P1000 Fan Fail

[P1K5Dave]

Finished it up tonight.

I did a full drain and fill on the cooling system since I was in there. The service manual has you pulling two drain bolts from the lines (underneath, toward the front) and then, almost as though it's a typo and they repeated an instruction, it tells you again to pull the drain bolt (singular) and drain the coolant, with some obscure looking pic next to it.

Took me a while to find it, but it's under the front seat, toward the drivers side, front of the engine. There's a few bolts there, look for the one with the crush washer.

It didn't yield much coolant, maybe 1/4 cup, but it did hiss when removed, making me think it may be more important for getting air out than draining coolant.

Then opening up the bleeder on the thermostat was easy to find.

All went well, got all the air out following the procedure.

 

[Admin]

 

[P1K5Dave]

I put it all back together and started it up. It was around 48 degrees out, so I left it idling sitting still for testing. If I run around in these temps, the fan's never coming on.

Then it started steaming from the front while I wasn't paying attention for a minute...I ran over and checked the temp gauge, two bars.

I just had water on the outside of my radiator that was burning off. It stopped steaming after about 5 minutes. Then, after what seemed like six days, the new fan finally kicked on! With the luck I've had lately, I was running all kinds of "what could be wrong" scenarios in my head, while impatiently waiting for the fan to kick on.

Success. Sigh of relief.

 

[P1K5Dave]

After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade.

I wasn't sure what all was damaged when I started ordering parts, so I just ordered everything I might need with the idea of returning what I didn't. I don't like downtime, she's got to be ready to ride this weekend.

And, not knowing what the fan motor had been through due to the rubbing, I figured replace it while I'm in there. Then it became "upgrade and improve while I'm in there." So, Spal fan upgrade it is!

I was able to cancel the plastic shroud order, still not shipped anyway.

 

[P1K5Dave]

Oh, btw @TripleB - I did skip those two upper screws in the grille this time. I put it together once before last year and spent all the time feeling around to put them in.

This time I was like, 3B is right, these screws are stupid. Half of this machine is held together with plastic rivets anyway, what the hell is so special about the grille?

It really is in there just fine without them.

 

[Robobrainiac]

After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade.

I wasn't sure what all was damaged when I started ordering parts, so I just ordered everything I might need with the idea of returning what I didn't. I don't like downtime, she's got to be ready to ride this weekend.

And, not knowing what the fan motor had been through due to the rubbing, I figured replace it while I'm in there. Then it became "upgrade and improve while I'm in there." So, Spal fan upgrade it is!

I was able to cancel the plastic shroud order, still not shipped anyway.

Have you noticed an improvement on the cooling ability of the spal fan?

 

[P1K5Dave]

Have you noticed an improvement on the cooling ability of the spal fan?

Until my fan broke, I have never had a cooling issue running around here in Northern MI, so I'm the wrong guy to ask if the Spal helps there. It's certainly a stronger fan with more blades.

I've never seen over 2 bars on the gauge.

 

[Robobrainiac]

Until my fan broke, I have never had a cooling issue running around here in Northern MI, so I'm the wrong guy to ask if the Spal helps there. It's certainly a stronger fan with more blades.

I've never seen over 2 bars on the gauge.

Sounds great!

 

[CID]

I put it all back together and started it up. It was around 48 degrees out, so I left it idling sitting still for testing. If I run around in these temps, the fan's never coming on.

Then it started steaming from the front while I wasn't paying attention for a minute...I ran over and checked the temp gauge, two bars.

I just had water on the outside of my radiator that was burning off. It stopped steaming after about 5 minutes. Then, after what seemed like six days, the new fan finally kicked on! With the luck I've had lately, I was running all kinds of "what could be wrong" scenarios in my head, while impatiently waiting for the fan to kick on.

Success. Sigh of relief.

I suggest you block off the radiator 'some' to get the fan to come on sooner and run more often - otherwise the condensation will never burn off in the crankcase and you'll end up with water in your oil. We did this to our motorcycles in colder temps. Don't be afraid to block it off completely to see how long it takes for the fan to come on and then cut it back 25% or 50% as needed. Don't forget it's blocked off and be mindful of how often the fan is running until you get it figured out. This is even more important for the guys plowing snow in really cold temps or short drives to the mailbox too.

 

[P1K5Dave]

I suggest you block off the radiator 'some' to get the fan to come on sooner and run more often...

Good idea CID. May help send a little more heat into the cab from the floor door too.

It'd be kinda nice if there was a grille cover for this machine.

 

[0860silverado]

After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade.

I wasn't sure what all was damaged when I started ordering parts, so I just ordered everything I might need with the idea of returning what I didn't. I don't like downtime, she's got to be ready to ride this weekend.

And, not knowing what the fan motor had been through due to the rubbing, I figured replace it while I'm in there. Then it became "upgrade and improve while I'm in there." So, Spal fan upgrade it is!

I was able to cancel the plastic shroud order, still not shipped anyway.

"After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade."
You made the right choice by upgrading to Spal. You'd be in the process of putting another $15.00 Honda blade every 2 years or so! I just don't get how Honda can engineer and manufacture the mechanical marvel that is the engine/transmission in these machines, but can't make a proper fan SMH.

 

[Robobrainiac]

"After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade."
You made the right choice by upgrading to Spal. You'd be in the process of putting another $15.00 Honda blade every 2 years or so! I just don't get how Honda can engineer and manufacture the mechanical marvel that is the engine/transmission in these machines, but can't make a proper fan SMH.

When I get upset working for GM I tell myself somewhere the company has to meet equal opportunity employment and this might be where......

 

[Robobrainiac]

"After all was said and done, I realized I could have gotten out of this with a $15 replacement plastic blade."
You made the right choice by upgrading to Spal. You'd be in the process of putting another $15.00 Honda blade every 2 years or so! I just don't get how Honda can engineer and manufacture the mechanical marvel that is the engine/transmission in these machines, but can't make a proper fan SMH.

When I get upset working for GM I tell myself somewhere the company has to meet equal opportunity employment and this might be where......