Hydraulic cooling fan leak, part is discontinued

PhilD
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Feb 17, 2011
Okay I now have a small oil leak that appeared under my TBird, only after it had been driven, parked and sat a little while, say overnight. As you look at the cars front end, it was to the passenger (your left) side, kind of between the oil filter and the sump drain plug. I first thought it was the oil filter due to oil being on there but after an oil change and new filter, turned out it wasn't. We believe we have finally found out what it is, above the alternator is the hydraulic pump for the cooling fan (which apparently is what can cause a lot of problems with the car making ti overheat, googling is always wonderful at telling you about other problems that can happen but not find the answer to what you really need)

Anyway we found the hose that runs from the hydraulic fan reservoir (the back hose from under the reservoir) is wet with oil where it bends forwards just over the alternator but the top part of it on the reservoir end is dry. The hose has a metal casing to protect from heat I imagine so I think the leak is inside there somewhere.

Now the problem is I found the part number on the ford parts site 8C634 and after searching with that came up with what I believe is the whole number for it 2W4Z8C634AA, guess what Ford has in its infinite wisdom discontinued that part. So not sure what to do, I have found a possible part on ebay and I'm waiting to hear from the seller to confirm its my part.

Now I am telling you all this for future warning, check this area for leaks and if found figure out where you can get a replacement hose as it seems ford is slowly turning there back on us. I also noted that my reservoir level was just below minimum, its not a big leak but could become one eventually. This all occurred after we drove it from California to Arizona, it sat a little but got used occasionally over the next two months and now the leak.

Oh and it may also mean we have to remove the alternator to replace the hose because as we all know there isn't enough room for a fart to fit in there.

I just hope this helps to forewarn anyone out there, plus if you do get an engine overheat and cannot find the problem they say that hydraulic system not being bled correctly can cause the problem.

Phil
 
Most of my motor experience predates "modern' cars. What, pray tell, is a hydraulic pump for the cooling fan?
 
Most of my motor experience predates "modern' cars. What, pray tell, is a hydraulic pump for the cooling fan?
Honestly not sure, didn't realize it had one until I noticed the extra reservoir a couple of years ago. The manual actually marks it as part 9 but doesn't list what part nine is, this is when it lists what is under the hood. Basically you have a pump mounted above the alternator which is what the fluid (ATF fluid) but how it actually all works I don't know myself and I have worked on all my old cars myself all my life.

My main worry is that this and another pipe I have found are not longer available and no one has anything the replace it, so not sure how I am going to fix the problem right now, first I am going to have to remove the pipe to see exactly how it is made as I have seen one image online that shows a rubber pipe going to a solid plastic section then back to rubber but don't know if thats correct. So get it out, look and then see if I can get something similar to replace it.

I am presuming that no one else has had this problem yet. The problem is its above the alternator so I may have to remove that to get it out and also draining the fluid out is not easy either.
 
You might take it to a hydraulic service shop and see if they can make one. Post a picture of it when you get it out, please. Good luck.
 
Hey Phil, Contact Philip Wegener @310 568 1000 he has a number of contacts for T-Bird parts. I have used him a couple of times and he is very good and honest.
Thank everyone, hoping to get the hose out tomorrow, got to try and cover everything first so the fluid doesn't cause problems, will then see what I can do with it.
 
I am having a problem with the cooling fan coming on after driving approximately 5 miles. Then it just stays on for however long I drive. No change in performance, no obvious overheating. My Ford dealer says the only way to correct this is to replace the CPM??? a 2500 dollar suggestion. Any other people having this problem? Any other suggestions?
Blkbrd03
 
Blackbird, vs spending $2500, I, being a sort of a Wizard, would see if I could install a separate thermostat somewhere to sense the temp and operate the fan. I sure would look at that alternative. Good luck.
 
