HELP: Fan Pulley Bracket
 

Just got word that my 94' Toyota 4runner 3.0L (3VZE), bearing encased in the fan pulley bracket has locked up. Got a price from the stealer for $771 for part and $300 labor. I found a Dorman part online for $106. I would really like to replace this on my own since my funds are pretty low right now. Any chance one of you guys could do a write up, or walk me through it. I have all the tools I need for the job, but a little direction would be greatly appreciated.

For others with this problem...
Toyota part number: 163076-5040
Dorman part number: 300801

Dorman Sold by RockAuto for: $106

There are many postings up here about how most aftermarket 3.0L fan brackets are crap. Did you do any research on Dorman fan brackets before buying it? Did you actually buy it yet? Most times, you would be better off getting a used one from a scrapyard or somebody parting out a 4Runner on here, instead of going aftermarket for this particular part. Give Toyota of Dallas a call to see what they sell it for. Their prices are normally better. You can get the number at http://www.trdparts4u.com/.

Replacing it is an easy job. You can dig the instructions out from the FSM here. Obviously, you don't have to perform all the steps in the document I linked to, because it details all the steps needed to replace a timing belt. Just remove the stuff you need to remove to allow you to get to the fan bracket.

Part of the reason the fan bracket costs so much is apparently Toyota only sells it with the fan clutch too. Yeah, some have had the aftermarket fan brackets break, sometimes with lots of damage to stuff around the fan. The rotational mass of the fan when it hits stuff makes a mini explosion. Holes in radiator, broken fan shoud, dents in hood, cut hoses and lines, etc.... That being said I am now using an aftermarket fan bracket I bought off ebay, but I don't put a fan on it anymore. I switched to an electric fan which takes a lot of the stress off the bracket. With an e-fan in place the bracket and bearing are basicly only an idler pulley to hold the belts in place. In fact... if you wanted to, its possible to get an e-fan, shorter belts and run with no fan bracket at all.

Not sure about the quality of the Dorman part. RockAuto? I see it on there for $106.

Replacing the thing is pretty darn easy. You will need to back off the tension on all of your accessory belts (power steering, AC, and alternator), remove the belts, drain the radiator down a bit, remove the upper radiator hose, unbolt the fan shroud, unbolt the fan (4x nuts, be very carefull not to round those off), lift the shroud and fan out as one, remove the upper timing belt cover (be careful with the spark plug wire clips, they break really easy). There might be a few other minor things to move out of the way, but that is the bulk of it. You are now at this point:

[IMG]http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x...n/IMG_0515.jpg[/IMG]

The fan bracket is the aluminum part dead center with the four studs on it. You will need to remove the Power Steering bracket on the left side of this picture, as it is capturing the fourth stud that holds the fan bracket in.

After that is out of the way, you unbolt the thing, and put the new one in, and as the manuals say, installation is the reverse of removal.

If the dealer is charging 700 bones for the factory bracket versus $106 for the aftermarket, you could install six of the aftermarket for the price of one factory. If the aftermarket brackets last 5 years, that is pretty attractive. You need to do the belts in five years anyway. The part is very simple it is just a die cast piece of aluminum with a bearing in it that the shaft is attached too. Pretty simple stuff.

You can do this, easily. Start hitting those 4x nuts on the fan with PB blaster now, and every day, twice a day for a few days, that will make it easier to get them off. That is really the most difficult part of the job, those damn nuts that you cannot get a socket on.

Good luck,

Mike

Wow, I did not know they only sold it with the clutch. That explains the 700 bones. When the aftermarket bracket fails, it fails catastrophically? Not just the bearing going out, but the fan separates from the bracket flange? Damn, that is not a good design.

Get a factory one from a wrecker, that would be the way to go. There was one out at my local Pick-N-Pull last weekend.

Mike

The aftermarket fan brackets are made of cast pot metal. So when the bearing seizes up, it explodes. I have seen this happen many times. Best bet is to get a new one from toyota, or find a supplier that makes their brackets from Aluminum, as the factory ones are.

Check with Toyota of Dallas to get your best price on a factory new one.

I have a ebay fan bracket for even cheaper, and it seems like it would not "explode", when I inspected it before I put it on. My OEM bracket siezed up in a McDonald's drive through a few months ago....quite the noise. The belts finally broke, but I got it home, and still drove it for a week with a short belt on for the alternator. Its winter so I did not need a fan for short trips and no idling.

The ebay fan bracket, and all the other ones are all probably made by the same manufacturer.

Where are the links to all these exploding aftermarket brackets, or are those posts the worn OEM ones?

I would not buy one from a wrecker, it will already be worn out and ready to sieze up. Even if you find one that is nice and tight, it will not last long much longer.

Some have, it just depends. Some have had the bracket casting fail. All it takes is a crack enough to let the fan wobble and hit the shroud or something. At high RPMs the fan has a lot of energy when it comes apart.

