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It's the side seals between the radiator and the housing. Somehow they are not staying put and get sucked into the housing and torn up by the fans. The fans themselves are just fine.
I decided to start a new thread so that this is easy to find for those who want to check their SRT8, or need to address this very issue. It certainly is a DIY possible task. Please consider this for the KNOWLEDGE BASE section. As far as I know it will apply equally well to the 5.7L fan housing as it does to the 6.1L engine cooling system.
While on vacation recently we noticed an alarming noise from the engine bay one morning. It sounded like a rock grinder. At the time I didn't know whether it was within the engine or something else, but it quickly became obvious it was something to do with the fans, not the engine.
I contacted FnkyChkn over at LXF to see if it was feasible for a non-gearhead like myself to investigate further, or should I just take it to the dealer. He provided the following schematic diagram and procedure...
![]()
(1) RADIATOR FAN ASSEMBLY - (2) ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR - (3) UPPER RADIATOR HOSE
1. Disconnect negative battery cable.
2. Partially drain cooling system (Refer to 7 - COOLING - STANDARD PROCEDURE).
3. Remove upper radiator hose (3).
4. Disconnect cooling fan electrical connector (2).
5. Remove cooling fan mounting bolts.
6. Remove radiator cooling fan assembly (1) from vehicle.
Of course you have to remove your air intake (stock air box or CAI) back to the throttle body. You also need to move the electrical snake that crosses over the radiator up and out of the way.
I see no reason (unless your paranoid about electrical issues) to remove the battery cable. I did not. The only electrical items are the IAT sensor and the fan control cable. Both those are foolproof connectors and pose no difficulty. He also indicates to remove the top radiator hose. I also found this unnecessary. You simply need to move it out of the way. The Tstat bolts are 1/2 in. and use a zip-lock or other plastic bag to catch the antifreeze that will run out. DO NOT open the coolant overflow reservior or you will need a much bigger bag. I took out the Tstat as well, but that really wasn't necessary.
I did this using a short bungie chord and the fuse box terminal as the anchor...
![]()
This is a good time to check inside the Tstat housing connector and down inside the radiator hose itself. When I did this I didn't particularly like the look of the Tstat housing... it looks as if it was painted internally, and of course the antifreeze does a number on paint. But what was left didn't wipe or scrape off, so I left it.
![]()
The fan control chord connector is on the fan housing, just above the low-speed fan and easy to access and disconnect once you've moved the radiator hose. Then there are only two bolts (either 10mm or 8 mm) which hold the fan housing assembly in place. The first is located just under the other end of the top radiator hose... it can be accessed without removing the hose entirely.
![]()
The other bolt is on the opposite side in a similar location...
![]()
I was concerned that there might be a third and fourth bolt down below, but was pleased to find that the connections on the bottom side are merely slide on positioning pins. It took a little bit of persuasion to lift the fan housing out of the engine bay. You have to work the bolt tabs and the lower positioning pin tabs past the radiator hose on the passenger side and the two small hoses on the driver's side.
When I got the housing out I examined it closely. I saw no impact marks, and no wear marks on the housing or fan blades. I heard no rubbing and observed no wobbling when rotating either fan blade. I was baffled. Then I looked down into the engine bay to examine the back side of the radiator.
![]()
Clearly there was "minor" damage to the fins, but in no discernible pattern that I could detect. Then I saw something laying down near the bottom, and in fact there were two pieces. I didn't take a picture until I had them laying on the table with the fan housing...
![]()
These two stips of plastic/rubber were totally chewed up! Here's a closer look.
![]()
But it was not obvious to me where they are supposed to be mounted. They are the right length to go along the side of the housing, but... There is no tell-tale sign of something that slipped off the housing (like a dirt line), and they didn't appear to be curved in the way that would follow the outer edge of the fan shrouds.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps they mounted on the edge of the radiator itself. There seems to be a place where the plastic part could mount and leave the rubbery fin reaching out to seal to the fan housing.
![]()
So I don't know if this is correct, but I tried a test fit to visualize my theory...
![]()
Wherever they go, they clearly were/are not reusable so I simply put the fan housing back it and reconnected everything. It is difficult to see anything AFTER you put things back, but I did have a little angle to view down beside the washer fluid and ABS brake distributor. There clearly is a gap now between the housing the the edge of the radiator... as indicated by the arrow.
![]()
If you have NOT experienced this fan issue, you might want to check a similar visual in your car to verify what the side seals are supposed to look like, or if they look near failure. I would think you will not be able to see the radiator edge as you can in the picture above.
All in all the whole investigation took me a couple hours (because this was a first for me and I took my time and took pictures). To do it again would take maybe half that much time.
I plan to take the two destructed pieces to my local dealer on Monday morning and get or order (under warranty) replacement parts. I think I probably can install them myself, but to maintain warranty considerations I probably will schedule a time when they can install them... with another dozen donuts of course!
