1929 Dodge DA Phaeton Fan Disaster

[idrjoe_sandiego]

The Great 1929 Dodge DA Phaeton Fan Disaster

 

Here's a vacation ender for you...

 

My Dad took our  ’29 Dodge Phaeton on a car tour near Los Angeles (110 miles each-way).  He was on the return leg of a fun 2 day tour when suddenly he heard a loud bang coming from under the hood.  With the engine still running, he pulls over and lifts the hood. Holy Sxxx!! There’s a gaping hole in the side of the hood and the left fender! One of the radiator fan blades launched  through the hood of the car and penetrated through about 80% of the fender. The blade sliced through that tough Dodge steel like a hot knife through butter.

 

Of course,  once the first blade flew off, the three remaining blades went spinning wildly out of balance. The chain reaction snapped off the water pump housing, while burying the fan blades into what was a nearly perfect original honeycomb radiator.

 

The pump, the fan, and the radiator: All destroyed. The hood and fender required major body work. The body shop removed the entire front clip and refinished it. 

The hood and fender look good. The color was well matched. The Brass Works reproduced the new honeycomb radiator. They do some pretty awesome radiator work! The water pump was rebuilt at Romar’s in New York.  (See my other thread RE: My Romar experience).

 

See the pics. If anyone was standing near that car when that blade let loose, it would have cut them in half. Fortunately no one was injured. All told, this disaster amounted to over $12K in damages!

 

Moral:  Dodge Brothers Radiator Fan Blades from this era should be discarded and substituted with a safer version.  Every fan blade from this era that I have checked has cracks in it. I was aware of this and had my fan blades reinforced, but they still broke.  The cracks may be subtle and hard to see, but I promise you, they are there. I modified a fan blade from a 1950 Chrysler. It looks like a 98% perfect match and 3000 times safer. Don’t let it happen! It’s not a matter of “if” it will break; it is a matter of “when”. Getting cut in half with a fan blade is guaranteed to be a bad day.

[Bob Zetnick]

So sorry to hear...glad you got the damage repaired. When I got my DA there was a good sized dent in my hood from a thrown fan blade. Back in the 70s my waterpump had gone bad, so my dad machined a replacement w/ a 6 blade fan attached.....not original, but keeps things cool.

[keiser31]

OUCH! That is very upsetting. Glad nobody was injured.

[Guest]

10 hours ago, idrjoe_sandiego said:

Moral:  Dodge Brothers Radiator Fan Blades from this era should be discarded and substituted with a safer version.  Every fan blade from this era that I have checked has cracks in it. I was aware of this and had my fan blades reinforced, but they still broke.  The cracks may be subtle and hard to see, but I promise you, they are there. I modified a fan blade from a 1950 Chrysler. It looks like a 98% perfect match and 3000 times safer. Don’t let it happen! It’s not a matter of “if” it will break; it is a matter of “when”. Getting cut in half with a fan blade is guaranteed to be a bad day.

Not only Dodge but all pre war car fan blades.  My Pontiac threw a blade 35 years ago but only bent radiator fins.  A pinto fan fit perfect just needed to have two holes drilled to match the three bolt hub.  This should be posted somewhere so all pre war drivers will know to check their fans.

[Mattml430]

That’s nasty!! I’ll be checking both mine today. When you think about it a fan blade would be pivoting at the base there ever so Slightly everytime you rev the engine. 

[DB26]

Well, that’s an eye opener. I’m sorry you had to be witness to that terrible accident, and I am greatful you weren’t harmed. 

Edited June 1, 2019 by DB26 (see edit history)

[idrjoe_sandiego]

4 hours ago, Mattml430 said:

That’s nasty!! I’ll be checking both mine today. When you think about it a fan blade would be pivoting at the base there ever so Slightly everytime you rev the engine. 

 

I think this is exactly what happens. For those unfamiliar with this setup, the fan consists of a set of two identical individual pieces of stamped steel that are mounted 90º apart on the water pump hub with 4 bolts . Close examination of several sets of these blades reveals the small gap left between the two blades (maybe 60 thou). This gap leaves each blade essentially unsupported at this point.                     (Warning...pure speculation ahead!)  

For every mile driven, the gap allows thousands of micro-flexures along this junction and eventually the metal fails. 

 

Of course, using the fan blades to turn over the engine by hand doesn't help either.  

[Kenendcindyc]

Dang, you would think it would slowly crack and the the oldest crack would show some rust as it progressed across the blade but that looks like a clean break right across the blade.  Yikes ,very difficult to even inspect for. 

