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Wham, bam, thank you...

chines1chines1
I try to post the occasional "new" experience, so here's one for ya... It happened a little over 2 weeks ago, but I just got the original pictures a few days ago. Tore the engine down on Wednesday. I took some more detailed shots then, but don't have them yet. I'll update them when I can.

Customer supplied the engine from a "reputable" source, pretty standard 1914cc.
10 KM of test driving behind me I hear Wham! Bam! Immediatly kill the ignition and coast in a parking lot to find that the alternator stand has broke, violently. Ripped the fan partially through the doghouse. Left the fan in several pieces (including every fan blade seperated), sheared the throttle tube/cable, destroyed alternator backing plates, the belt, and nearly every heat sink above #1 and #2.

Belt had the proper play, no tools in the engine compartment, just a sh&% casting. Fun, fun! The real kicker is that a few small pieces of the stand are MIA...

Ever seen this one before???

Best,

Carey
1957 Beck Speedster(Speedster)
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chines1chines1
I try to post the occasional "new" experience, so here's one for ya... It happened a little over 2 weeks ago, but I just got the original pictures a few days ago. Tore the engine down on Wednesday. I took some more detailed shots then, but don't have them yet. I'll update them when I can.

Customer supplied the engine from a "reputable" source, pretty standard 1914cc.
10 KM of test driving behind me I hear Wham! Bam! Immediatly kill the ignition and coast in a parking lot to find that the alternator stand has broke, violently. Ripped the fan partially through the doghouse. Left the fan in several pieces (including every fan blade seperated), sheared the throttle tube/cable, destroyed alternator backing plates, the belt, and nearly every heat sink above #1 and #2.

Belt had the proper play, no tools in the engine compartment, just a sh&% casting. Fun, fun! The real kicker is that a few small pieces of the stand are MIA...

Ever seen this one before???

Best,

Carey

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MASSIVETYPEIVMASSIVETYPEIV
Nope... The fan blew first!

NEW FANS AR JUNK!

The new ones are shoddily pt together and they are not balanced and most of the time are eliptical. I have had these blow on my dyno a wipe out the entire top hlf of an engine in a blink of an eye.. Its a very scary experience that is notcapable of being described.

As soon as the fan decides to let go t wastes everything in its path with an explosive blast of RPM and schrapnel.
The new fans can explode at as little as 4500 RPM (crank speed @ 1.58:1) while most 30 year old fans are good UNWELDED to 6500 RPM Welded I take them to 8K+ crank speed @ 1.58:1 drive.

If a fan isn't 30 years old- don't use it. The newer they are, the worse the are and its getting worse everyday..
MASSIVETYPEIVMASSIVETYPEIV
Cheap junk parts suck..

As for the new fans after being welded:

They can't be balanced! I have welded a few of them and at best they could be balanced 1/4 as good as I would want them to. The big issue is that they are not round, totally eliptical and very bad.

Only trust a VW part 30 years old for this job fellas.. I have a few of them that turn 8500 RPM at the crank and still don't blow.
FM Former Member
We only use OEM fans straight from VW. Also, the fan hub is a big concern. Most all aftermarket hubs are crap. They are out of round. Again, we only use OEM fan hubs. I have never had to weld a OEM fan, they are balanced from the factory. I spin them up pretty tight on my drag engines without any concerns.
FM Former Member
I had to swap the oriental aftermarket alternator stand that came with my car with an old used OEM VW to be able to install the Gene Berg breather box. Even though it looks old and a little tattered I'm sure it's a whole lot better than what I took out and it'll probably never break like that either....
FM Former Member
I don't know yet since I'm still waiting for the correct pick up tube extension from Berg. The engine has no oil at present. I installed a new metal deflector plate with the two gaskets under the alternator stand as per the VW service manual with a little RTV thrown in for good measure. I hope it doesn't leak anymore; I'm telling you, I've done this as cleanly and as "hobby shop style" as I could. If it still leaks, no one can fix it! The pick up tube extension was shipped Priority Mail yesterday; it should be here by the end of this week at the latest. I'll install it along with the sump and the breather hoses, fill it up with oil and drive it and I'll report my findings immediately. I need my Speedster fix! The car has been stranded for over two weeks!
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