Re: The dreaded cooling fan

[bgiller@mitre.org (Bruce Giller)]

Been there, same results....

> 1.] Fan is entirely gone, shroud mostly gone.  No big deal, I checked
> the usual catalogs:  replacement set, about $40.

	Never replaced the shroud on my '86 Spider and it doesn't overheat
in August in DC.  Did replace the fan with stock item.

> 2.] Two dents in the hood.  Cracked the paint, but I can live with
> that.  The car's not pristine, anyway.

	Yep, gone one, too.

> 3.]  (The BIG one) Leaking radiator.  There must be a hole underneath
> all those bent fins.  Looks like a war zone in there.

	Fortunately, I didn't have a holed radiator.  But you are kinda
lucky (hahaha) in that you have to remove the radiator to put the fan on
anyway.  Takes about 20 minutes to remove the radiator.  A good radiator
shop should be able to fix the leaks since Alfa uses all metal radiators
instead of throw-away plastic models.

	When you have the radiator out, it is a great time to check/replace
the cooling hoses and check out your fan belts.


> 4.]  There is what looks like a sensor (diamond-shaped plate about an
> inch long, with a small cylinder attached, connected to two wires*)
> flapping around the engine compartment, next to the radiator, on the
> passenger side.

	This thingeabob (a VERY technical term for it is in the Spider
manual....) is the temp sensor for the A/C cooling fan; too much heat, the
cooling fan comes on.  It is normally attached to the shroud but since
yours is gone, it is left twisting in the wind.

"Is dis a system???"  Mr. Natural

Bruce Giller
Takoma 'Radiation-Free-Zone and Finally ReUnited' Park, Md
'73 Alfa GTV 2000
'86 Alfa Spider
'72 Moto Guzzi Eldorado