old asplundh chipper problems

[Jeffro2331]

Hi Everyone Thanks in Advance for all the great help


Ok Its a 1970s asplundh chipper 12inch with the old ford inline 4 cylinder gas motor. A few weeks ago i was cutting a big elm down and the water pump housing sheared off sending the fan into the radiator. Now the cause I though was like 3 months prior a fan blade broke off and i just didnt worrie about it. So wish i would have replaced it now! Anyways hundreds of $$$ later a new pump, Fan blade and radiator shes back up running "strong". Yesterday i removed a big maple the chipper ran all day with not a problem. The last little BS job of the day Boom the water pump sheared off the housing again. I was like WTF!!! Thankfully It spared me and didnt mess the fan or the radiator up again

Now all that being said I want to take a different approch with this. Get some diffrent ideas and fix this for the last time!

Heres what im thinking

1 could the belt being to tight have done this? I would say no because the original one lasted as long as i have owned it and i would wrench on it so the belt wouldnt slip causing it to ever heat. i guess the only reason im questioning this is because i tightened it right before that little last job

2 The replacement fan i bought was a retro kinda thing. I did my best to get it square which i think i did a good job with. If the fan was just a little off balance would it have done this? Remember the original one lasted 3 plus months with a fan blade broke off thus off balance alot.

3 Does anyone have picks of there chipper im wondering if the setups compleatly different

4 Could the "New" water pump been affective?

5 Do away with this Electric fan?

6...

Any help would be greatful
Thanks! Jeff

 

[04titanse]

When you replaced the fan did you replace the fan clutch also??

 

[Jeffro2331]

When you replaced the fan did you replace the fan clutch also??

Well there's no clutch

 

[04titanse]

Sorry, I guess I made an assumption I should not have. Snap a few pictures of the fan and how it attaches.

 

[Jeffro2331]

Sorry, I guess I made an assumption I should not have. Snap a few pictures of the fan and how it attaches.

I honestly don't know how to post pics it has never worked for me. If you pm me your phone # I could text you pics or email them to you
Thanks again Jeff

 

[stumpjumper83]

when you bolted the new pump on did you just just standard hardware maybe and the originals were grade 8?

 

[dieselfitter]

"2 The replacement fan i bought was a retro kinda thing. I did my best to get it square which i think i did a good job with. If the fan was just a little off balance would it have done this? Remember the original one lasted 3 plus months with a fan blade broke off thus off balance alot."



I cannot say for sure but it is possible the fan was off center when you "retro kinda thing" put it together. If it was off center, it would cause uneven loading of the water pump shaft. The uneven loading of the shaft may have caused the water pump shaft to flex. With flexing comes metal fatigue and eventually failure. Just theory. Failure analysis is done by looking at the evidence and working it backwards. Pictures of the broken shaft and the "retro fan" with attention to means of centering may shed some light on the issue. Even with the parts in hand it may not be able to be determined beyond a doubt. Then we go with probabilities. DF

 

[Goose IBEW]

Strange things happen when vibration takes a toll. I run the same engine in an eighties Badger chipper. Had plenty of problems, the fan not being one of them. I'm surprised that the bearings in the water pump didn't give way and start weeping coolant. I'd start calling around and looking for the proper replacement fan.