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I plan to give this a shot tomorrow. Any advice? I would prefer to not remove the hoses because I hate bleeding the cooling system. Is that a possibility?
1992 968 Cabriolet
Volvo S60 Turbo AWD
Lexus RX 300 AWD
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OK, for those of you planning to do this necessary maintenance, here's some advice:
First, the fans can drop straight down once you remove the lower cover and the bat-wing. I found it was a whole lot easier raising the car up and taking them out through the bottom.
Second, the clips are a bit of a challenge, but if you put a thin bladed screwdriver in the center slot, and tap the blade with a small hammer away from the motor, you can get the clip to release without destroying the clip.
Third, the end of the motor shaft is probably corroded, so dress it down with a file after you have removed the clip, but before you try to remove the blades from the motor. Also, lube the shaft before removing the blades.
Fourth, the blades also serve as a thrust washer to "pull" the armature a slight amount out of the motor. Once the blades are removed, the armature retracts back ever so slightly, causing the brushes to make contact with a part of the armature that they previously have not touched. This will make the motor grind when you spin it. Don't get freaked out like I did and start pricing new motors. Clean it, lube the bearings, and put it back together, then see if it grinds.
Finally, getting the pin to align with the slot on the back of the fan blades is a challenge, but it's a lot easier if the corrosion is removed from the tip of the shaft, and the shaft and blades are properly lubed.
There you go, it was a bit of a pain, but the noise is somewhat diminished and I know that the bearings are lubed.
Matt
1992 968 Cabriolet
Volvo S60 Turbo AWD
Lexus RX 300 AWD
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Anyone know if the 928 or 944 fans will work with the 968 fan housing? They look similar, but I have not tried to do a swap.
Thanks,
Matt
1992 968 Cabriolet
Volvo S60 Turbo AWD
Lexus RX 300 AWD
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A couple of weeks ago I put in new cooling fans from a 944. I bought the entire "frame" with 2 fans installed, bought off ebay, probably about the same as this:
https://www.ebay.com/i/222878546077?chn=ps&dispItem=1
It feels better for $135.00 than what appears to be the individual new fan cost of about $450 each. I think it has to be from a 944S2 or the 944 Turbo, can't remember exactly, but my memory is the earlier 944 fans aren't the same. I went by looks, closely examine the cooling fan frame in the 968 with the picture of the item for sale, and it matched, and it worked.
Roland
'93 Coupe Tip Silver on Grey, '02 911 C4S, '89 Vanagon Syncro -- (RIP: 944, 911SC, 931, MGB, VW Bug, GTO, Sprite.)