Fan support bracket & bearing - with high mileage check yours (1 Viewer)

[bloc]

2013 3UR-FE Landcruiser, just approaching 150k miles. I had a belt squeal on cold start at about 120k and installed a new OEM serp belt, which resolved the issue. At the time I checked the condition of the idler and tensioner pullies, as well as the fan support bearing (our fan doesn't run on the end of the water pump like most V8s.). Everything was quiet and very very smooth. I wasn't worried.

Lately though, occasional squeak at idle, usually when cold but not always. Getting close to 150k, I purchased new OEM tensioner, Idler, and fan support bracket/bearing planning to put them on with my 150k PM.

This is what I found:



There was no wobble at all, but absolutely zero resistance (not even the fluid resistance of grease), with a light scratching sound when spun. The phone mic exaggerates the sound.. it was pretty faint.

A note for install.. the #2 (I think) water bypass pipe down to the oil cooler is a pain. There is a small 10mm bolt holding it to the top of the oil cooler that is very tight against the AC compressor. You can get that bolt out without removing the compressor but it won't do you much good.. to get the lower bolt out of the fan support bracket the pipes have to move out pretty far and then the AC comp is in the way. So just do the job right and remove the 3 AC compressor bolts and one nut. The top rear bolt is accessible through the wheel well, the bottom two from the bottom of the truck with a 12mm wrench, and the top front nut is easy.

Sorry I didn't get pics of all of this.. I'm annoyed my timing cover is leaking enough oil that it will require R&R eventually to re-seal.

Idler was in great shape.. it is quite a large bearing considering the simple forces on it. Tensioner pretty good.. no noise or grit but the bearing had a very very small wobble. Just a matter of time.

Anyway, if you guys/gals are approaching 150k this should probably be on your list of things to consider.

I left my fan clutch.. seems to be working great. No silicon leaks, acts as it should on start and I'll consider a new one before 200k.

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[haryv]

2013 3UR-FE Landcruiser, just approaching 150k miles. I had a belt squeal on cold start at about 120k and installed a new OEM serp belt, which resolved the issue. At the time I checked the condition of the idler and tensioner pullies, as well as the fan support bearing (our fan doesn't run on the end of the water pump like most V8s.). Everything was quiet and very very smooth. I wasn't worried.

Lately though, occasional squeak at idle, usually when cold but not always. Getting close to 150k, I purchased new OEM tensioner, Idler, and fan support bracket/bearing planning to put them on with my 150k PM.

This is what I found:



There was no wobble at all, but absolutely zero resistance (not even the fluid resistance of grease), with a light scratching sound when spun. The phone mic exaggerates the sound.. it was pretty faint.

A note for install.. the #2 (I think) water bypass pipe down to the oil cooler is a pain. There is a small 10mm bolt holding it to the top of the oil cooler that is very tight against the AC compressor. You can get that bolt out without removing the compressor but it won't do you much good.. to get the lower bolt out of the fan support bracket the pipes have to move out pretty far and then the AC comp is in the way. So just do the job right and remove the 3 AC compressor bolts and one nut. The top rear bolt is accessible through the wheel well, the bottom two from the bottom of the truck with a 12mm wrench, and the top front nut is easy.

Sorry I didn't get pics of all of this.. I'm annoyed my timing cover is leaking enough oil that it will require R&R eventually to re-seal.

Idler was in great shape.. it is quite a large bearing considering the simple forces on it. Tensioner pretty good.. no noise or grit but the bearing had a very very small wobble. Just a matter of time.

Anyway, if you guys/gals are approaching 150k this should probably be on your list of things to consider.

I left my fan clutch.. seems to be working great. No silicon leaks, acts as it should on start and I'll consider a new one before 200k.

Let me know if you have any questions

part of the drag in new pump is grease dragging on ball bearings. In a bearing that spins more then once ...brearings are dry. I do bearing spin test any time tbelt or water pump belt off. Never thought of idea using thermal tempature guage to check bearing for heat and wear but its a good idea.

 

[Supra88]

Thanks for the install tip. My new rig is over 200k and on the original fan bracket assembly. New Aisin unit is on the way.

 

[sdnative]

My fan support bracket has a very slight wobble, and no resistance to spinning as your video shows. Assume bad and needs to be replaced? Truck only has 65k.

I have the radiator out, just replaced the WP and thermostat/housing. Anything else I should replace while I am in there? The idler seems like it may have a tiny bit of play, but it could be my imagination. Tensioner seems fine.

 

[Supra88]

My fan support bracket has a very slight wobble, and no resistance to spinning as your video shows. Assume bad and needs to be replaced? Truck only has 65k.

I have the radiator out, just replaced the WP and thermostat/housing. Anything else I should replace while I am in there? The idler seems like it may have a tiny bit of play, but it could be my imagination. Tensioner seems fine.

My original fan bracket and idler were changed at 228k and they were still fine. I doubt yours are bad, but they're relatively inexpensive so go for it. I would definitely change the serp tensioner/belt while you have everything opened up. It's a 100k mile part.

 

[bloc]

Wobble could concern me some. Even mine making noise had no discernible wobble at all.

Low mileage is fine, but if a lot of those miles were in high heat or towing scenarios that fan bracket could have seen a lot of wear. Did you own it from new?

The part was about $130 for me and constituted the bulk of the work among installing all the parts I did.

 

[sdnative]

No bought it a few months ago. So Cal truck, light usage, no towing that I know if.

Here's a video.

