Hi Everyone,

my 2001 disco decided to celebrate our 1 anniversary of ownership by having the fan explode into bits in the engine bay. My son was driving the car at the time, he said he was at full throttle accelerating trying to merge when he heard a loud explosion and the hood seemed to want to pop up. He immediately pulled over and saw there was oil and water everywhere on the ground. We had the car towed back to the house.

I took the pics below to show the carnage. The fan blades took out the MAF, the thermostat and cooling hoses, and poked a nice gash in the oil filter which explains why the oil leaked out of the car.

Here are my questions that I could use some help with:

1- Does the repair seem like something I could DIY or should I go to the mechanic? I am reasonably handy, but this is larger in scope than anything I have attempted.
2- It feels like damage is not too bad, but do you think it might not be fixable or permanent damage was done? My son said it took him 30 seconds to pull over, so the car ran a bit before the engine stopped. Since the oil leak is from the filer, I figure there would be enough oil left not to cause block damage or something, but it would suck to order all the parts just to find out something permanent had happened to the engine. Should I change the oil/filter and run the engine with no coolant for a few seconds just to make sure it cranks and starts? Thoughts?
3- Any idea why this happened? Is there a better fan unit, maybe a metal one so it does not happen again?
4- The coolant hoses look ok upon inspection, but I'm wondering if I should replace them all. Probably safer? Is there a hose kit/thermostat that is recommended as an upgrade?
5- the plastic shroud protection around the fan that also surround the sides of the radiator is in shambles. Total loss. Is this part necessary? It seems it is there for safety, but has no functional role. I'm wondering if I should skip ordering it.
6- MAF was Bosch and brand new. Connector is toast, but perhaps there is a way to salvage it?
7- Finally, anything else I should be looking for or considering at this point that I might not have spotted?

Thanks for the help!

-Eric

 

Change only the filter, check oil level and fire it up. If no knocks, fix it. Will run rough or hard to start without MAF. But, this is doable, IF, he stopped immediately. I would fix it anyway, get more on trade or sell for a running vehicle. Check around for used parts but not fan.

 

Sounds like your bearings on the water pump failed. The fan attaches to the water pump so this would explain how the fan came loose and got caught on the shroud.

It's all pretty easy to fix.

As far as the shroud, it is more than a safety item, it channels air through your various radiators. Without it you will have less than efficient air flow.

 

I've never seen every blade on a fan break off like that while the clutch is still attached to the engine. scary! I think about that cheap *ss land rover plastic every time I have my neck bent over a running engine.

 

________________

 

what he said


WOW never seen one quite grenade like that, got to love plastic

 

Thanks for the help everyone! I did some research at atlantic british for parts. (Is there a better source?)

It seems like a first pass of parts would include:

Water pump - $80 for OEM replacement
Fan+Viscous Coupling: $260
Thermostat: $50
MAF: $100
Full Hose kit: $199

I could not find a shroud for the radiator on atlantic british. Anyone know where to get one?

Finally I wanted to double check the advice above: If change oil and filter and clear out all the broken hoses etc, should I fire it up for a few seconds before I order all the above? I'm very nervous about doing that, but it seems like the logical thing to do before ordering close to $800 in parts

Thanks!

 

You may be able to find some of those parts cheaper if you're not planning to keep the truck...Like a used fan and clutch for $50 and a used shroud for cheap..

If you are planning to keep the truck you may want to buy the best quality parts you can find.. like the good $150 airtex water pump and grey $80 land rover thermostat.

Also you may want to check your motor mounts. something had to move a good bit to take out all the blades on your fan like that. could have been the water pump bearings though as already said. Move the fan clutch up and down and see if it has any play.

I would change the oil and filter and move everything and start it for a minute, but not over a minute....just to be sure you have something left to work with.

 

These are the parts I would order to start with. Not necessarily from the sites I suggest but the same part.

1)Complete hose kit ($290): Land Rover Discovery II Hose Kit: Land Rover Parts & Accessories From Atlantic British


2) Genuine Grey 180 T-Stat ($79): Low Temp Thermostat : Low Temp Thermostat


3)Water Pump ($150):Rover Water Pump (STC4378) Replacement Fits Discovery, Range Rover & Defender Vehicles


4) Overflow tank ($51):Overflow Tank : Overflow Tank Assembly


5)MAF ($102):01 2001 Land Rover Discovery Air Mass Sensor - Air Intake - A1 Cardone, Bosch, Dorman - PartsGeek


6)Fan clutch ($75): Viscous Clutch : Viscous Clutch


7) Radiator? ($225):01 2001 Land Rover Discovery Radiator - Cooling System - Action Crash, Nissens - PartsGeek



EditI forgot about your fan Shroud and Fan)

8) $40 each used on EBay:
Lower:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Land-Rover-D...e85e75&vxp=mtr


9) Upper:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-04-Land-R...76814e&vxp=mtr


10) New Fan:http://lucky8llc.biz/index.php?optio...tegory_id=1704

____________

Total: Around $1250

It's looks final cost looks steep but if you want to feel better you could always tow it to a mechanic and have them give you and estimate.
My guess is they will at least double the cost I gave you and you probably won't even get all of these new parts.

 

Jared and everyone else, thank you! Oil filter and rotella is on the way from amazon. I will fire it up and see what happens. I will definitely order the right parts if the thing can be fixed.