How one can take preventive maintenance on a radiator fan like this?

 

This fan was on the car when I bought it. I don't know its wear status.

How do I open it?

I want to check carbon brushes, bearings etc.

 

Last summer this fan was running like all time on. It's good to check before summer heat arrives.

 

I also want to clean carbon residues inside of the motor housing. They tend to create conductive surfaces. Which in turn, creates unwanted heat and electrical losses.

Since I can't edit my post above, I want to add that, I can't find any alternate fan from Bosch or any other reputable brand in my area. There are brands like Vika Ruby etc. (Importing is not an option at this time.)

 

After some research, I'm %90 sure, the fan currently I have is from a Felicia. This one has only one speed and possibly 70W. That means it's over 20 years old. 😱

 

I think I can open it by prying the metal edges folded over the back plate.

 

- Should I try to open the fan and replace the carbon brushes? OR

- Buy a new one.

 

Which one is more reliable? 20+ years old Bosch fan with new carbon brushes or a new aftermarket fan? (Vika)

(New fans are 120/200W two speed models. I'll use only the slow speed.)

 

 

3 hours ago, R_Blue said:

or a new aftermarket fan? (Vika)

 

No Vika, it's cheap chinese quality.

 

https://www.b-parts.com/auto-parts/electrical-and-electronic/radiator-fan-skoda-felicia-ii-estate-6u5-13-165959455g-1998-1999-2000-2001-883935

 

Too expensive !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the instruction videos!

Edited 23 May, 20224 yr by R_Blue

On 21/05/2022 at 14:03, R_Blue said:

How one can take preventive maintenance on a radiator fan like this?

I presume that you need a specific answer, not generic videos from the Internet.

My answer for you is this:

1) If it is not broken, don't fix it. Relax. Fan motors don't need maintenance other than changing brushes (if you are lucky to find suitable ones)

2) You may open it, but I advise you not. The small metal catches have a high chance to break.

3) When the fan motor will break, buy another available replacement motor. Meanwhile, check the market using the part number. Use the pinned topic about online catalogs for Felicia.

4 minutes ago, RicardoM said:

I presume that you need a specific answer

Yeah, I needed someone who did this before on 165959455 series fans. There are a LOT of cars using this fan. Golf I,II Audi 80s, Caddy, Felicia etc. Unfortunately there is not any instruction or video about these fans.

You know, I trust your expertise and judgement. I'll leave it for now.

Thank you.

19 hours ago, R_Blue said:

(Importing is not an option at this time.)

 

Can not find one in local market?

The shipping rate is too high from a European country?

5 hours ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

 

Can not find one in local market?

The shipping rate is too high from a European country?

Yes. The shipping rates will be high. I haven't checked small stores yet.

... and MOT time is coming. 🙄 

Aliexpress? Some stores offer Free shipping.

On the other hand we have almost stopped to buy from Ebay.com (US stores) because the shipping many times is more than the value of the item!

On 23/05/2022 at 11:30, R_Blue said:

Unfortunately there is not any instruction or video about these fans.

Usually they are scrapped, not repaired. I know that money is scarce today for a Felicia owner, but sometimes it is easier to buy new parts.

On 23/05/2022 at 11:30, R_Blue said:

Yeah, I needed someone who did this before on 165959455 series fans.

 

Here is a ''specific answer'', some techicians can do a refurbish job here but due to the low payment now the new guys usually say ''No, buy a new one''.

The same happens for altenators, engine starters, solenoids etc, back in the Good Old Times the mechanic was giving a ''specific answer'' as ''I can do it, the cost is this but won't last for many years as a new one''.

The ''specific answer'' from the driver (if he didn't had enough money) usually was ''Ok do it, i will take the risk'' or if he wanted to keep the car for long time and had the money to spend the ''specific answer'' in was ''Ok do you sell new ones?''.

On 23/05/2022 at 19:51, D.FYLAKTOS said:

Aliexpress? Some stores offer Free shipping.

On the other hand we have almost stopped to buy from Ebay.com (US stores) because the shipping many times is more than the value of the item!

I checked AX but couldn't find any. I think the package will surpass international air mail standards.

 

10 hours ago, RicardoM said:

Usually they are scrapped, not repaired. I know that money is scarce today for a Felicia owner, but sometimes it is easier to buy new parts.

I'll wait for now. At the first failure sign, I'll buy a new one. Whatever I can find at that date.

 

Well... there is a little bit different story here.

I bought mine for €2300. That translates into a year's worth of full time job without spending for a sandwich. (Provided if you find that job and they agreed to pay you the whole minimum wage)

Felicia's are even more valuable.

For example, @D.FYLAKTOS 's Felicia is a unicorn. Power steering + A/C on a reliable and economic 1.3 Škoda MPI engine? Once I've asked one of the main Škoda parts stores about A/C on 1.3. Just out of curiosity. They gave me a blank look and then, they were like "WTF??? What are you talking about? There is no A/C on 1.3 models!"

That car could easily make €6000++

 

So, even if I had money to pay for ALL the repairs, I wouldn't do it. Because mechanics here don't always fix properly. Sometimes they fix something while breaking other things or even do improper repairs at all.

 

I had to do the carburetor cleaning/rebuilding myself. I've been told that, not many real carburetor experts were left. People say, don't go to carburetor builders. That could be a total waste for money or even they could make it worse. I've even heard that, so told carburetor builders could dip the whole carburetor in paint thinner overnight and claim they cleaned/rebuilt it and ask for $$$ for their marvelous job.

 

So would you leave your -one year's work worth- of car's one of the most important parts to someone for dipping in paint thinner? So they could rip you like plucking a chicken? 🐔 No?

Just download @RicardoM 's PDF package for Pierburg 2E3 carburetors and educate yourself. That's what I did.

 

5 hours ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

Here is a ''specific answer'', some techicians can do a refurbish job here but due to the low payment now the new guys usually say ''No, buy a new one''.

The same happens for altenators, engine starters, solenoids etc, back in the Good Old Times the mechanic was giving a ''specific answer'' as ''I can do it, the cost is this but won't last for many years as a new one''.

The ''specific answer'' from the driver (if he didn't had enough money) usually was ''Ok do it, i will take the risk'' or if he wanted to keep the car for long time and had the money to spend the ''specific answer'' in was ''Ok do you sell new ones?''.

As soon as I saw the videos you've posted, I got the whole picture. They broke the internal parts when trying to open the fan motor. Fans are not designed for repairs. Not even one example for our fan motors means they are even worse. Even so, I thought, maybe I can try?

I postponed the idea for now. But if I open it in the future, I'll post the results.

17 hours ago, R_Blue said:

Fans are not designed for repairs. Not even one example for our fan motors means they are even worse.

 

The do some repair-refurbish work here:

 

https://autoturbo.gr/δραστηριοτητεσ/επισκευη-βεντιλατερ/

 

https://youtu.be/eJHoGMzlXlA

 

https://m.facebook.com/Αργυρόπουλος-ηλεκτρολογείο-αυτοκινήτων-1645084089070105/videos/επισκευή-αιρκοντίσιον-και-βεντιλατερ/1933228546922323/

7 minutes ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

 

The do some repair-refurbish work here:

 

https://autoturbo.gr/δραστηριοτητεσ/επισκευη-βεντιλατερ/

 

https://youtu.be/eJHoGMzlXlA

 

https://m.facebook.com/Αργυρόπουλος-ηλεκτρολογείο-αυτοκινήτων-1645084089070105/videos/επισκευή-αιρκοντίσιον-και-βεντιλατερ/1933228546922323/

The balance! The keyword is balance. Both the fan blades and motor itself have to be balanced too like any other fast rotating part. One must consider this before attempting a repair/refurbish job. They have professional tools for this. An overlooked but very important detail.

Dont even bother just make sure it works for as little as possible and when it fails get a new one

On 28/05/2022 at 08:03, Thefeliciahacker said:

Dont even bother just make sure it works for as little as possible and when it fails get a new one

So, you say "Don't hack it!" 😃

18 hours ago, R_Blue said:

So, you say "Don't hack it!" 😃

Preety much 

Recommend BUGIAD BSP22032.

Second option, VIKA.

https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/007040270-cooling-motor-8971.html

 

The shipping from www.skoda-parts.com is very high because it uses couriers and not Post Office which means lot of money, sometimes more that the value of the part itself !

 

On 22/05/2022 at 16:25, R_Blue said:

(Importing is not an option at this time.)

 

He wrote it crystal clear.

Plus it does not sends to all the countries:

https://www.skoda-parts.com/delivery.html

 

 

On the other hand... do fan motors go bust that often? I never had a dead fan motor or one that required or allowed any maintenance. I guess they are designed to pretty much outlive the car {from the manufacturer's point of view.., that's maybe 5 years and 100k kms?}

If replacing it is so problematic even getting another from a scrapyard off a Golf or something?

Or maybe just getting one that's roughly the same size and mounting that instead? I mounted 2 different fans over the years on a Suzuki Carry {Fa8 has a belt driven fan and can overheat in traffic jams}

Locally here you can get some "tuning" fans, very generic with pretty easy mountings. They are worth exactly as they cost but hey, if you can't get the original...?

:D 

12 hours ago, hzoltaan said:

On the other hand... do fan motors go bust that often? I never had a dead fan motor or one that required or allowed any maintenance.

 

 

On 01/06/2022 at 23:43, hzoltaan said:

If replacing it is so problematic even getting another from a scrapyard off a Golf or something?

I can replace it but it will be Vika or other brands like that. My main concern was about reliability. Same thing happened with alternator and distributor. When I wanted to check local stores for an alternator, some of them told me that they weren't selling aftermarket (Chinese?) alternator because they had got plagued with customer complaints and high return rate. They told me even if I found one, stay away from it. Best approach is rebuilding original one.

 

So they don't make car parts like they used to make in the good old days. So this topic was like: Hey! what do we do with the fans when they got bad? Rebuild? or buy?

Majority of people say don't bother. Buy.

 

On 01/06/2022 at 23:43, hzoltaan said:

I mounted 2 different fans over the years on a Suzuki Carry

Always wanted to drive one but never got the chance. 😞

On 01/06/2022 at 23:43, hzoltaan said:

Locally here you can get some "tuning" fans, very generic with pretty easy mountings. They are worth exactly as they cost but hey, if you can't get the original...?

I know exactly which fans you mean. Good option.

 

@D.FYLAKTOS

Did the heat wave hit you too? I think you need 1.6 rad with custom side-by-side double fan setup.

20 hours ago, R_Blue said:

 

@D.FYLAKTOS

Did the heat wave hit you too? I think you need 1.6 rad with custom side-by-side double fan setup.

 

All i was trying to show is even when someone boughts a brand-new radiator fan can face a serious problem (as i did)

Even a mechanic which was present in the parts sore insisted ''it's plug and play'' when i was explaining to the employee what happened to the previous one, i look at him in the eyes and i said ''don't be so sure''.