*MUST READ*--Flex Fan Danger--Be very careful working on old cars

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acpat said:
damn wish I was closer. been farmer since way back. glad you are okay. It will work out it always does.
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I will be released for therapy and can unstrap it on the 27th at that time my son will help and I can drive a tractor. Thanks for the offer.
 
Well the 1st day of therapy went well. I am being released to return to work on Tuesday. Thank god I will finally get a paycheck in a few weeks after living on no income for weeks.
 
You said those blades are stainless steel? Stainless is known to be terrible in applications where flexing, and durability are concerned (look up what happens when people try to use a stainless sword or the like, QVC had an on air incident where somebody tapped a stainless el cheapo sword against a table having it break and skewer him)

Even with factory setups crap can happen, last june I was driving with my wife and kids in her Galaxie when I let it have it, ahifted from 2nd to third at near 6k, then heard a pretty good pow, started having the charging light and overheat problems right away.

When I pulled over the clutch fan, water pump pulley and half the impeller shaft where imbedded in the $300 radiator, after beating the crap out of the balancer, power steering pump and alternator. And before you ask, the fan had no wiggle and very little drag on it when I checked three days earlier after it threw a power steering belt
 
It's good to see that you're healing up well. Hopefully the therapy goes just as well and you're back to 100% soon.

Back in high school auto class (24 years ago) a fellow student had his car in the shop for whatever reason. Being a 16 year old moron, he was revving it up and part of the fan broke off. It went CLEAN THROUGH the hood of the car and continued through one of the ceiling tiles, bounced off the corrugated steel ceiling, and came to rest on top of the ceiling tile. A few kids were standing around the car, so it
was only by the grace of our maker that the piece of fan went straight up and not sideways.

The car was an 80's Cutlass or Regal but I don't recall if it was a stock fan or aftermarket flex fan. He had some work done to the car so I'm guessing
aftermarket.

Since that day I have always treated a running engine with cooling fan like a loaded gun. I won't put myself anywhere near the potential projectile path. And I've been running an electric fan on the Swinger for 15 years.
 
Glad you're getting back on your feet. Hoping for a 100% recovery.
 
Yep. Glad it wasn't worse! Never like to see anyone seriously injured, but thank God it wasn't worse!!
 
Well guys the lady at therapy is impressed. I am up to about 70 percent usage, can dress myself, comb my hair and even reach around and get my wallet after 3 days of therapy. I worked 4 days last week and one of those was 12 1/2 hours. The people at work tell me I am cut from the old cloth because I will not give up and accept defeat. I just got back home from the field and am 2/3 of the ways done working and planting. Thanks for all the good and inspiring comments.
 
Good to hear brother . Your story made me go head and take mine off the cuda and throw it in the trash .
 
Sorry I'm so late to the party. But at least it sounds like your getting back to normal pretty quick. You now have made the most compelling argument FOR electric radiator fans! Get Well!
 
Glad to hear you're recovering well. Now for a joke. Dressing yourself is all good, but can you take care of the bathroom business without any help? LOL
 
Yup bathroom business is all good in fact using my right hand again is more familiar and does not feel like a stranger wiping for me. lol
 
Good to read you're doing much better. This picture was posted in another thread, but thought it was appropriate here.

Scary chit....

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Though I had a flywheel/clutch explode in my 70 340 4speed Duster. It sent chunks through the floor board,through the radio and out the windshield, while I was power shifting second, This picture gives me worse chills then the clutch exploding!
 
Sorry I have not kept up with this. I am really glad to see you have progressed so well. It could have been so much worse.
 
I had a flex fan "flex" forward and eat my radiator, maybe I was running it a little close? I run a Meziere and big Mercedes pancake fan now, fully shrouded and one piece plastic. Glad they got you the help in time, could have been worse.
 
man I have the old 7 blade factory unit with no fan clutch just the noise it makes is scary...
 
Glad to see it was not worse and you are recovering. I knew a guy that had a 66 SS 396 Chevelle that was making a noise and he drove it down the road and came back to his parents house and raised hood and was revving it up when a blade came off flex fan and was killed when it went through his chest. This was about 50 years ago and I have never run a flex fan since, Joe
 
red67gts said:
Glad to see it was not worse and you are recovering. I knew a guy that had a 66 SS 396 Chevelle that was making a noise and he drove it down the road and came back to his parents house and raised hood and was revving it up when a blade came off flex fan and was killed when it went through his chest. This was about 50 years ago and I have never run a flex fan since, Joe
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Wow.
 
That fan was so old and rusted ...it should have never been on the engine.

Glad you were ok in the end.
Always by fans that are rated for the RPM you'll run in and at the first sign of corrosion or rust on the rivets, replace.
A good Flex o lite fan is rated for around 12 to 14,000 RPM and will not come apart inside that range.
 
Local Ferds here used flex fans in late 70s/early 80s on 302/351 engines. They were known to lose blades...
In the mid 80s, they switched to a 8-10 blade clutch driven plastic fan, 18"diam. The centre section was steel & the plastic was moulded over the steel. They were very well made, strong, & pulled a LOT of air.
 
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