I am having issues with my fan hitting the shroud! Driving me nuts! First backgound..... my truck is a 1948..... original motor was the inline six.... somewhere along the line, the Nebraska farmer upgraded to a flathead v8, most likely from a car because it had the car oil pan on it. Well, When I bought he truck a few years ago, that engine threw a rod....it was garbage. Found a new (used) ..... lol.... 1950 block flathead v-8 and rebuilt a new engine. My truck has been running like a charm ever since. Except for one problem..... when I make a hard right turn at any speed, my fan grinds against the shroud! The engine, the mounts...its all new ant tight!

Looking under my truck, I notice there are more leafs on the spring of the left side than the right.... I am sure this truck has been in a ditch or two. If I make a left hand u turn, I can turn on a dime...but from the right....... it is a K-turn all the way! Something is messed up under there... could this be the cause of my problem?

So I tried to look into the issue.... the shroud seems off center....on the right side of the engine there is plenty of clearance, but on the left side...especially down where the hose exits the radiator...it is so close. But there is no adjustment.. it just fits on the radiator one way!

Today, I built spacers to pull the shroud out away from the radiator, and after initial success, now it is seems worse!!!!!! I will start the truck, and it will be fine...but then after a drive it starts grinding! It is almost as if the fan is moving...but I checked that...it is very tight.

I do not know what to do.... I am tempted to take the whole damned shroud off for good, but I know that would not be the best solution. This is driving me nuts!

 

Yes! So what happens when you push down on the right fender while the engine is running? My guess is the fan hits the shroud. Don't mess with the spacers - that's a symptom, not a cause. The root of your problem is with the suspension.

 

Your motor mount on that side is getting squashed. Until you replace it with an original style mount, try putting a couple of washers under the foot of the waterpump.

 

Could it be your radiator saddle has a worn mounting pad or loose bolts (two bolts with springs under the truck below the radiator)? If this was the case going around a corner the entire front sheet metal including the radiator could shift left or right. This would be tough to tell with the truck sitting as nothing would move or seem out of place.

 

I was going to say what Rimrock said. I'd check the rad support and see if the front clip is slightly off center. I'd also check the trans mount and make sure it's not letting the motor rotate side to side.

 

Joe, I'm about 5 minutes away (south of you) and have the 1948/56 truck parts catalog (original bound paper). If you'd like borrow it: sylhall@aol.com

 

Thanks to MTflat; As mentioned, I know my truck was in a ditch or two during its Nebraska Farm life, and while sturdy, things are not pristine and perfect under my truck. Today, I added a piece of stiff rubber to my driver's side motor mount, and my problem is 90% better. If I make a fast right hand turn at any speed, it still scrapes, but for normal driving it is fine. My motor mounts are only four years old, but they seem compressed. When I removed the cotter pin, the bolts were loose enough to take off without a wrench! Anyway, I am good for now and I ordered some fresh new mounts from Macs. Thanks for pointing out the obvious. You knock yourself out for a few hours, give up, go to bed, and then the next day the lightbulb goes on! My fan and radiator are fine...its my engine that slumps!

 

FTE members who live in Hacienda Heights....

Did'ja check with Early Ford Store (San Dimas), Blue Oval Truck Parts (Anaheim), Truck & Car Shop (Orange), C&G Ford Parts (Escondido) to see if they have the same parts you ordered from Mac's in Lockport NY?

Did'ja notice what I typed in post 6?

 

Are the cab mounts in good shape? maybe the whole shebang is rocking when you turn. Pop the hood and have someone rock the cab while you watch.

 

My truck did the exact same thing, especially when turning hard and down into a right hander. Sounded like a machine gun firing. I scratched my head and wrung my hands about it for weeks, and just simply couldn't find anything. Then my mechanic friend (who could fix the space shuttle with a roll of duct tape and dental floss) drove my truck one time, cussed about it, stopped the truck, and got out and re-adjusted the position of the shroud and manhandled it over a bit. It never happened again. So just realize there is an adjustment there. You just have to play with it.

 

Mine does a similar thing, usually just a single "ting!" when I turn hard left into my steep driveway. The frame really twists.

 

You're welcome - lots of good, accurate suggestions on here. I picked up that tip from a Bob Drake ad a long time ago that stated that most new motor mount biscuits are missing the steel sleeve in the center that the OEM mounts have. I think it could also be modern rubber compounds or whatever, but new isn't always better. Instead of buying the cheapest, I try to find the best constructed. My 48 F1 taught me all of this...