Duramax Fan blade grenade!! Chevy C5500 chassis

[rockrat]

Had been on a long trip and was headed down the last hill into town. Hit the exhaust brake, which on the machine, really only drops the allison transmission down a gear. Well it dropped down another gear and there was a "boom" under the hood. That got my attention quickly. Quick scan of the gauges showed normal. It wasn't

Coolant warning light came on real quickly, then the engine stopped. Had to steer and brake w/o assist!! That was fun.

Got out and coolant was dripping everywhere. Opened the hood and saw the upper fan shroud was missing a piece, as were a couple of cooling fan blades. Crawled under it and saw the lower shroud was broken as well as a hole in the lower radiator hose. Think the radiator is OK, but won't know for sure till I start working on it. Cost me $380 to get it towed 8 miles!!

Anybody here have something similar happen?

Been doing a little research and one fellow indicated it happened to him twice and said it seems like about every 3 years or 15K miles the plastic fans come apart. Another said his motorhome had the same thing happen, but it took out the radiator too and also a piece of the blade went thru the hood too.

[s mac]

I had to put one on a Ford Super Duty the other day, but I think the dead cat was the casual part. a real mess.

[Iron Whittler]

Sounds like a built in parts sale guarantee for GM. I would check the recall list to see if their is/was a recall on this issue. GM and others sometimes call it a " Service Bulletin" so they don't have to mail you a notice. Complain !!!!! Big Time to the dealer, GM head Quarters, National Transportation Safety Board. This is a Big Safety Issue. The Loss of power and loss of assisted steering and assisted brakes at the wrong time/ place could have deadly consequences. Iron Whittler

[PatMarlin]

I'll ask an old friend who's coming to visit next week. He has 2 generations of them, one he pulls a filth wheel across country every year. Maybe an aftermarket fan would be a good idea like a FlexFan or something. I've been a GM man all my life, and when it came time to upgrade my 95 Chev 6.5, I went with Dodge Cummins. Now my all time favorite truck. Just plain awesome engineering front to back.

[osteodoc08]

When I was in the market in 2013, I looked at all of the Big 3. The GM was nice but the rear quarters were very cramped, especially with a car seat. I then went to look at the Dodge MegaCab. I fell in love with it but on the test drive- check engine light. I took this as a bad omen. Ended up with Ford F-250. 40k miles and no problems so far. Basic maintenence done and she keeps on running. Averaging 17-18mpg overall. I can get 22-24 if cruising 60 on back country roads that are relatively flat and 18-19 mpg highway. Respectable for its size.

They will all have things that happen. GM makes a good product. Sorry to hear of your misfortunes. Hope you can get her back up and running soon.

[runfiverun]

we had a 63 chevy with the 292 straight 6 in it which was a very good truck.
it's probably still out there somewhere going right along.:lol:

anyway one night it threw a fan blade against the fender and down under the truck which made an awful bang and then the whole truck started vibrating violently.
unfortunately it was 90 miles from home and pitch black at the time and we had to trailer it back with my 10 year newer IH pick-up.
not knowing it was fan blade we started diagnosing everything we could think of.
we found it was the fan blade when we were checking the clutch plate/flywheel, my f.i.l. reached up to pull the motor over with the fan and the blade was missing.
I never seen a missing fan blade make an engine shake like that.
it was an old 4 blade fan though.

[rockrat]

Been checking on parts. $223 for the fan, $180 ish for the shroud and over $700 for the hose (NAPA here I come, only $186)!

[waksupi]

Have you checked here?

http://www.rockauto.com/

[Bullshop Junior]

I had a fan explode on my 01 Sierra with the 5.3. I put a flex fan on it and got a new shroud at a junk yard.

[DLCTEX]

I had a 1954 Chevy break one of it's four blades and experienced the violent shaking, so I broke off the opposing blade. About a month later it lost another blade, so I broke the remaining blade off. It was winter and it stayed cool as long as I was on the move at a good clip. Driving on main street in our small town would make the heat guage creep up toward hot, so I would make a quick run about a mile in the country to cool it down.

[NY_Treeguy]

Never lost a fan blade before, and we have a 4500 and a 5500 at work. Do you have the tools to pull the fan? Service wrench for the nut on the water pump, but you also need a flywheel hold tool. I made one up, but you need to pull the starter for it to work. I can take a picture tomorrow if it will help.

Don't you just love the overheat/auto shut down? Real fun when the dump bed is full........

[imashooter2]

What in the heck does a $700 radiator hose look like? 40 foot long and bent like a swirly straw?

[Screwbolts]

What in the heck does a $700 radiator hose look like? 40 foot long and bent like a swirly straw?

I would say it looks like major Profit for GM

[garym1a2]

For $700 they should make one that never fails.

What in the heck does a $700 radiator hose look like? 40 foot long and bent like a swirly straw?

[Bullshop Junior]

If you own a GM truck eBay is your friend for parts.

And a 700$ hose is what happens when everyone wants 20 bucks a hour to cart boxes to the freight truck.

[rosewood]

Safety issue about losing power and power steering? What about that fan blade hitting someone? It could kill someone if it could go through the hood. That definitely needs to be reported and make sure they know you are upset about the chance of being hit by it. Take lots of pictures also.

[Newtire]

$700.00 for a hose? Installation included I hope, complete with coolant and a new radiator?