Edited May 17, 2019 by Kenendcindyc
misspelling (see edit history)

[Spinneyhill]

That fan consists of two crossed blades plus an (elliptical?) washer or plate under the bolts. I think the crack may have started behind the "washer" due to the odd shaped fatigue load on that blade. The curved end of the washer would concentrate bending in one place behind it, probably initiating the crack there. The Dodge 8 fan does not have the washer, but it still cracks, from the edge where it is visible. I had mine repaired.

[Kenendcindyc]

Thank you, thank you ,thank you idrjoe_sandiego.  I just checked the fan on my 28 Std Six check out these pics. 

[Kenendcindyc]

I was planning on stripping the paint and magnaflux dye checking them but dang there all most 75% broken. Yikes 

[Pete in PA]

Yikes!

[keiser31]

I guess I will be checking my 1931 DB fans.

[HBergh]

Wow, Dr Joe, what a catastrophe!  Like others reading your story, I too will be checking my DA fan blades ASAP.   I think you might consider submitting your experience and story to the DB Club Newsletter, because not all Dodge Club members review this AACA Dodge forum.  Take care, Howard.

[2251DB]

HI from Aus  just about all these fan blades from 27-29 on victory standard senior and da will have fatigue cracks ,Ihave a standard 6 and a senior 6 both of which had blade failure

Glen Smiths da and victory 6 also .We have changed the faulty fan blades with an early model valiant fan ,only minor modification required.  

[idrjoe_sandiego]

15 hours ago, Kenendcindyc said:

I was planning on stripping the paint and magnaflux dye checking them but dang there all most 75% broken. Yikes 

Wow Ken - good find! No magnaflux needed here. Better to find the cracks now, rather than finding new louvers in your hood.

 

When checking fan blades, don't just give them a casual glance. Some of the cracks are hard to see. Best to pull them off and examine them on the bench with a good magnifier. Better yet, sandblast or wire wheel the paint off before checking. Your fan probably could use fresh coat of paint, anyway.  If it still looks good after stripping the paint, do a  magnaflux test as Ken suggested.  If it passes ALL the tests, congratulations, you have a hen's tooth.

 

I will post my "new" fan  replacement for the '29. It is likely to work for any model DB 28-31. If anyone has done some kind of replacement, post the photos and save a Dodge (or even a Pontiac) That reminds me, I also have a '29 Pontiac I need to check. Thanks Tinindian!

[keiser31]

Check out the tear in this 1929 Chryser fan on Ebay....https://www.ebay.com/itm/1929-CHRYSLER-MOPAR-VINTAGE-ANTIQUE-ORIGINAL-USED-4-BLADE-ENGINE-COOLING-FAN/401769608332?hash=item5d8b55b48c:g:JnsAAOSw2zRcHqh0

Edited May 20, 2019 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[jrbartlett]

I adapted a modern aluminum 6-bladed flex fan to my '35 Auburn. Improved airflow with less noise.

[Mattml430]

I’ve just bought one of these fans. Hopefully it will be a little quieter and hopefully look ok. It’s a little unorthodox looking but rather that, then watching it fly through the bonnet. Maybe up sizing the top pulley would cut a bit of noise out. It looks like it’s about 3:1 on mine any wonder it’s noisey. 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com.au%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F182474802300

[Mattml430]

I got my new fan fitted today and it bolted straight on with a small enlargement of the centre hole. 

It was almost twice as loud as the original fan so off it came immediately. 

I cut 1/4” off the trailing edge to give a little more clearance to the belt and then pressed out some of the pitch in the blades. It’s now very quiet but still pulling enough air at idle. 

Actually looks ok in there too. At least there’s no risk of cracked blades anymore. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Mattml430 (see edit history)

[FLYER15015]

Matt,

How did you balance the fan after cutting all the blades down ?

I balanced my '40 Buick fan by clamping 2 aluminum yard sticks in a vice, stuck a 1/8" drill between them to spread them out a bit.

Ran a long tight fitting bolt thru the fan's pilot hole and placed it atop the yard sticks. Equals a static balance jig.

Took several try's nipping at the blades to make the fan do "random" stops .

Kept a log so about 20 spins and I think she is pretty well balanced now.

 

Just an idea to help the water pump shaft last a bit longer.

 

Mike in Colordo

[Mattml430]

5 hours ago, FLYER15015 said:

Matt,

How did you balance the fan after cutting all the blades down ?

I balanced my '40 Buick fan by clamping 2 aluminum yard sticks in a vice, stuck a 1/8" drill between them to spread them out a bit.

