mxxdude

So i recently purchased a 1989 Camaro RS 305 TBI.
Long story short the fan is not kicking on at all. and at idle it overheats but driving it doesnt
So drove the car home and we replaced the fuse then i checked the fan and it was pretty hard for me to turn almost seemed seized. so then i replaced the relay and the switch.
still nothing so we pulled the fan. pulled the fan and hooked it up to the battery and it worked.
SO we put the fan back it and chalked it up to wiring. BUT OH NO GM cant be that simple. when we put it back we relized that the reason the fan wasnt spinning was because it was pushed against the radiator (thats why it was hard to turn)
So can someone take a picture of there electric fan assembly?and post it?
this fan was smashed against radiator and the motor was facing the motor?
thanks just looking for some assistance

Mad_IROC-Z

I have a single fan assembly in my garage and I'll try to get a pic tomorrow (or I should say later today).

But I can try to simply describe how it should fit,
The motor does face the engine. The blade should be what is near the radiator. The top of the fan bracket bolts to the plastic part that holds the top of the radiator in place. The bottom of the fan bracket bolts to the radiator support. Make sure that support is not bent. There should be maybe about a 1/2-3/4 inch space between the radiator support lip and radiator at the bottom. Perhaps someone put a jack there and bent it or an accident left it bent.
You can also make sure your radiator is sitting in the rubber isolators at the bottom.

Oh and another thing to look at is make sure your radiator is flat. If it was in an accident it may have a curve to it now that could be contacting the fan.

mxxdude

Thanks.
And i believe i have the right one it just looks like the radiator is out of place because it leans very hard to the engine causing it to hit the fan

MikeSammy

If the fan was pushed into the radiator you should also replace the radiator.

mxxdude

Well the radiator fins are fine i think its just aligned wrong now

Mad_IROC-Z

This fan is from a 91 RS and I was mistaken with my estimate for the distance from the radiator to the edge of the support. It should be about 2". I may have been thinking of the front where the condensor has less space.

mxxdude

thanks i have the same fan however when i bolt it up the blades are pressed against the radiator so the fan cant move.soomething is wrong with the radiator its not in there right

chads89ta

iTrader: (6)

maybe the lower rad support is bent , someone may have tried to put jack there once

mxxdude

Yeah i think so because the fan seems right and bolts up however it seems like the radiator is too big standig up. so i looked under it and it looked like it was indented in the middle if its straight but not enough to push the radiator up

bradley23150

iTrader: (10)

Are you sure its pressing against the radiator, and not the housing its in? On every third gen that I have had to install/replace an electric fan in it seems that the upper and lower mounts are too close together and squishes the fan together making it rub on itself. I don't know why but they all do that and I can't figure out why.

mxxdude

im sure the fan is pressing on the radiator not really the individual fin but the middle part that house it

Mad_IROC-Z

Like I already stated, someone may have jacked it up there and bent it. With it being bent up it could very well be what is making the fan hit. There is not much space between the fan and radiator to start with so it would not take much.

Since you have your fan out you may just want to pull the radiator and if the support is bent up knock it down with a big hammer and a block of wood.
Also eyeball along the sides of the support for bends or kinks as it could be bent forward a bit as well.

Mad_IROC-Z

I did not think of a side pic before but, the front of the fan where it attaches to the motor is flat and from there to the front of the bracket where the motor bolts to is 2 1/8".
But You most likely should make straightening the radiator support a priority.

mxxdude

Yeah alright thanks for the help. Now i have one more question.
I was looking for a better radiator anyway but one that is smaller and i heard the 90s era corvette rad was smaller and would bolt right in. would this fit the bill?

just want something a little smaller anyway but that keeps the car cooler cause these cars do run pretty hot

Mad_IROC-Z

Going to a smaller capacity to keep the car cooler does not really make much sense.

mxxdude

Well it work as good as the stock radiator?
i mean its smaller and was designed for a corvette which has way higher performance then my camaro RS

i added a picture the vette rad is on the left

Mad_IROC-Z

I would also imagine that some of the ducting and baffels in the Vette design also help with that car.

You want better cooling, install the heavy duty dual fan set up.
I have the dual fans, 195 t-stat and the low-Low temp fan switch (176 degree I think). It takes being stopped in traffic in the heat of the summer and the AC on to reach 220. And 220 is not over heatting