When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm looking to experiment with modifying these to fit oon a later version of the Bosch radiator fan motors that were in these cars. I have an '84, so I'll be upgrading from three blade fans at the same time. I already had a pair, but ruined one in trying to modify it in a reckless manner. I'll be investing in a mill in the next month or two to do it correctly.
Have only ever seen one version of the fan motor in the 944 series, have you seen different ones?
There are several versions of this motor that never appeared on 944/928s. The one I am going to use was originally used on the GMC Venture minivan.
You want a blade only or blade and motor?
I just need the fan blade, so if anyone has some lying around with trashed motors, I'm interested.
...there are lots of motors that could be made to work if you could drill a hole in the shaft for the pin to engage the 944 plastic fan blade.
It's not quite as easy as that, from what I can tell. Most radiator fan motors of this type use a M8 nut to secure the blade assembly on it, not a clip. I thought about it and decided I wasn't too keen to modify the end of a threaded shaft for a clip, and there isn't enough length below the threaded portion to locate it further back.
i've been experimenting on and off with this for a few years
have checked a few Volvo (Siemens VDO, or Bosch) motors, as well as GM and Ford replacements.
the clip would probably grab against the existing threads, or use a jam nut instead if there's a blade-rad clearance issue.
having a "pin drive" motor like ours is very uncommon it seems, though. hence drilling the shaft and using spacers as needed to set the motor in the right fore-aft position.
an easy way to drill the pinhole would be to buy a 2-screw shaft collar (perpendicular screws), use one to hold it in place and the other hole as a drill bit guide.
they have a tiny bearing and a oil bushing that dry out and get crunchy and drag on the motor
that said they are pretty easy to re-build but they will wear out eventually beyond repair (commutator) and we won't always have such a great used-part chain to rely on.
so future-proofing using more commonly available (ideally, domestic US model) parts is a necessity.
I'm building this car to be a daily driver. It won't be to showroom standards cosmetically, but will be rebuilt mechanically from nose to tail. I'll need it to be as reliable as possible, and 30+ year old stuff fails. There's also a bit of 'why not ?' in this. NOS motors are very expensive. I want to see if I can find a more practical solution.
When I had my '84, I attempted to swap the later style 6-blade fans. There are a few small problems that you may run into, and it's a bit late here, so I'll link you the thread I made for my swap. Hope it helps!
Thank you for the link. I hope I won't have the same issues as I'll be using a fan shroud from a turbo on a turbo radiator (+lower support), with the turbo lower hose.
09-19-2018, 06:25 PM
WTB Six Blade Fan or Two
