While I had the 145 out on her first voyage after having reassembled everything under the hood, I eventually began hearing spontaneous rattling and clunking that got bad enough to make me take a look under the hood (luckily I was right next to home at the time). I noticed that the cooling fan was rattling around and had almost totally worked its way off the water pump pulley assembly!



So I pulled the radiator (again) and pulled off the fan clutch assembly to examine the parts and see if it was just a loose bolt. Everything seemed alright as far as I could tell until I tried reassembling it again.



The notched cap (pic 3) is what I assumed was supposed to clamp against the inner bearing in the fan clutch assembly (pic 1) and hold it rigid with the input shaft (pic 2). I slid the clutch onto the shaft (pic 4), slid the cap into the clutch (pic 5), and tightened the bolt (pic 6), only to find that the cap did not actually compress against the bearing at all before the notch bottomed out on the shaft! There is about a millimeter of space between them, which allows the clutch to have a small amount of axial play. The clutch isn't snug on the shaft either, so the entire assembly easily spins and rattles on the shaft even with the bolt fully tight.



I'm a bit confused by this since these were the original components that came with the car before I did the whole disassembly, and it never had this issue before. Perhaps I am missing a critical part, like a thin compression ring between the shaft and the bearing or a fit washer that sits between the cap and the bearing??? Did I even assemble this correctly to begin with???



Any help would be appreciated! Thanks a bunch!

Hello,

Did you reuse the exact same 3/8" bolt?

As all I can think of is the shoulder of the bolt might be too long.

--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502

I did. Thanks for the suggestion. :-)

The bolt doesn't bottom out, and the notched cap is fully secure - no looseness. Even without the bolt, if I simply apply finger pressure on the cap and press it firmly down as far in as it will go, it still leaves about a millimeter gap between itself and the clutch bearing after the cap's notch seats itself in the input shaft and bottoms out.

Just to check, does anyone know of any other parts needed besides the ones I've shown in the pics? Spacers or washers, perhaps?

Thanks again!
--
Zach

Vista, CA 92084

1992 Volvo 245 DL (Toaster)
1970 Volvo 145 S (Honey Badger)
2006 Vespa GTS 250ie (Red Rover)

Hello,

There are no spacers.

Just the flange that bolts to the end of the water pump, the special washer along with the bolt.

A lock washer for the 3/8" bolt is not listed, although we always install one.


--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502

Thanks again, Eric.

If this is the case, then the only thing (other than user error) I can think of is that some wear has occurred on one or more of the parts (the flange, the bearing or the cap) such that the fit is no longer snug. Seems highly unlikely to me, but I guess it's possible...

I think what I'll do at this point is run by my local Volvo mechanic and see if he's got any insight, or at least some spare replacement parts I can buy!

Cheers!
--
Zach

Vista, CA 92084

1992 Volvo 245 DL (Toaster)
1970 Volvo 145 S (Honey Badger)
2006 Vespa GTS 250ie (Red Rover)

If it were mine I would get a thin-walled washer that would fit around the hub and allow the
cap to pinch it against the fan bearing. You really want that joint good and tight.
Or if you have some spare parts in your culch heap you might find some that fit together
better to properly grip the fan. If you DON'T have it good and tight it can come off
and wipe out your radiator. NOT FUN!! (voice of experience)
In answer to your question I would say either wear (looks like it) or mismatched parts.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Thanks George. That's another good idea about finding a washer if I can't get replacement parts easily. I'm not so stocked on spare Volvo parts yet that I have extra clutch fan setups lying around, but perhaps in another year or two given the rate I'm accumulating things...hehe...

Yeah, I was super lucky that the loose fan didn't already bust the radiator core on the drive! I still wonder how wear could have happened so quickly (it was tight when I installed it), considering the setup worked great for the many months between when I bought the car and when I tore the whole engine bay apart. I'm still blaming myself for something, even though I'm not sure what that something is!

Ah well, life goes on. There are plenty of far worse things that could have happened after putting Humpty Dumpty back together again... :-)

Many thanks again!
--
Zach in Vista, CA

1992 Volvo 245 DL (Toaster)
1970 Volvo 145 S (Honey Badger)

Turns out it was due to worn parts after all. A replacement flange and cap from Bob Workman in Vista fit the clutch nice and snug! Used a lock washer this time to help ensure it doesn't wiggle off with vibration.

Cheers!
--
Zach in Vista, CA

1992 Volvo 245 DL (The Toaster)
1970 Volvo 145 S (Honey Badger)

Zach, did you happen to compare the dimensions of the new and old caps? How much of a difference was there?

Hey Jason,

Regrettably, I didn't measure the dimensions. However, the "new" cap and input hub definitely looked less worn when I was comparing them with the old parts...there was noticeable rounding on the corners of the hub that wasn't present on the replacement, although that could have been related to the fan wobbling and knocking against it at high speeds when it separated (causing massive wear I imagine).

Guess we'll never know!
--
Zach in Vista, CA

1992 245 DL, B230F, LH2.4, 175k, M47 (Toaster)
1970 145 S, B20B, SU HS6 x2, 145k, M41 (Honey Badger)