The fan pulley bracket has bearings in it that go bad. Mine did, almost taking out the radiator. Replaced the fan clutch at the same time as a precaution.
Cooling Fan Pulley Bracket Failure
Hey Gang,
Wondering if someone out there may be able to help me out. I recently took my 2005 Xterra into a local shop as my A/C didn't seem to be working all that well. They told me I needed a new fan clutch. I'm illiterate when it comes to cars so I tend to put faith in what I'm being told. Fan clutch was replaced. Three days later I was driving in the mountains and I noticed a "gurgling" sound under the hood. It sounded like fluid was moving around. A few miles later I heard a pop followed by a high pitched whining sound. Pulled over, the sound continued while the car was running. Had it towed to the nearest dealership. The diagnosis was a laundry list things that needed to be repaired stemming from what apparently was a failure of the cooling fan pulley bracket. Fan blade, belts needed to be replaced. The fan clutch was also displaced. So, question is, is there any reason to believe that the fan clutch could have been the culprit. I'm trying to understand if any of the work done originally replacing the fan clutch could have caused the mess than ensured a few days later. I went back to the shop to discuss and they said no way, not possible. Well, given the little I know, I'm not convinced. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
Wondering if someone out there may be able to help me out. I recently took my 2005 Xterra into a local shop as my A/C didn't seem to be working all that well. They told me I needed a new fan clutch. I'm illiterate when it comes to cars so I tend to put faith in what I'm being told. Fan clutch was replaced. Three days later I was driving in the mountains and I noticed a "gurgling" sound under the hood. It sounded like fluid was moving around. A few miles later I heard a pop followed by a high pitched whining sound. Pulled over, the sound continued while the car was running. Had it towed to the nearest dealership. The diagnosis was a laundry list things that needed to be repaired stemming from what apparently was a failure of the cooling fan pulley bracket. Fan blade, belts needed to be replaced. The fan clutch was also displaced. So, question is, is there any reason to believe that the fan clutch could have been the culprit. I'm trying to understand if any of the work done originally replacing the fan clutch could have caused the mess than ensured a few days later. I went back to the shop to discuss and they said no way, not possible. Well, given the little I know, I'm not convinced. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
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On Tuesday I replaced my steering pump, pulley tensioner and belt. When I took it for a test drive, the radiator fan clutch bearings failed and the fan assembly came off. This damaged the fan blades along with the condenser fan assembly. I think the old belt was probably stretched a little to compensate for the worn bearings. The new belt and tensioner increased the tension on the worn fan clutch bearing bracket and help it cross over the rainbow bridge. The rest of the damage resulted from the belt coming off.
Now to decide whether I want to buy new or hit up the salvage yard. With my luck I'll buy new and then the ac compressor or water pump will fail next.
Now to decide whether I want to buy new or hit up the salvage yard. With my luck I'll buy new and then the ac compressor or water pump will fail next.
Hey, just curious. Approximately what mileage did your fan clutch and bearings wear out? Is it smart to replace these parts pre-emptively?
My fan bearing failed. Fan popped right off. Probably 190k-ish.
It failed quickly. Was driving several states over and started to hear some bearing noise about half way. Figured I'd get to it when I got home. About 6 hours later, on the way home, it popped off.
Luck would have it, I had a car on a trailer behind me, so I was able to find a new fan bearing bracket assembly and fix it on the side of the road. Fan and fan shroud were destroyed so I pulled them out but I was able to avoid any stop/go and nurse it home.
It failed quickly. Was driving several states over and started to hear some bearing noise about half way. Figured I'd get to it when I got home. About 6 hours later, on the way home, it popped off.
Luck would have it, I had a car on a trailer behind me, so I was able to find a new fan bearing bracket assembly and fix it on the side of the road. Fan and fan shroud were destroyed so I pulled them out but I was able to avoid any stop/go and nurse it home.
I'm at 203k miles. It's not a bad idea to switch them out pre-emptively, especially if you're planning to replace the belt and tensioner. I strongly believe this is what pushed mine over the edge and when it fails it may do the same if not more damage than what happened to mine.Hey, just curious. Approximately what mileage did your fan clutch and bearings wear out? Is it smart to replace these parts pre-emptively?
