My car's fan makes a really loud noise. Help!?

Question

My fan makes a really lound rattling, grating noise when it spins. Someone suggested that i tmay need cleaning. Also suggested that it's rubbing up against another part of my car. Do these suggestions sound reasonable? What would u think is wrong and that i should do?

what is the bearing? will the mechanic know what i'm talking about if i mention it? is there another name for it? and if it's rubbing against the radiator, what can be done to adjust it or fix that? i'd rather get a friend to do it if possible and not a mechanic to save money.

its a 97 acura 2.5 tl, there is no leaking on the ground, just the loud noise.

Answer 1

It is an awful racket, isn't it?

It could be something as simple as a rock got thrown up and bent one of the fan blades and it is touching something as it goes around. Or it could be something as dire as has been mentioned, and the water pump is about to die and this noise is its funeral dirge.

If it is bent and touching something, then other than making a lot of noise, the world isn't going to end, more than likely. If you can look under the hood, and can see the path of the fan, you might want to look and see if you see any shiny spots along that path where the fan's blade is rubbing metal of the car, somewhere along the radiator, more than likely. If the radiator got pushed back into it, then you could really damage the radiator and end up with a leak of the coolant in the engine, so you would want to get it checked out.

If it is the bearing on the water pump, it is a different thing altogether. With the car OFF, look under the hood at the fan. In the middle of the fan is a cone looking object, and this is called the harmonic balancer. If you grab one of the fan blades and rock it back and forth on the harmonic balancer, you should not be able to move it. If you can, like from back to front of the car, then you probably have a water pump problem.

If either of these is the problem, I'm not sure what good cleaning something would do. It would be beyond what a little cleaning would do for it. Personally, I think (and hope as it would be the cheapest) that something is bent and is rubbing up against something else.

Bye the way, a bearing is something that separates two moving parts, and is able to take a load. In other words, that fan sits on a shaft, and that shaft goes back into the water pump. To be a little more detailed, water pump bearings incorporate a spherical outer ring raceway, with the center of the radius located on the bearing axis, providing a self-alignment capability. This bearing incorporates a 45° contact angle that enables the bearing to support large axial loads and moderate radial loads. Know any more than what you did?

Hope that this helps a little bit, and that you have a great day.

Answer 2

Are you talking about the radiator fan or heater fan?
If the radiator fan is making the noise then it is probably loose and rubbing the fan guard. It could be loose because the water pump is worn out. (are there any leaks on the ground)?

Answer 3

car make and year ? The fan is normally connected to the waterpump and the waterpump bearings sometimes give out.
That noise is usually a sign and wont last much longer before the bearing lets the fan fly off and damage lots of parts in the engine bay (yes i know from experience) .

Answer 4

Sounds like the cooling fan is rubbing against the housing in which it is contained or the radiator.

Answer 5

I would say that you are going to need a new cooling fan as it sounds like the bearing in the fan motor is going bad.

Answer 6

yes the suggestions are reasonable. there are also possibilities of the bearing to be worn out. so check with a mechanic. or first you see inside the car manually and then with mechanic