I can list off about 4 or 5 guys on here with exploding fans on the 3.0. I don't know if they were aftermarket fan brackets, or in some cases it may not have even been the fan bracket that failed. Sometimes its just an old brittle fan. But this will give you an idea of the possible damage :

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-words-145323/

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...d-part-143611/

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-3-0-a-105823/

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f2/1...ollapse-16729/

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...hotgun-164748/

They should be die cast aluminum, AA380 or AA383 would be the most common alloys for structural die castings, maybe AA380 if you wanted a higher yield strength(I design die cast parts as part of my job, I know the process inside and out). I have heard the term "pot metal" before, I was always curious just what that referred to, so I looked it up on Wikipedia:

Pot metal is a slang term that refers to alloys that consist of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings. There is no scientific metallurgical standard for pot metal; common metals in pot metal include zinc, lead, copper, tin, magnesium, aluminium, iron, and cadmium. The primary advantage of pot metal is that it is quick and easy to cast. Due to its low melting temperature no sophisticated foundry equipment is needed and specialized molds are not necessary. It is sometimes used to experiment with molds and ideas before using metals of higher quality. It is sometime referred to as white metal, die-cast zinc, or monkey metal.[1] Examples of items created from pot metal include toys, furniture fittings, tool parts, electronics components, and automotive parts.[citation needed]

Pot metal can be prone to instability over time, as it has a tendency to bend, distort, crack, shatter, and pit with age.[1] The low boiling point of zinc and the fast cooling of the newly-cast part often allow air bubbles to remain within the cast part, weakening the metal.[1] Many of the components of pot metal are susceptible to corrosion from airborne acids and other contaminants, and the internal corrosion of the metal often causes the decorative plating to flake off.[citation needed] Pot metal is not easily glued, soldered or welded.[1]

At one time, "pot metal" referred to a copper alloy that was primarily alloyed with lead. 67% Cu, 29% Pb & 4% Sb and 80 Cu, 20% Pb were common formulations.[2]

The primary component of pot metal is zinc, but often the caster adds other metals to the mix to strengthen the cast part, improve the flow of the molten metal, or to reduce cost.[dubious – discuss] With a low melting point of 419 °C (786 °F), zinc is often alloyed with other metals including lead, tin, aluminium and copper.



The parts I see on e-bay appear to come from a die cast tool. They have ejector pin marks from the core side of the tool and the usual gate and overflow contacts. At least someone payed the capital to build a hard tool...

But, it will come down to what metal they are actually casting them with. If a shoddy offshore manufacturer is dumping "pot metal" into the crucible, then you get a structurally deficient part. The funny thing is, they would not be saving much money. The tool is the big upfront cost. There is probably $5 worth of aluminum in that part, and that is for a quality alloy. The bearing and shaft would be far more than the aluminum casting, and where it would make sense to cut corners.

Buyer beware.

Good stuf,

Mike

The solution to your fan bracket problem:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyot...spagenameZWD1V

A NOS factory bracket without the fan clutch.

And, for just slightly more than the one on RockAuto.

Mike

Interesting Mike, here's a close-up of the aftermarket bracket I'm using on my 5VZ. What can you tell me about it?

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/41...600x600Q85.jpg

good find! :great:

Sorry, did not look at the picture for very long. That is a die casting, you can see the ejector pin references on the top of the part. They are the round references on the part. The pins push it out of the tool. The part has undergone a pretty severe grit blast, hence the mottled finish.

As to what alloy, not sure, did it have any alloy markings cast into it for recycling?

Mike

Says who?

Yeah... really.

Thanks for the info, I didn't notice any recycling marks.

BTW here's the factory 5VZ bracket, I replaced it because the truck was in a wreck and the radiator was pushed into the fan. The bearing was making a ticking sound at idle, so I replaced the bracket.

http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/30...600x600Q85.jpg

The wrecked truck it came out of. BTW I kind of agree with the guy worried about getting one from a junk yard after my experience with this wrecked donor truck:

http://inlinethumb59.webshots.com/29...600x600Q85.jpg

A wrecking yard who knows what they are doing would A. Check the fan support bracket for push damage first, and B. Not sell it from a vehicle with a direct front hit.

Besides that, we often pull them from Core engines that are out of non-wrecked trucks, so its a non-issue.

Yeah, ideally B. Mine didn't look bad, in fact the bearing turns smoothly by hand and feels fine. But start it up and it makes a ticking noise. It took me a while to figure out what was making the noise, had to use this:

http://inlinethumb45.webshots.com/40...600x600Q85.jpg

If the pulley is bent, it will make a ticking sound as well. There isn't much clearance behind the pulley.....maybe a few mm at best, so if anything gets disturbed IE the pulley bent just a little, it will tick.

I hadn't thought of that. :think: But in my case the ticking went away by replacing the fan bracket, I'm still using the pulleys just without the mechanical fan attached. Maybe someday I'll put that old bracket on and try it again. :hillbill: