Well couple of weeks ago my radiator fan was making a very weird noise and one of the fan was vibrating really badly. I guess I was due for a new one due to wear and tear. Anyway, I bought one of those cheap radiator fan off of Ebay and had my mechanic install it for me. Ever since then my car has been over heating. Every time i'm driving on the highway with the A/C on, everything is fine. Once I drive local or stop and go with the a/c on, the car starts over heating. The temperature goes back to normal when the a/c is turned off. Could it be that the ebay fan isn't powerful enough to cool the engine? This is really annoying the hell out of me.

 

Is it working when it needs to? Did he wire it in correctly? Are you sure any other part of your cooling system isn't a miss?

 

It works when I turn on the a/c and it also works when the engine gets hot I guess. He did wire it correctly because I saw him unhook and hook everything back exactly as taken out. No other things are missing, i've checked the coolant and it's also fine.

Should I just buy another fan from the stealership and replace this one?

 

Are both fans working properly?


One way to test it is test its performance, (flow/CFM). But, probably more time and effort than you'd like. (i.e., test it vs a properly functioning OEM fan)

 

Not saying you didn't, but that's probably a part I would have looked for in other places besides ebay. Definitely sounds like some sort of wiring issue and/or the new fan is actually faulty as well.

 

I agree. When my 4th gen water pump went to heaven, I decided to spend the money for an OEM unit from Nissan.

 

You guys are right. Even tho i've only spent 80 bux shipped for this bootleg fan, i'm just going to order the OEM part from the stealership. The OEM part costs $351.

Another question, could this be that my water pump is bad? I always thought when ur water pump goes, the antifreeze leaks out.

 

Your water pump isn't bad. But you keep referring to it as FAN(singular), is your other fan working?

 

You only need to replace the fan motor. About $100 from the dealer. Happened to one of my fans, the other is on its way.
Did you mech. took out the radiator to do the work? if so, he probably didn't let the air out of the system. Will overheat if you have air pockets in the cooling system. To replace the fan motor, don't need to take the radiator out, just the fan blade mount piece. 20 minute job.

 

Case in point, next remember to buy only the motor.
It is easy to wire in.

Have your mechanic 'burp' the system.

But typically an unburped system will overheat regardless. Not just when in traffic w/ AC.

 

perhaps when your mechanic removed the radiator and drianed it as well, when he refilled it, he didnt leve the cap open to remove airpockets, thats what this sounds like.

 

Can I do that on my own? What's the procedure for this? I can give this a shot before replacing the fans or fan motors. He didn't really take my radiator out for this, he only took the pipe that goes to the radiator on the right side off so he can pull the fans out. Whatever fluid drained out he had replaced by adding more coolant. Would there be a possibility that there are air bubbles still?

 

hey the questions for you are:
did you have this problem while using a/c in stop n go traffic with old OEM fan; if so, was the weather this hot.
there have been previous threads of high temps so ridiculous that turning on A/C in stop n go traffic doesn't supply enough airflow, even with fans running, thus causing radiator to hinder behind condenser

 

Two days ago we had 104F and stop and go traffic didn't affect my car in any way.

There is a bleeder screw, i think right above the thermostat. Look in the manual. Should me a metric 10mm bolt. You run the car to op temp. turn on inside heater, wait till fan kicks in and loosen the screw to let the air out.
Don't open it all the way, or you'll get yourself an ol' Faithfull.. Just a little, till you see coolant spraying out of it. At the beginning it will be with air , then just plain liquid. Close and add when neccesary.

DO NOT OPEN RADIATOR CAP WHEN HOT.

 

I never had this problem in the past. With my old OEM radiator, it NEVER over heated even when the temp reached 100 degrees. It's RIGHT after I changed the fans that this started happening. So I guess i'm down to two things now, either I have air bubbles in the radiator or I need a new fan.

I'm gonna follow Nick's directions and see if i can get the air bubbles out, if this doesn't fix the problem then I guess i'm only left with one option.

 

Well just wanted to update you guys (everyone that tried to help me out). I've bought another fan assembly and replaced the ebay fans. The problem has been fixed. The car doesn't over heat anymore. So I guess i've reached the conclusion of never to buy anything else from ebay. LOL. Anyway, just wanted to shed the information out to anyone that's having heating issues.

 

All that you need to know is did the mechanic remove the fan alone or did he remove the whole radiator/fan assembly. If he drained the radiator, he may have left air pockets, just open the radiator cap, raise the front of the car, run the baby for 20min and every air pocket is out.

When I went thro this whrring sound from one of the radiator motors, I took off the entire fan assembly alone. Then coming to the motor, it is no magic, it just needs some little lubrication and seating the spring mounted motor correctly in the housing. When I removed the housing I did see one spring displaced and that is why the motor was doing all the funky things, it was a long time ago (I don't remember even lubricating it with grease etc, just threw in some motor oil). Making all the little 6/7 springs in place was close to hell, they kept jumping around.

Happy that it is resolved, still keep an eye on the gauge for another comple of summer months.

 

Anyone have any directions/tips on replacing the radiator fan? (Specifically the one on the left if you are facing the rear of the car)

 

I pulled out the entire shroud with both fans on it. Verry tricky manuver, but i got it done.

 

I have a similar problem replacing a noisy rattling fan/motor/assembly. It was very easy to replace the whole shroud with fans and motor attached and plug it in. Works great until i shut the car off and the fan continues to run. The fan runs constantly when key is out of ignition and motor completely cool. The only way to get it to turn off is disconnect the battery. Just to make sure it was not the new part, i hooked the old one back up and it is doing the same thing now. So, it has to be something on the car. Does anyone know of a relay or sensor that could be jacked up? Maybe a fuse? Has anyone heard of this as I could not find much in a search.

 

Just started getting hot when I let it idle. Once I start moving again, it cools down. Mostly does it when waiting in line at a restaurant or traffic jam. Guess I need to change my fans or fan motors.

 

There is a fuse (I dont know whether to call it a fuse or relay) that is for the radiator fan. I will take pictures so you can know what I am talking about. You might need to replace it. The fuse box is located on the driver's side behind the battery. Look for where RAD fan 1 and fan 2 are located using the fuse cover. Is the fuse link is broken, then thats the problem youre having. Hope this helps.
here is the picture of it.

P.s I have a couple of these fuses so let me know if you need any.

 

You will have to remove the whole shroud to replace the fan and motor.
1. There are about 4 bolts holding the shroud to the radiator. I think they're three but Im not quite sure. Take them out(I think they're all on top so this makes it easier).
2. Disconnect the fan motors.
3. Pull out the whole shroud carefully.
4. You will need to remove fan first(8mm bolt socket needed) from the motor before you can take the motor out. There are three 10mm bolts holding the motor to the shroud, take them out and youre halfway done.
5. Repeat these steps backwards to put new motor/fan in.
6. I have two motors and fans laying around in my basement. PM me if you need any.

 

You need to find out if your fans are constantly working during Idle. Also, one of your fans might not be working. Does your Temp rise with AC on? Have you done a radiator Power Flush lately?
All these questions need to be answered before any conclusion. Read my previous posts on how to check for the fuse.