You can drive just fine without the fan as long as you watch the temp and don't let it get hot. I wouldn't go far from the house but around the neighborhood should be okay if you are just looking to test things out.

 

Success!! The car started just fine. I had never done a coolant replacement, but followed the instructions and it seemed to work. I will bleed the system again when cool just to be safe. I let it idle a good 15 minutes and temperature went up very slowly. So far so good.

The one thing I did notice is that the minute I turn on the engine, the power steering reservoir is bubbling. Not like boiling since it was cool to the touch after 15 minutes of idling. Is this normal? Or is it due to the bent tube? Power steering itself seemed to work and make no wierd noises.

 

My power steering fluid moves inside the reservoir also. I'm not sure if it's normal but mine does it too.

You can bleed the power steering fluid if you want to make sure there isn't air in the system. It will be really easy since you don't have the fan and shroud on right now.

Here are the instructions from the RAVE:Power Steering Bleed.pdf

Stand in front of the truck and have a helper sit in the car.
The bleed screw and nipple is right on top of the steering box. Connect a tube to the bleed nipple and run it down to a container on the floor. Have the helper start the truck, let it warm up for a minute, and start turning the wheel all the way to one side. Use a small wrench to crack open the bleed screw as they are turning the wheel and close the bleed screw after they reach full lock. Have the helper turn the wheel the other way. Open the bleed screw again after they reach the half way point and close it after they reach full lock. Top up the fluid. Do that a few times or until you have run all the old fluid out and replaced it with new fluid.

 

Thanks for the info. Some googling and youtubing seem to show that it is perfectly normal. The only difference is that I cleaned the reservoir, so now I can actually see the liquid moving around

Anyhow, I drove the car around the neighborhood. Drove fantastic, no codes so my MAF soldering surgery worked.

I think for now I'm going to leave the power steering be. It drives great, makes no noises and does not leak.

I want to thank all of you that helped me. Putting the fan and shrouds back on should be a piece of cake after all of the other work. The final total was $700 of new and used parts and the truck is back on the road for my son. And my satisfaction and bragging rights are through the roof

 

Good job on the repair. It's great news that the disco lives again.

 

i hope you have him cutting $700 worth of grass.

 

ha -- I am canceling my snow removal guy and giving my son the shovel for this winter

 

Check the motor mounts, if one failed the engine would move and send the fan into everything you showed broken,,,,

 

I finally got around to doing this. Setup a floor jack under the oil pan and jacked up the engine slowly. No tears or breaks in the engine mounts. Infact, the engine was trying to lift up the entire front end of the car, but did not move within the engine bay if that makes sense.

So I still think the most likely cause is part of the lower shroud getting sucked into the fan.

 

Good to hear