[Garyshome]

A $700 radiator hose? Sounds like thievery to me.

[oldred]

That's why they are called GM (or Ford, or etc,) Stealerships. Don't get that hose from the steal,,,,,,,,,err Dealer, get an after market hose. My Aunt had a windshield wiper motor replaced on her Ford Crown Vic and it was over $700 (must be the magic number???) for parts, however AutoZone has them for $79 with a lifetime warranty.

[rockrat]

Thanks Waksupi for the link. Unfortunately, I already ordered the fan and shroud. Having trouble with the hose though. NAPA one wouldn't fit, Car Quest wasn't even close. Went to a truck supply and have one coming in this afternoon, if not correct, I will be ordering the hose later from Rockauto. Thanks again.

[Baja_Traveler]

For $700 you could have a custom one made up in stainless tubing! What a rip off...

[starmac]

Threw the blade off of the back engine on a TS14 scraper once while it was loaded. The thing vibrated the whole rig so bad I shut her down quick.
I know of a brand new pete that the fan clutch kicked on pulling a hill at about 1700 rpms and it grenaded taking out the hood with it. Cat motor, horton fan clutch. Horton warranteed the fan, but said the hood was not their problem. Pete said it wasn't their problem as it was hortons part that came apart. lol Took a lawyer to get pete to make it right.

[6bg6ga]

I hate to say this but fan blades always loosen up a little over time. This is why I periodically check my fan blades for looseness. When they loosen up there is usually a little imbalance which sometimes isn't detectable. So, is it normal for a fan to throw a blade? Yes, if its starting to loosen up. Is it GM's fault? I would have to say no it isn't. Had a Grand Prix put a fan thru the radiator years ago. I knew it was a little loose and thought I had time before I needed to change it. I even had a slightly used fan to replace it with but didn't take the time. In the long run it cost me more.

[starmac]

Fan clutch bearings wear out over time, the blade shouldn't loosen.

I installed a new motor in a chevy PU once, cranked it and before the oil pressure gauge even started registering the fan came off. One of my mechanics was standing there looking into the engine compartment. He jumped back, but then looked back in and turned to me and said, I know for a fact I tightened the fan bolts. lol The whole shaft had come out of the new waterpump. The parts house did buy a new radiator, fan, fan shroud and pay the labor to repair it. I was just glad to took the radiator out instead of my mechanic.

[Alvarez Kelly]

One of my distant in-laws was repairing his truck. He reached over the engine compartment, grabbed the carb linkage, and began revving up the engine. He took a fan blade to the head. His teenage son held his dad as he passed. That's all I know. I never really heard what failed, but I guess it didn't matter much. I've reached over to rev up the engine myself hundreds of times. I guess I was lucky. You can bet I stand off to the side now.

[6bg6ga]

Fan clutch bearings wear out over time, the blade shouldn't loosen.

I installed a new motor in a chevy PU once, cranked it and before the oil pressure gauge even started registering the fan came off. One of my mechanics was standing there looking into the engine compartment. He jumped back, but then looked back in and turned to me and said, I know for a fact I tightened the fan bolts. lol The whole shaft had come out of the new waterpump. The parts house did buy a new radiator, fan, fan shroud and pay the labor to repair it. I was just glad to took the radiator out instead of my mechanic.

The blades shouldn't loosen but they can and do at times. Old chevy trucks for example lets say a 64 235 or 292 straight six. They didn't have a fan clutch and their blades did loosen not all of them but enough to get peoples attention. The small block chevys from that time also. Anything can happen so to say blades shouldn't loosen I will counter with you haven't been around as much as some of us.

[Plate plinker]

700 dollar hose yeah that's right middle man gets his cut. We have a gm parts wholesale shop in Elkhart they pay under $100 for a corvette hood liner sell it for over $900. Had a cousin work there for awhile they only paid their warehouse people $9-10 bucks an hour.
Chew on that next time you call gm dealer for parts.

[rockrat]

Went back to the dealer and talked to the head parts guy. Had him look up the part again. He said there are two different hoses and started checking on them.
One is a silicon hose and was $700, and asked me if mine was silicon. Told him "Nope, just like all radiator hoses on my cars, black rubber". He said that one was $123, and he would give me a price break on that.
Now WHY couldn't the other parts guy tell me there were two hoses available. Only told me about the high priced one. Nothing I have ordered elsewhere has been close on fitting on the water pump, all have been about 3/16" too small. Could have ordered the GM one on Monday and had the other one in and truck going now. :evil: Parts newbies

[.45Cole]

... so I broke off the opposing blade. About a month later it lost another blade, so I broke the remaining blade off. :redneck:

Whatever gets you home! I feel like I'm among my own here, nobody else understands.

[starmac]

I use silicone hose pretty much exclusively, change out those that aren't anytime if it is available. It is much more expensive, but shouldn't be anywhere that much.

[NY_Treeguy]

Not to hijack the thread but just another example of getting raped at the dealership..2007 c5500 needs a fuel tank, old one split at the bottom seam. Call the dealer....$3147 plus freight. No aftermarket available, so searching for a used one. For that kind of cash I could have a custom tank built from stainless.

[starmac]

My son builds a lot of custom tanks, I bet hw would like to get that kind of money for them. Come to think of it, no wonder he has shipped one as far as Texas. lol