Has anyone attempted replacing hst fan for BX24?

[BotaBX24er]

I'm thinking about taking on the task in order to save some money (closest shop is 50 minutes and they quoted $550 for the $10 fan). I'm not an expert but am somewhat handy with tools and very willing to learn.

I have attempted slitting the fan in half and epoxying it to the old fan hub but that has resulted in the shaft vibrating excessively and I'm pretty certain that's not a good thing.

Has anyone ever done the replacement before? I spoke with one severice tech and he stated that the engine could be slid forward enough to remove the bolts that hold the fan, however, the floor board and fenders all have to be removed. This is still not the official replacement but only to to able to replace the fan with a new one that has a slit in it. My question is would that involve draining the hydraulic fluid in order to do all that? How many mounting bolts are there, I can see 2 from the top...

I read from one of the posts that insurance may cover that but that still leaves a $250. Would it be worth my time to tow it to them to pay the $250? Anyone have an opinion?

 

[radioman]

I'm thinking about taking on the task in order to save some money (closest shop is 50 minutes and they quoted $550 for the $10 fan). I'm not an expert but am somewhat handy with tools and very willing to learn.

I have attempted slitting the fan in half and epoxying it to the old fan hub but that has resulted in the shaft vibrating excessively and I'm pretty certain that's not a good thing.

Has anyone ever done the replacement before? I spoke with one severice tech and he stated that the engine could be slid forward enough to remove the bolts that hold the fan, however, the floor board and fenders all have to be removed. This is still not the official replacement but only to to able to replace the fan with a new one that has a slit in it. My question is would that involve draining the hydraulic fluid in order to do all that? How many mounting bolts are there, I can see 2 from the top...

I read from one of the posts that insurance may cover that but that still leaves a $250. Would it be worth my time to tow it to them to pay the $250? Anyone have an opinion?

umm - it's been discussed here at leasst several times. Try to do a search here first. If you don't want to cut the fan in half and glue back together on shaft, then you may need to take the long route by moving the engine forward and taking alot of stuff apart. for half a grand, yeah I would do it myself. It would make me more familar with my machine.

 

[Volfandt]

I've not had to do this repair yet and other than the split fan trick I haven't read of any others attemting this on the BX24 so you may be setting a do it yourselfer presedent

If Kubota built the engine assembly in the BX24 like the BX23 it may not be as hard to slide the engine assembly forward as we think.
In the BX23, the engine and radiator assembly are bolted together in a sort of subframe then its dropped and bolted into the main frame.
On the surface it appears that the engine/radiator subassembly can be unbolted from the main frame and moved forward without having to drain the radiator or disconnect anything with the exception on maybe the throttle cable and battery lead to the starter.
The grill guard and bonnet (lower engine cowling) will have to be removed.
An engine hoist or block & tackle setup will probably be needed to support the engine assembly when it's unbolted and moved, unless it can be slide an inch or so in it's mounting.

Theres been a few posters here that have R&R'ed the fan on the BX23/BX2230 and some have removed the floor pan, which involves the removal of the ROPS and seat while at least one poster was able to do his without removing the floorpan.
Now the 00 and 30 series BX's have a different design in the driveshaft/fan assembly and the moving the the engine is not required for them.

So basically, if you choose to take this mission the floorpan and associated assembly's have been removed and documented here as not being much problem at all, and you can do a search for them to use as a ref., but the moving of the engine assembly forward just enough to gain some clearance will be new territory.
The attachment is of the BX23 engine assembly from the WSM to show how it's mounted/dismounted.
Good luck
edit, I got to thinking (dangerous I rekon ) about what one will have to do to change the fan belt on the 50 & 60 series BX's and I'm thinking, surely, the engine shouldn't have to be slid forward to be able to disconnected the driveshaft for this.......

 

[BotaBX24er]

Thanks Radioman and Volfandt...
I have researched many threads in here and other forums before I joined this one. That's where I came up with the method of slicing the fan in half and glueing it to the old fan hub. It's just that I'm not comfortable letting it run with that much vibration and I'm not sure what that does to the bearings and all.

