[westslope]

Am, or rather, was re-installing after putting in a new radiator. I snapped one of the four bolts that hold the cooling fan in.

The FSM says that the bolts that hold the cooling fan on to the fan coupling should be tighten to 78 ft-lb.

I tried it at much less with torque wrench, starting at 40 ft-lb.

Questions:

1. Am I interpreting the FSM correctly? Here is the relevant diagram from CO-18. (2006 AT OR)

N.m (kg-m, ft-lb)

78 ft-lb would much tighter than what I encountered removing the fan.

2. Can I run the X with one fan bolt snapped? Or should I immediately remove and replace?

3. How do I remove the Fan coupling? Or better yet, what is the best way to remove the Fan coupling? Once removed, it would be relatively easy to drill out the snapped bolt.

God, I feel like a dumbass......

 

[mikidymac]

If you look at the wrench symbol they are two different colors, my guess is one is Ft/Lbs and one is Inch/Lbs.
No way those bolts are 78 ft/lbs but 78 inch/lbs sounds correct.

 

[maytawn]

Yep, black wrench symbol is definitely inch/Lbs.

As for removal. There are four bolts that hold the bracket to the front timing cover. If you remove those you can get the whole thing out of the engine bay to work on it.

 

[early 2010]

The first digit is Newton Meters. The other numbers are translated off that. In this case translated poorly. The value is correct, the units are wrong. Inch pounds, 1/12th of a foot pound.

I have experienced running a fan clutch (coupling) with missing fasteners. Was not good. The centrifical force over powered the seal and sprayed the silicone fluid everywhere. That stuff is a mess and nothing cleans it up. Also destroys the fan clutch. They have to have just the right amount of special silicone sauce inside of them to work.

 

[westslope]

Thanks for the prompt replies guys. Jumpin' jackfish.... Can you tell that I have not done much engine work yet? Even then, it does not make sense to crank down the crank shaft cooling fan. .... .... lesson learned

For the benefits of others:

Yep, black wrench symbol is definitely inch/Lbs.

As for removal. There are four bolts that hold the bracket to the front timing cover. If you remove those you can get the whole thing out of the engine bay to work on it.

I am guessing I should take care of this right away and not try to drive around with only 3 bolts attached. Sigh. To replace the bolt, I might have to do 3-hour round trip drive to the dealership. I can check the local Lordco (BC autoparts chain but very iffy). There is no spare one in that size kicking around unfortunately.

maytawn, you are suggesting that I remove the Fan bracket from the timing chain cover, correct?

At first I wondered if the Fan coupling is bolted into the Cooling fan pulley. The pink squiggly lines indicate those bolts.

So why not just unbolt the Fan coupling from the pulley? And just now I realize that those bolts serve the purpose of holding the pulley in place.

The bolts holding the Fan bracket sit in behind the drive belt. Should not be too complicated as I switched out the drive belt and the thermostat a few years ago. the bolts holding the Fan protrude the Fan coupling so I might be able to use vice-grips to start removing it.

Is it a good idea to pre-soak the bolts holding the Fan bracket with penetrating lubricant?

 

[jskizzle7]

This exact same thing happened to me. I was able to get pliers behind the fan coupling and grab the remaining piece of bolt and turn it out through the back. Way easier than removing the whole bracket from the crank

 

[westslope]

Thanks jskizzle7, I did just that. Had to remove the fan first. Then as pliers and a vice-grip were not working well, I just used my bare fingers or fingers in gloves to turn from both ends. Fortunately, the remaining bolt had not seized.

I did find in a jar of spares, a similar sized although slightly longer bolt in nickel-plated brass. The OE bolts are/appear to be brass. The two bolts on the right are OE. The one on the left is a by chance spare.

The OE bolt weights 7.0 grams. The spare weighs 8.4 grams. I can reduce the weight of the spare some what by cutting about 0,8 cm off.

Or should I give in and drive to the dealership and get the OE bolt?

 

[zanethan]

If it were me I would replace with 4 matching bolts as differing weights will throw off the balance and lead to reliability issues. It may take a long time but the lifespan of your fan clutch will be reduced IMO. You can likely get the bolts shipped directly to you rather that driving 3 hours.

 

[idn88]

I would run a die up it (or a couple nuts if you don't have a die) and cut it the right length. If you have never cut a bolt like this before use a file to taper your cut before you run your nuts or die off or you won't get it started again. If its the right length it shouldn't be out of weight by much.

You can replace it later when convenient. Yes it will throw it out of balance a small amount, but its pretty near the center of mass so it shouldn't be too bad - plus its winter so it might not turn all that much depending on your local and driving habits. I probably wouldn't leave it there forever thought - the nissan bolts aren't brass there some sort of alloy - I assume to keep it from corroding in.

 

[westslope]

In the spirit of just do it right the first time.... Ordered for pickup tomorrow morning. At C$5.61/each, I only bought one. The other 3 surviving OE bolts are in great shape.

I have a couple of other errands I can run at the same time.

Thanks for all the great comments.

 

[early 2010]

If it were me I would replace with 4 matching bolts as differing weights will throw off the balance and lead to reliability issues. It may take a long time but the lifespan of your fan clutch will be reduced IMO. You can likely get the bolts shipped directly to you rather that driving 3 hours.

Don't need all 4 to be the same. Just the ones 180° apart to be the same.