Greetings All!!!
My '71 164 has the six-blade metal fan (#687133), which has
developed a slight wobble when rotating. It's not too bad, but
I'm sure that it's shortening the life of the water-pump bearings.
Does anyone have a trick for "adjusting" the blades, other than
a rubber mallet with trial & error??? Curiously, local machine
shops say they've never tackled this problem, but are willing to
try with their balancing machines. However, for the labor cost
perhaps I should just buy a salvage unit and hope that it's in
balance. Opinions, please.

This is totally unrelated, but since Brickboarders are
All-Seeing & All-Knowing . . .
In 1994, a loony Air Force Colonel flew a B-52 bomber
straight into the ground near Spokane, WA. The scene was captured
on an absolutely staggering video, which I once caught a quick
glimpse of on TV. Does anyone know of a site on the web where
this tape can be viewed??? I've searched in vain. All info
appreciated.

Gary in Arizona

Thanks to all for the replies. Uniberp--I tried that interesting
site, but couldn't get any of their videos to play successfully.
Ted--the problem is definitely in the fan, not the clutch.
Actually, I've never had ANY problem with those British-made
clutches that Volvo used; even ones that have been in storage for
years work fine when I put 'em back in service. Of course, they
must be stored properly--vertically, never horizontally.

Gary in Arizona

I think the fans are supposed to be slightly out of balance, to avoid resonating. However, if the fan blades are out of plane, that might be a problem.

This might be your video. I believe it happened at an air show.
Pretty unsettling.

http://www.airextreme.de/B-52dwn_.avi

That's the clip alright. I remember when it happened, and read a report on the incident in some publication. The pilot was known to be a risk taker, and somewhat dangerous. He coerced three junior officers to fly with him that day in practicing for an upcoming airshow. He was found to be completely at fault. At maximum screen view, and on the original video you can see the the spoiler deployed fully on the top of the starboard wing, as he attempts to recover from the stall. Low airspeed, and one non-flying wing sealed their fate. No injuries on the ground fortunately.

Do you have a fan clutch? If so, replacing the clutch might be a good
idea, once you have eliminated such things as loose bolts, etc.
(You do NOT want a loose fan! I've experienced that a couple times,
once in an open pickup truck and it nearly drowned me in anti-freeze and
cost me a total of 2 radiators.)

You might try contacting the Spokane newpapers and TV station archives
about the B52 incident. Having worked on B52 overhaul and having a
friend who was a B52 pilot, I would be really interested in what you find.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

If you do end up needing a new fan clutch please do yourself a favor and buy a new one.

'74 144GL