 

[bloc]

No bought it a few months ago. So Cal truck, light usage, no towing that I know if.

Here's a video.

You are getting the very light scratching sound mine was making. Different microphones might be accentuating the sound on mine.. but with any play and a lack of grease resistance I'd be replacing it, personally.

It isn't the cheapest part, but definitely one you don't want to fail, or have to replace on the side of the road.

 

[sdnative]

FYI just replaced my fan bracket and did not need to remove the AC compressor. The two water pipes that go to the oil cooler can be moved out of the way by removing the 10mm bolt circled in the picture. There are rubber hoses on both ends of the hard lines. The top two rubber hoses were already disconnected as I was replacing the WP and thermostat. Once I removed the 10mm bolt I could move the hard lines out of the way to remove the fan bracket.

 

[bloc]

I tried that and maybe it was the rubber hoses not being disconnected but the pipes would not move enough to get the lower bracket bolt out. I did consider loosening the hoses, but was pretty adamant about reducing coolant spill.

So yes if you are doing the thermostat or pump moving the AC pump might not be necessary. If not, and you want to avoid potentially damaging the pipes, I think removing the lower pipe bolt is necessary.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I'll add my thoughts, the fan brackets are a very common need on higher mileage 200 as well as 200's used in a considerable amount of dust/silt. I've now put two on my personal 200 and we've put a half dozen on the Canguro 200. If anyone wants a "notchy" bearing fan bracket to try and rehab with a fresh bearing, I've got a handful up for grabs.

My first fan bracket had been swimming in coolant for who knows how long. Bearing actually felt OK but it's so easy to do while doing a pump. The one I did was the opposite. The fan bracket was caked with silt, bearing was noisy so I did a water pump while I was in there.

I would add the fan clutch to the items to inspect, particularly if you spent much time in dust/silt. You just cant easily clean out the fins on the vehicle and eventually the shaft seal can start to weep too. This is the dust that came out of my fan clutch, this after it had been pressure washed pretty dam good.

 

[bloc]

I'll add my thoughts, the fan brackets are a very common need on higher mileage 200 as well as 200's used in a considerable amount of dust/silt. I've now put two on my personal 200 and we've put a half dozen on the Canguro 200. If anyone wants a "notchy" bearing fan bracket to try and rehab with a fresh bearing, I've got a handful up for grabs.

My first fan bracket had been swimming in coolant for who knows how long. Bearing actually felt OK but it's so easy to do while doing a pump. The one I did was the opposite. The fan bracket was caked with silt, bearing was noisy so I did a water pump while I was in there.

View attachment 2290719

I would add the fan clutch to the items to inspect, particularly if you spent much time in dust/silt. You just cant easily clean out the fins on the vehicle and eventually the shaft seal can start to weep too. This is the dust that came out of my fan clutch, this after it had been pressure washed pretty dam good.

View attachment 2290740

I did do a fair amount of cleaning of the fan clutch. Mostly with compressed air but a few stubborn spots needed manual scraping. Probably not nearly as bad as yours based on use..

 

[Karbon]

To add some more detail since I did all of the front-end engine/radiator fun last weekend:

2009, 116K; my bearing was fairly worn. Almost no resistance when spinning by hand, and had a significant wobble while still bolted to the engine, after removing the fan and clutch. I was able to get it out and replaced with minor effort. In addition to the bolt mentioned in an above post, I removed the second bracket bolt and disconnected the two soft lines. This allowed enough flex to pull the hard lines forward and towards the LHS to get enough clearance to access the final bolt with a short wobble extension. The clutch seemed fine but while I had everything apart I wanted to replace it for peace of mind.

I replaced both the fan bearing bracket and fan clutch with AISIN parts, listed below. From Rock Auto these were about $190 vs. $320 from Toyota.
Fan Bearing Bracket: FBT014
Fan Clutch: FCT087

 

[ontopofm]

No bought it a few months ago. So Cal truck, light usage, no towing that I know if.

Here's a video.

Anyone know the part number for those for nuts? Thanks

 

[bloc]

Anyone know the part number for those for nuts? Thanks

94151-80800 per my parts program

m8x1.25 if you want to go to the hardware store, but they’ll usually be 13mm wrench vs the 12 that is standard toyota for that size.

 

[ontopofm]

94151-80800 per my parts program

m8x1.25 if you want to go to the hardware store, but they’ll usually be 13mm wrench vs the 12 that is standard toyota for that size.

Thank you. Do you happen to know the torque specs of those fan bracket bolts?

 

[bloc]

Thank you. Do you happen to know the torque specs of those fan bracket bolts?

The four fan nuts are 15lbft
For the fan bearing bracket itself, the three M8 bolts go to 17, the one bigger (I think M10) goes to 35.

 

[ontopofm]

The four fan nuts are 15lbft
For the fan bearing bracket itself, the three M8 bolts go to 17, the one bigger (I think M10) goes to 35.

thanks

 

[DecreedIt]

Bumping this one

For those of you who bought and installed Aisin Fan Bracket assy - any feedback?

I'm about to do this job - tensioner, idler at least, maybe bracket and clutch and looking for feedback. I lean OEM only like many passionate advocates here but, in this case, curious as it does save a lot of money to go Aisin and Dayco, oh and Bando belt looks to be OEM as well. Available via Amazon.

 

[bloc]

I use parts.autonationtoyotasouthaustin.com for OE stuff and their prices are usually excellent.

Cant comment on aisin for the 200 application, though I used their stuff regularly on my 80 and was always happy with it.