I am having a problem with the cooling fan coming on after driving approximately 5 miles. Then it just stays on for however long I drive. No change in performance, no obvious overheating. My Ford dealer says the only way to correct this is to replace the CPM??? a 2500 dollar suggestion. Any other people having this problem? Any other suggestions?
Blkbrd03

I think I'm having a similar problem. Is it really loud when it comes on? I had the fan motor replaced and it still made the noise. So they took that back off. Ideas?
 
Just to update on my hydraulic fan hose, I got it off and we could not find any problem with the hose itself so presumed it was the spring clip perhaps was not tight enough and it was set very close to the edge of the hose end so have replaced that and so far everything seems okay and no leak. Phew didn't have to find a replacement hose. I also ran the car using both the heater and a/c to make sure it didn't overheat in case this had somehow upset the fan system but all appears to be okay.
 
I think I'm having a similar problem. Is it really loud when it comes on? I had the fan motor replaced and it still made the noise. So they took that back off. Ideas?[/QUOTE
 
I had this very same issue with my 05. My trusted local Ford dealer located the problem and by replacing the thermostat and thermostat housing my noisy fan is now quiet and operates normally. It talks about this being a common problem and can be the result of a defective thermostat or cracked thermostat housing. Hope this helps... Mark
 
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The hose has a metal casing to protect from heat
Can you replicate the hose by inserting a new piece of hose into the metal sheath? Or find similar metal sheathing?
Just wondering. Have not looked at it. Cheers, JW
 
Most of my motor experience predates "modern' cars. What, pray tell, is a hydraulic pump for the cooling fan?
JW, some of this model of Thunderbird have a hydraulically driven radiator fan, which requires a hydraulic pump. This has to be the most over-engineered solution to a simple problem ever. I had either the fan motor or the hydraulic pump come apart, destroying both the fan motor and the pump. The repairs cost $3K. It was a miserable experience. A simple electrically driven fan would have been so much more reliable, and cheaper to repair.
 
Great Jehoshaphat! Unbelievable. Such an application would have never entered my mind and I have been engineering solutions for 70 years. Thx for the explanation. Can an electric fan be retrofitted? JW
 
Great Jehoshaphat! Unbelievable. Such an application would have never entered my mind and I have been engineering solutions for 70 years. Thx for the explanation. Can an electric fan be retrofitted? JW
I'm not sure, but I suspect that there is way more than meets the eye in doing a retrofit. That would be too easy.
 
Out of curiosity I went online and found quite a supply of electric radiator cooling fans available for my 2004 V-8. Tried to see if mine was electric and was only able to see the edge of one blade. It is crammed in there for sure. To get at looks like you would have to remove the front bumper, radiator, etc, etc. Ye gads! Hope mine keeps working. Cheers.
 
I had this very same issue with my 05. My trusted local Ford dealer located the problem and by replacing the thermostat and thermostat housing my noisy fan is now quiet and operates normally. Since this repair I noticed an OEM Thermostat Housing Kit available on the Thunderbird Specialties website. It talks about this being a common problem and can be the result of a defective thermostat or cracked thermostat housing . Hope this helps... Mark
I have two limited edition 50th anniversary Tbird and the second one has this noisy fan problem. Couldn’t figure out why one fan was so noisy! No overheating, just noisy. I will change the thermostat and see if that helps. Thanks for the info!
 
Just for your info, the hydrolic radiator fan system was only on the 2002. All others were electric fan. My '02, i removed all of the hydrolic system and converted to electric.
 
TB22, how much did you have to remove to do the retrofit?

I have a theory - Ford assembled the motor then heated it to near melting and pressed in into a cube. Otherwise, we would have to drive with the hood up! Thank Glory, mine is an 04 = electric. :)
 
TB22, how much did you have to remove to do the retrofit?

I have a theory - Ford assembled the motor then heated it to near melting and pressed in into a cube. Otherwise, we would have to drive with the hood up! Thank Glory, mine is an 04 = electric. :)

I removed basically everything used in the hydrolic system. Pump,hoses,rad fan motor,resevoir,everything. Then installed a 100" belt, installed a electric fan on origInal shroud. Installed a "PID" fan controller. Am mow able to maintain between 195-209 degree coolant.
 
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