AC Condenser Fan

[kingarthur2]

My 1991 Transport GT 3.8 Condenser fan assembly is loose on the motor shaft.

I removed the condenser fan/housing/motor and found the fan blade assembly centre hole had worn too big for the motor spindle. The blade appears to run free of the motor and is turned by a series of magnetic segments on the motor and a similar arrangement on the fan housing.

I have fitted a steel collar to the centre of the fan housing, using epoxy metal compound. The hole in the steel collar is the correct size for the spindle and now the fan spins true, for the time being.

Can anyone see a problem with fixing the fan assembly to the electric motor and dispensing with magnetic drive. That way the fan would have more support and be less likely to come loose again.

[LMP]

AS you describe it, this is a "eddy current" type magnetic drive..interesting. There is no mention of that contraption in the book...possibly one of the highlight features you wanted to be associated with the "GT" nameplate...count "one".....I am not aware that I would have that on mine....
Obviously this is installed so the maximum power drawn from the electric motor is limited by the slip of that magnetic clutch. Curiously, this would mean as the speed of the car increases and provides "natural" air inrush, the load to the fan would be reduced and then it would turn faster...which seems opposite to the actual need....funny.....
Anyway, I would make a current measurement "before" an "after" to see how the electrical load is increased if the motor is obliged to run the fan at full speed. If the increase is low, I would not care. But if the increase is significant, I would wonder if the extra heat generated by the current would be detrimental to the motor life....

[kingarthur2]

Thanks for your comments. When you consider the condenser fan on most vehicles the condenser fan comes on when the HP side of the AC reaches a certain pressure (say 10 bar) . The present set up appears to come on as soon as the AC is switched on. However the weather in the UK is still around 0c at night and 7c during the day ( I live in the North) so not good conditions for testing AC system.

When it gets warmer , I will run the AC system with the manifold guages fitted and see exactly when the condenser fan kicks in and with what force/power consumed.

My Transport SE 1990 with 3.1 engine has fixed fan for cooling and condenser and works fine.