Ran a long tight fitting bolt thru the fan's pilot hole and placed it atop the yard sticks. Equals a static balance jig.

Took several try's nipping at the blades to make the fan do "random" stops .

Kept a log so about 20 spins and I think she is pretty well balanced now.

 

Just an idea to help the water pump shaft last a bit longer.

 

Mike in Colordo

I used a scribe to mark how much I wanted off and cut and linished it perfectly to the line. I then mounted it in the vice and checked each blade was within a millimeter front to back & side to side with a stationary steel rule. I use to balance mower blades on a cone balancer but don’t have that anymore. It would of been perfect for the job. It spins perfectly on the engine when you shine a torch light on it. The amount it could be out of balance with what I cut off would be very minimal but more then possibly out a fraction or two. Looks and seems to spin very nicely. 

[gebo]

Hi Joe,

I am looking for you.  Please send me your complete new E-Mail adress. Thank you

Gerd from Germany

[Spinneyhill]

7 hours ago, gebo said:

Hi Joe,

I am looking for you.  Please send me your complete new E-Mail adress. Thank you

Gerd from Germany

His last visit was May 22 (hover over his handle and it will show this). Either quote something of his in your post or send a p.m. so an email is sent to him. At the moment, he may see your post if he comes back and looks at this topic.

[DB26]

Not to hyjack this thread, but is there an acceptable replacement for the 4 cylinder of 1926?

[gebo]

Spinneyhill,
danke für den Hinweis. Leider ohne erfolg.

[gebo]

Spider Hill,
thanks for the hint. Unfortunately without success.

[DA29]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing this experience !

I check mine and it was almost broken ... : one big crazing of more then 1 inch across the fan ... and other small crazing

Temporarly solution awaiting safer fans : welding + relief stress by heat treatment + periodic inspection.

 

[P Bohlig]

what is the part number and brand of the. Replacement fan

[Peter Pan]

Sorry to hear the sad news. It must have been frightening trying to work out what had just happened. I read where you had the Brassworks redo your radiator and I need a new core for my 1929 Dodge DA. Did you check with any other suppliers or just the Brassworks? May I ask what sort of dollars it set you back for the radiator?

[idrjoe_sandiego]

Hi Peter Pan- 

We shopped around a little, but no one else had the answers like the Brassworks did. (BTW No relation here , just a satisfied consumer). The staff were very knowledgeable and familiar with this honeycomb style radiator.

 

We sent the original radiator to them so they could strip off all the soldered bits and the tanks.  Afterwards they even returned the old core to us.

 

The downside: You can't be in a hurry.  We were told there were 27 jobs ahead of us!  The ETA was approximately 3 months.  They beat their own time frame- it was on our doorstep in two months.  It was well worth the wait. The radiator is a work of art! The price... about $3100.00 USD including tax and shipping.   

 

-Joe

[Peter Pan]

Thank's Joe. Yes their work is impressive to say the least and they are friendly to talk to.

[Mohd faraaz]

Can u share details pics of this car on faraazmohd25@gmail.com and need some parts for this car. 

[Peter Pan]

Just Google what you need and you will get several choices. 

[Mohd faraaz]

No I have searched a lot I need speedometer, headlights, cowl lights etc. 

[Peter Pan]

You can try https://www.myersearlydodge.com/ 

[Bob Zetnick]

14 hours ago, Mohd faraaz said:

No I have searched a lot I need speedometer, headlights, cowl lights etc. 

 

Headlights https://www.ebay.com/itm/1929-Dodge-DA-30DD-pr-vintage-headlights-Not-claimed-anyone-can-make-offer/324130930427?hash=item4b77b57efb:g:pxkAAOSw7MNej2g5

[Bob Zetnick]

14 hours ago, Mohd faraaz said:

No I have searched a lot I need speedometer, headlights, cowl lights etc. 

 

Speedo / dash cluster https://www.ebay.com/itm/1929-1930-DODGE-DA-COUPE-SEDAN-SPEEDOMETER-OIL-GASOLINE-GAUGE-CLUSTER-PANEL/402191119475?hash=item5da4757473:g:JuEAAOSwC4ZefkAs

[MikeC5]

Yikes!  Thankfully, no one was injured.  In the jet engine business, that is what we call an uncontained failure...  I think I'm going to pull the fan off mine and take a close look but it constructed differently than this one in that it has a heavier stamping with the blades riveted on.  

[gebo]

Hello Joe,
for me the fan is torn too. Where can I find and buy a replacement fan? Thanks for an answer.