A bit of a warning for 981 owners regarding the 2 front fans.
Had my 55k mile 2013BB in for unrelated repair last month and was informed that I had an inoperative radiator fan. Though disappointed, I was not shocked, as I have experienced fan failure on my 986 in the past. I asked the dealer if he was sure, and he said there was a tripped code and the fan was seized. This was different than my 986 experience.
So when I got the car back, I tried to turn the blade and sure enough it would not move. So since fan removal requires removal of the nose and dropping the radiator down, I thought I would further inspect it by removing the inner wheel well cover. After that, I discovered that the fan motor was jammed by tiny stones that worked their way into the motor. I worked the blade around until it started to release and spit out pebbles.
I then spent about an hour spinning the fan by hand and blowing around the motor with compressed air until I got all of the rocks out. I started the car and ran the AC on max, which runs the fans, and confirmed that no more rocks were in the motor. So far it has been working perfectly for a month. Didn't blow any fuses or cause any damage. Maybe the fan will fail prematurely in the future, but right now no problems.
Regarding why this may have happened, I am one of those guys that keeps the HVAC system turned off most of the time. The fans almost never get a chance to run. I believe this allows time for small rocks that are bouncing around on the street/hwy to work their way into the motor. Screens in front of the radiators probably won't help much since these pebbles are so small. Though I still generally don't use the HVAC when driving unless needed, I now run it a few minutes every time I take the car out hoping this will help keep out/work out any pebbles that may be working their way toward the fan motor.
So, good news is no damage or replacement required. But I would watch for this issue if you have a 981.
Had my 55k mile 2013BB in for unrelated repair last month and was informed that I had an inoperative radiator fan. Though disappointed, I was not shocked, as I have experienced fan failure on my 986 in the past. I asked the dealer if he was sure, and he said there was a tripped code and the fan was seized. This was different than my 986 experience.
So when I got the car back, I tried to turn the blade and sure enough it would not move. So since fan removal requires removal of the nose and dropping the radiator down, I thought I would further inspect it by removing the inner wheel well cover. After that, I discovered that the fan motor was jammed by tiny stones that worked their way into the motor. I worked the blade around until it started to release and spit out pebbles.
I then spent about an hour spinning the fan by hand and blowing around the motor with compressed air until I got all of the rocks out. I started the car and ran the AC on max, which runs the fans, and confirmed that no more rocks were in the motor. So far it has been working perfectly for a month. Didn't blow any fuses or cause any damage. Maybe the fan will fail prematurely in the future, but right now no problems.
Regarding why this may have happened, I am one of those guys that keeps the HVAC system turned off most of the time. The fans almost never get a chance to run. I believe this allows time for small rocks that are bouncing around on the street/hwy to work their way into the motor. Screens in front of the radiators probably won't help much since these pebbles are so small. Though I still generally don't use the HVAC when driving unless needed, I now run it a few minutes every time I take the car out hoping this will help keep out/work out any pebbles that may be working their way toward the fan motor.
So, good news is no damage or replacement required. But I would watch for this issue if you have a 981.