It's not a difficult job but does take a little time. First step is to remove the fan shroud and condenser fan. Then loosen the 4 nuts holding the fan clutch to the pulley with a 10mm wrench. If you're having a hard time reaching the 4th nut, take some tension off the belt and rotate the pulley to get a better angle. A socket won't fit here, you'll want to use a crescent. Once those are loose, take the belt off one of the pulleys. Then remove the nuts and then the fan. Now you'll have access to the 4 bolts holding the bracket on. These are 14mm. You'll need a short extension to get to them. I was able to remove them by hand, but I live in the desert where there's not much rust. Before you take these off all the way, loosen the 14mm bolt for the belt tensioner. You can now finish removing the bracket.
The Nissan part number is 21046-EA200. I ended up overpaying for a Gates one locally just so I could have it today and use my vehicle this weekend.
You'll need to swap the old studs from the old bracket to the new bracket. I removed and reinstalled mine with a small set of vice grips. They were not in their very tight. You also need to swap the belt tensioner over to the new bracket. The rest of the install is the reverse of the removal. I do not know the torque specs for any of the bolts.
Hope this helps.
Jared
Forgot to mention.
Don't buy the autozone bracket/bearing assembly. My roadside repair lasted 11 months and probably < 10,000 miles before it started making noise again.
Buy the Nissan one, or at least a reputable substitute.
Don't buy the autozone bracket/bearing assembly. My roadside repair lasted 11 months and probably < 10,000 miles before it started making noise again.
Buy the Nissan one, or at least a reputable substitute.
Yes! Buy OEM, the Gates one I bought loosened up after 20 miles! Replaced it today with one I picked from a salvage yard. Also avoid the Gates belt tensioner!Forgot to mention.
Don't buy the autozone bracket/bearing assembly. My roadside repair lasted 11 months and probably < 10,000 miles before it started making noise again.
Buy the Nissan one, or at least a reputable substitute.
Back to the OP question, While in the same area it isn't a bad repair that caused further failure. The bearing probably felt fine when the new clutch was put on. Clutch failures are more common then the bearing failures. So I would say it was a proper repair. If they were piling on the parts on the first repair we would probably say they were milking the profit. You just got unlucky and had one part fail and take out a bunch of other parts in the process.
Update on this: I've now had my 3rd bearing bracket fail. 1st was original. Second was Gates, 3rd was a salvage OEM. Not sure what is causing it. But it's getting expensive because every time it fails it breaks the ac condenser fan and the radiator fan.Yes! Buy OEM, the Gates one I bought loosened up after 20 miles! Replaced it today with one I picked from a salvage yard. Also avoid the Gates belt tensioner!
Any ideas out there? Work I've done recently: 1) replace steering pump, swapped old steering pump pulley onto new one. 2) Replace the fan clutch about 10,000miles ago. 3) New alternator about 10,000miles ago. 4) New radiator about 10k miles ago.
Other work is unrelated to the pulleys and belt. (Cold air intake, exhaust, battery, steering rack and hoses)
Is it the same fan clutch on all the failed bearings?
Is the bearing pulling out or the bolts backing out?
Is the bearing pulling out or the bolts backing out?
Yes, it is the same clutch. I replaced that about 10 months ago. It appears to be engaging normally. I made a more detailed post a few minutes ago about the situation. Harmonic Balancer failed, bad aftermarket steering...Is it the same fan clutch on all the failed bearings?
Is the bearing pulling out or the bolts backing out?
The bearing is pulling out.
Problem started after installing a new clutch. Good chance the new clutch has an issue. Out of balance, wobble, etc. That would also explain the pull out issues.
New bearing and a new clutch (from a different source). Should fix it.
New bearing and a new clutch (from a different source). Should fix it.
No the problem started after I replaced my power steering pump (same evening on the test drive, then again three weeks later). My other post provides more detail about the problem. The power steering pump pulley is out of alignment with the idler pulley and the crank shaft. This evening I put my old power steering pump back in to check the alignment on that and it appears that it's off too so I'm stumped still. Wondering if the power steering pump bracket is out of alignment somehow.Problem started after installing a new clutch. Good chance the new clutch has an issue. Out of balance, wobble, etc. That would also explain the pull out issues.
New bearing and a new clutch (from a different source). Should fix it.
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