Ok... I'm done. Comments?
I decided to start a new thread so that this is easy to find for those who want to check their SRT8, or need to address this very issue. It certainly is a DIY possible task. Please consider this for the KNOWLEDGE BASE section. As far as I know it will apply equally well to the 5.7L fan housing as it does to the 6.1L engine cooling system.
While on vacation recently we noticed an alarming noise from the engine bay one morning. It sounded like a rock grinder. At the time I didn't know whether it was within the engine or something else, but it quickly became obvious it was something to do with the fans, not the engine.
I contacted FnkyChkn over at LXF to see if it was feasible for a non-gearhead like myself to investigate further, or should I just take it to the dealer. He provided the following schematic diagram and procedure...
(1) RADIATOR FAN ASSEMBLY - (2) ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR - (3) UPPER RADIATOR HOSE
1. Disconnect negative battery cable.
2. Partially drain cooling system (Refer to 7 - COOLING - STANDARD PROCEDURE).
3. Remove upper radiator hose (3).
4. Disconnect cooling fan electrical connector (2).
5. Remove cooling fan mounting bolts.
6. Remove radiator cooling fan assembly (1) from vehicle.
Of course you have to remove your air intake (stock air box or CAI) back to the throttle body. You also need to move the electrical snake that crosses over the radiator up and out of the way.
I see no reason (unless your paranoid about electrical issues) to remove the battery cable. I did not. The only electrical items are the IAT sensor and the fan control cable. Both those are foolproof connectors and pose no difficulty. He also indicates to remove the top radiator hose. I also found this unnecessary. You simply need to move it out of the way. The Tstat bolts are 1/2 in. and use a zip-lock or other plastic bag to catch the antifreeze that will run out. DO NOT open the coolant overflow reservior or you will need a much bigger bag. I took out the Tstat as well, but that really wasn't necessary.
I did this using a short bungie chord and the fuse box terminal as the anchor...
This is a good time to check inside the Tstat housing connector and down inside the radiator hose itself. When I did this I didn't particularly like the look of the Tstat housing... it looks as if it was painted internally, and of course the antifreeze does a number on paint. But what was left didn't wipe or scrape off, so I left it.
The fan control chord connector is on the fan housing, just above the low-speed fan and easy to access and disconnect once you've moved the radiator hose. Then there are only two bolts (either 10mm or 8 mm) which hold the fan housing assembly in place. The first is located just under the other end of the top radiator hose... it can be accessed without removing the hose entirely.
The other bolt is on the opposite side in a similar location...
I was concerned that there might be a third and fourth bolt down below, but was pleased to find that the connections on the bottom side are merely slide on positioning pins. It took a little bit of persuasion to lift the fan housing out of the engine bay. You have to work the bolt tabs and the lower positioning pin tabs past the radiator hose on the passenger side and the two small hoses on the driver's side.
When I got the housing out I examined it closely. I saw no impact marks, and no wear marks on the housing or fan blades. I heard no rubbing and observed no wobbling when rotating either fan blade. I was baffled. Then I looked down into the engine bay to examine the back side of the radiator.
Clearly there was "minor" damage to the fins, but in no discernible pattern that I could detect. Then I saw something laying down near the bottom, and in fact there were two pieces. I didn't take a picture until I had them laying on the table with the fan housing...
These two stips of plastic/rubber were totally chewed up! Here's a closer look.
But it was not obvious to me where they are supposed to be mounted. They are the right length to go along the side of the housing, but... There is no tell-tale sign of something that slipped off the housing (like a dirt line), and they didn't appear to be curved in the way that would follow the outer edge of the fan shrouds.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps they mounted on the edge of the radiator itself. There seems to be a place where the plastic part could mount and leave the rubbery fin reaching out to seal to the fan housing.
So I don't know if this is correct, but I tried a test fit to visualize my theory...
Wherever they go, they clearly were/are not reusable so I simply put the fan housing back it and reconnected everything. It is difficult to see anything AFTER you put things back, but I did have a little angle to view down beside the washer fluid and ABS brake distributor. There clearly is a gap now between the housing the the edge of the radiator... as indicated by the arrow.
If you have NOT experienced this fan issue, you might want to check a similar visual in your car to verify what the side seals are supposed to look like, or if they look near failure. I would think you will not be able to see the radiator edge as you can in the picture above.
All in all the whole investigation took me a couple hours (because this was a first for me and I took my time and took pictures). To do it again would take maybe half that much time.
I plan to take the two destructed pieces to my local dealer on Monday morning and get or order (under warranty) replacement parts. I think I probably can install them myself, but to maintain warranty considerations I probably will schedule a time when they can install them... with another dozen donuts of course!
Ok... I'm done. Comments?
