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Disco II fan exploded -- need some help
5 Attachment(s)
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.
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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.
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Originally Posted by potxoli
(Post 475997)
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. Yes all of the things you said broke is easily fixed 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? Most of the time when a fan explodes like that it takes out the radiator also. Replacing the radiator will be the most challenging of all your repairs if you have to replace it also. If it really only took him 30 seconds to pull over then you are hopefully okay. When I used to tell my parents 30seconds I really meant 3 min, so let's hope your son is not like I was:D 3- Any idea why this happened? Is there a better fan unit, maybe a metal one so it does not happen again? If I had to guess it sounds like one of your old coolant hoses probably blew under the "pedal to the metal" driving and took out the fan, which in turn took out anything not metal. By looking at your picture I can tell that you have the old style bleed screw so your coolant hoses are old. If your T-Stat was also old then it could have exploded and caused the same effect. 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? Yes, replace all the hoses. Get the Genuine Grey 180 soft spring. Get the hose kit that has the bleed screw in the Tee and not the hose above the radiator. 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. Yes, the shroud is necessary and needs to be replaced. The fan pulls air through the radiator and without the shroud the pulling power is lost. 6- MAF was Bosch and brand new. Connector is toast, but perhaps there is a way to salvage it? Sorry but the MAF is totaled. PartsGeek has a new bosch MAF or $102/freeshipping. Are the plug and wires that plug into the MAF cut and destroyed also? They look good in the picture but I don't see how the MAF can take that kind of damage and the plug not take damage. 7- Finally, anything else I should be looking for or considering at this point that I might not have spotted? You might want to replace the water pump and fan clutch while you are at it. The water pump may have been your problem also or may have been damaged during failure. Thanks for the help! -Eric |
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! |
Originally Posted by potxoli
(Post 476015)
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! 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. |
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.
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