removal of cooling fans xantia complete unit

Post by **admiral51** » 24 May 2007, 18:57

hi
ive got a 1996 P plate 1.9 d lx xantia A/C that has problems with the cooling fans. i have trawled through the posts already with regard to the wiring and testing which has helped greatly.
i need to remove the complete unit of both fans as the previous owner has cut and rejoined wires from one fan to the other as only one fan has a blade on.
as the car has aircon does it mean i have to remove front bumper and headlight/radiotor cover so as not to dismantle the aircon rad
any help much appreciated
i have aquired a s/hand unit with wiring loom from scrapper so was hoping to just swap them over or am i just about to walk into a nightmare with both eyes firmly open
colin

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 24 May 2007, 19:06

I managed to replace fan motors on my 1998 mk 2 Xantia through the front though I believe I have more room there than the Mk 1, I would suggest that you could replace parts rather than the whole thing that way, it was tight against the aircon rad but using thin spaners and quarter drive sockets it was possible, you will need to remove fan blades before the motors reveal their fastenings, good luck.
Stewart

Post by **admiral51** » 24 May 2007, 19:20

hi stewart
i would like to change the motors only but having looked at the motor with blade missing it seems no way to hold bolt while undoing nut as face of bolt seems round and very thin or do they sit in a such a way that the bolt wont turn
muppet i bouth car off has pulled wires out from where they plug into back of motor

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 24 May 2007, 19:34

as Stewart says it is possible but very tight for space,i think you may be able to unclip the top of the rad/s and lean them towards the engine to gain a bit more clearance,also you do have to remove the blades first the screw in the centre is left hand thread
regards malcolm

Post by **admiral51** » 24 May 2007, 19:40

hi malcolm
i was not sure if the aircon rad/condenssor would tilt the same as the engine rad without damaging any pipes for the a/c my guess these are very expensive to replace
cheers colin

mezuk04a · Post by **mezuk04a** » 24 May 2007, 19:57

I replaced a radiator on the same car, albeit an SX. The radiator can tilt without causing any damage. Infact we werent exactly delecate removing the old one and fitting the new one as its a bit tight, but all is well approaching two years now

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 24 May 2007, 19:58

One of my fans refused to come off after removing the left hand threaded screw, I chopped the centre out of it using a dremel tool enabling removal of the motor, some fan motors have the blades held on with an E clip, i think i found suitable units in pug 306s. The fans connect to the electrical supply in the unit using a pair of giant sized spade connectors which look like part of the frame thing, I presume that with a little ingenuity they could be connected to your new loom, I considered removing the radiator stack but then looked at the pipework and settled for blowing them through with an airline, you should have seen the c**p that came out.
Stewart

Post by **admiral51** » 24 May 2007, 20:30

sorry people but i just had mad moment maybe i should have got my head straight first.as you look at fans from front of car o/s fan (drivers side) has no blade and blade retaining screw has sheared off in situ. n/s (pass) fan has blade and is working.the wires to the o/s motor have been cut and joined into wires going into n/s motor.
would i be correct in thinking that if n/s motor with blade is working then wires have been joined somewhere between original relay for n/s motor and motor itself

if this is correct then i need only test o/s motor and extract sheared screw and fit new blade

hoping im not to far wide of the target colin[/img]

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 24 May 2007, 20:51

Just my thoughts on this (that I know are different to a few others here) but IMO trying to remove these fans on an early modrl, the ones I've had experience with, might save you pulling some of the front off, but get one bit of a snag and you're behind the 8 ball as far as time goes. Also if the stud that's sheared off is a LH thread as I suspect it is, good luck on getting a tap to fit it.
I've found it a lot more convenient and not that much more to do, to remove all the front stuff including the radiator (which I then take advatage of and flush out at the same time) and it also allows for a thorough cleaning of the area between the radiator and the air/con condensor by washing it over then by blowing all the garbage out between the two. This can inprove air/con efficiency quite a lot if it's getting blocked.
Only thing you may have to do battle with is the alloy fitting in the bottom left hand corner that is connected to the condensor. It's held on with a couple of allen headed bolts that screw into a couple of strange looking nuts and can be very tight to remove. A good dose of WD helps but if need be, snap the heads off and replace them. Once out, that allows this fitting to be moved around and makes general access easier when removing I think it's the radiator. I have been told that some people have removed the bolts and reversed them, using Devcon or similar to hold the heads so any future work can be done with less drama due to access to the nuts where you can see them.
Also as a tip, make 100% certain that the fans are working before you fit them as they have a habit over time of wearing the brushes down and firstly begin operating at below full speed, followed by operating intermittently and eventually stop altogether and where I am they ain't cheap. Not a big job to rebuild them if necessary.

Alan S

Post by **admiral51** » 24 May 2007, 21:40

hi alan
just put battery on to motor without blade and spins fine so no need to replace if i can avoid it
im hoping to take car to a mechanic and do work myself with a bit of onsite help if needed(tools etc)

hope he may have l/h tap or know where to get one
as a bodge what do you think to drilling out remnants of screw and getting rod of same size and welding to motor
then i can tap thread to lock onto outer of blade... any chance i will damage motor if i weld dont really want to remove rads bumper etc if poss
thanks for all the other threads on fan relays/wiring would be lost without them
colin

Post by **admiral51** » 25 May 2007, 10:49

just a quick update had a look at removing fan in situ and it came apart in my hands 2 of 3 struts broken looks like its bumper of rad out etc oh what joys
dont think i should super glue struts back together do you

Stewart(oily) · Post by **Stewart(oily)** » 25 May 2007, 11:05

From memory the struts are a kind of U section so some kind of splint/zip tie arrangement might work, however if you are pulling the rad stack out then why not fit the new assembly, someone must have been caveman stylee in there, does the aircon work?
Stewart

Post by **admiral51** » 25 May 2007, 11:20

not at the moment stewart but having looked at posts on a/c it seems both fans need to be working for a/c to operate so hopefully i can look at that once fans are sorted
have tried taking bitron sensor plug off and fan does run flat out with ignition on i think ive got n/s fan powered by fast relay due to the way its been joined
had good look at fan unit and is slightly different from one in car think this has come from a zx aura 1.9td no idea year or reg
hope it fits without too much adjustment

Post by **admiral51** » 25 May 2007, 19:09

going off topic slightly but just put car on ramp and found hydraulic fluid dripping from underneath n/s front footwell
i know i have a leak from n/s sphere and this is running to front of car but is it possible it can run back and appear around rubber bung under footwell cant seem to see how it gets there as no sign of fluid on outside until drain/bung.
i see now why owning a xantia is full of surprises hope this is simple
thanks colin

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 26 May 2007, 15:41

try fixing that leak first,it i probably only a sphere seal which needs replacing,and fitting properly,and yes the fluid can run back down the bulkhead from the top of the struts (spheres) as well
regards malcolm