RicardoD

I just removed my alternator and I want to powder coat the engine fan red. Those of you that have done this before did you take out the fan hub? I am not even sure how to do that. I figured the powder coater could mask the hub holes and the main bearing hole.

jimq

its just a press fit.

Rocket Rob

Yes, I removed it. I used my 12 ton press. I installed a new bearing when reassembling just to be safe.

RicardoD

Where did you source your bearing Rob?

Rocket Rob

I purchased the factory bearing. I used EBS Racing but you can go to your favorite supplier.

Vandit

I just replaced the bearing. I called around a bunch of places (4-5 Porsche parts suppliers) and Sunset had the best price ($138.06, which is almost $100 less than some other, popular, suppliers).

I just went through all this BS because I replaced my cooling fan that was in bad shape (blades coming apart, cracks throughout).

When I pulled the old fan off of my alternator (using a small puller rented from Autozone) the bearing stayed on the alternator shaft. It was a very tight, pressed fit. The powdercoater coated the whole replacement fan, including the center/hub section. I sanded down the powder coating on the barrel of the fan and on the back and front mating surfaces prior to reassembly because it looked rather thick and I was afraid it would cause fitment issues. I used the threaded alternator shaft and eventually, the 3 threaded studs, to press the fan back onto the bearing that was stuck to the alternator shaft.

Upon reinstallation and startup/reving I noticed that the fan (powdercoated yellow) was leaving small marks on the housing (powdercoated silver). I was not sure if the marks were from the added thickness of the powder coating on the blade ends and the housing, or if it was a result of a slowly failing fan bearing and/or alternator bearings. At this point, I tore it all down again and did what I should have done in the first place. I had the alternator rebuilt and replaced the fan bearing. This time I took the alternator w/ fan attached to an alternator shop, along w/ the new fan bearing, and had them do the whole teardown, rebuilt alternator, and reassembly process.

One thing I noticed is that unlike the old bearing that was stuck to the shaft (it stayed put when I pulled the fan), the new bearing (OEM Porsche sourced, made in Slovakia) did not have a super tight pressed fit, it simply slipped over the shaft, tight enough to stay in place unless you pulled it off by hand.

RicardoD

Vandit,

I think I should bite the bullet and replace my fan bearing with a new one. But the car only has 72k miles.

What was the mileage on your car when you did this job?

Ricardo

Vandit

96k miles.

I don't have maintenance records, so I'm not sure if it was the original bearing, and i'm not sure if the alternator had ever been replaced/rebuilt, but it was pretty obvious that at some point the fan/housing became intimate.

See some of my threads on the topic.
https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...n-removal.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...ing-hmmph.html

Since I did not know the service history of any of the items, I replaced everything. I got her back together this weekend and turned her on for a bit, just idling, and did not notice any more rubbing. Time will tell once I get the car back on the road and through the whole rev range for an extended period.

mojorizing

Regarding the fact that the new bearing slipped over the shaft...... I don't think it needs to be tight as you would expect because the stack of spacers, sleeves, shims, washers will keep the inner race from spinning once everything is stacked on the shaft.

AOW162435

Ricardo,
I have a brand-new fan bearing (purchased from Sunset) that I'm selling on Ebay at the moment. Would be happy to end the auction and sell it directly. Bearing


Andreas

RicardoD

You have a PM

Goughary

FWIW - I have a bearing that is used, but didnt need to be replaced - i switched to the rs single while my engine was out. It's just burning a hole in a closet if anyone wants to make a reasonable but cheep offer...