any other but it's the first one strong enough to take the abuse I put it through.

I busted two motor mounts on an oldsmobile I had once, and my mechanic picked it up during inspection. I didn't even know. His shop has gotten a lot of business through me over the years, and I was always happy with the work.

He told me specifically they were fine, but that was a long time ago and before I noticed the sound now that I think about it, so the possibilty is there that it could be the problem.

I really hope not though.

Where are the motor mounts located, and how many are there?
 
#13 ·
Since this is happening when the truck is flexed but not on engine stress I would point to the core supports (on the front of the frame near the radiator not the motor mount (there are 2).





OMG:smilie_slapyou did not just recommend trying to replace a mount this way. There are a whole bunch of reasons why this is a real bad idea!
 
#14 ·
Motor mounts.

I had the same problem with my 5.0 Mustang. When my fan rubbed against my shroud, it started wearing the fan down slowely. I replaced with solid motor mounts from Brother's Performance. Relatively cheap and easy to install. I went with solid and it was an everyday driver, gave a little more torque as long as your tranny mount isn't solid (room for give) you'll be ok. I went as far as removing the shroud altogether, but not needed due to the fact that has your coolant overflow container is attached to it. If you go that route, make sure you have a brand new radiator cap to insure that it won't continuesly overflow when a little warm.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top