I have also spoken with the regional service rep and service technicians around here and even in PA. It appears that I have a later model BX24 in which the Engineers thought it would be better to tighten up the engine mounts and not make it possible to get a ratchet to unbolt the fan from the shaft mount (unlike the BX23). And unlike the BX23, they changed that mount that holds the fan to the shaft from a two piece design to one piece. So where the BX23 allows you to loosen that fan mount to slide forward just enough to get to the fan bolts, and then slice and install a new fan the BX24 design went a little backwards on thinking of the user in both regards.

The funny thing was that they stated that these tractors are often bought with the mid mount mowers and therefore you wouldn't even be worried about anything getting to the fan. But yet, if you read the warnings, it states to remove the mower if using the backhoe and preferrably when you use the FEL also. Talk about hypocrits!

So if you are truly using it for a tractor, let's just say with a bush hog, did they not think that you would be driving through rougher terrain and not be subjected to branches coming in from the front of the tractor? And that little "fan protector" that Kubota came up with which I saw in one of the posts...that's just rediculous...only protects it from things coming straight up at the fan...

I will take a look at it...but from what it seems, it looks like draining the hydraulic fluid is not required.

 

[donn12]

I went through the same thing with my 08 BX 24. I cut my fan in half and glued it in place. I also drilled a couple of screws through to make sure it holds. I agonized over this repair and then I had it fixed in about 10 minutes. I have not noticed any more vibration than before but mine has a pretty rough idle so I don't think that I would. At normal RPMs it is not vibrating more than normal.
I have changed my fan belt and Volfandt is right, the shaft unbolts in the front so you can slide the new belt over although I don't think it has enough clearance to be removed. Worth playing around with in any case.

 

[radioman]

everytime I see a post about the HST fan on the BX's I cringe! Still haven't made a skid plate yet- Been too busy converting my truck plow to a usable angleable plow on BX FEL arms.

 

[thavil]

everytime I see a post about the HST fan on the BX's I cringe! Still haven't made a skid plate yet- Been too busy converting my truck plow to a usable angleable plow on BX FEL arms.

I hope you knocked on some wood after you submitted your post! Last time I was under my BX, I could see a few scratches on my Bro-Tek skid plate where something tried to attack my HST fan blade.

 

[radioman]

I hope you knocked on some wood after you submitted your post! Last time I was under my BX, I could see a few scratches on my Bro-Tek skid plate where something tried to attack my HST fan blade.

Knocking on wood! (cringing too!)

 

[SunShineLover]

I purchased my BX24 three years ago and before I had 20 hours on it I took out the fan with a tree branch. That's when I discovered the value of the Bro-Tech skid plates.

To replace the HST fan I removed the ROPS, operators seat, rear fender assembly, floor pan, front/engine hood and cowl, and yes the engine can be "disconnected" and slid forward. BE CAREFUL and make sure it's supported!

At the time I did not have an engine hoist available so I used a "strap/come along" with a 4x4 beam on top of the front loader.
I don't recommend this method. Using an engine hoist would be much easier.

You don't need to disconnect your radiator hoses, electrical, throttle cables (nothing) "but" only move the engine forward enough for clearance when sliding the fan off the shaft.

I did not drain the HST fluid and had no fluid loss.

The entire process took me about 6-8 hours, (it made a lovely weekend) with a break for lunch.

My local dealer was going to charge me $550 + the $14 fan + tax.

I purchased the fan and it sat on my tool box for a month before I got the nerve up to do this.

I don't have a maintenance manual just the owners manual, however these tractors seem to me to be well put together overall, just wish the fan replacement less time consuming. Don't want to go through it again.

I now have almost 800 hours on my BX24TLB and it is a wonderful tool.

Hope this helps.... SSL

 

[radioman]

I purchased the fan and it sat on my tool box for a month before I got the nerve up to do this.
I don't have a maintenance manual just the owners manual, however these tractors seem to me to be well put together overall, just wish the fan replacement less time consuming. Don't want to go through it again.

I got a chuckle out of this one. Its something I might do too.