Current Information, History and Status of this Product.
The billet cartridge fan bearing has been in life cycle testing for about 2 years. I drive my Turbo Corvair every day and beat on it pretty hard. I will not release a product that has not been tested. This seems to be in stark contrast to the typical new product releases I have seen from some suppliers. There is more life cycle testing on parts which are more difficult to install/replace or ones that may have catastrophic consequences if they fail. (Example: Testing of the adjustable cam gear)
The original GM fan bearing hubs were very nice quality, but some of the current replacement bearings are strictly a water pump bearing assembly. These replacement water pump bearing assemblies are not designed to handle the rated RPM, as a water pump does not spin as fast as a Corvair fan will. The seals are different and the rated RPM is lower than the factory part. The water pump bearing assembly will fit
the fan hub, but the bearing quality may be different and thus may yield a shorter service life than the factory part.
The idea behind the billet cartridge fan bearing hub was to make a part to replace the factory part at the time of rebuild or failed factory fan bearing. A replacement part of higher quality, precision machining and less inertial mass than the factory part. One of a design in which could be serviced easily if required with out tearing apart the top of the engine. Service or replacement can be done in fifteen minutes vs. a full day replacing the
factory part, if you are fast. :-)
The bearings are a sealed designed and not greasable. For service the bearing cartridge can be separated from the driven flange and the complete bearing cartridge replaced. The bearings which are selected are of higher quality than the typical water pump bearings and are larger than the factory bearings. Their
load rating is greater as well as the rated service RPM is higher. They are expected to have a long service life.
The bearing is a common size, which is a 203. This bearing size is used in different applications, as well as some alternators and generators. It is larger than the bearings used in the G.M. hub. As with all bearings there are many different grades of bearings, even from the same manufacture. The ones used in the billet idler pulley and this fan hub are an industrial quality, USA made bearings. These bearings were selected after looking at other manufactures and bearing configurations (seal style and composition, load rating, temperature rating, etc.)
Design History
This part was conceived after taking some cues from a product which Orville Elliason designed. Orville's part and the one offered here are different designed parts, but with similar concepts. I spoke with Orville before this project was undertaken as it is my not policy to duplicate or copy another's original design. The main design focus of the new part was to design a part of high quality and innovative design which would offer the owner may benefits.
Orville's very neat design which modified an existing steel Corvair fan bearing hub. You also needed to modify the cooling fan to make the assembly work. Changing the bearings required removal of the 4 fan pulley fixing screws and a center locking screw on top of the assembly. The fan was then rotated 90 degrees and the bearing hub was pulled free. Orville did a great job with this part, it is an elegant modification to a stock fan hub.
Our part is manufactured from billet aluminum stock and is what we call a cartridge bearing design. You do not need to modify the cooling fan. Changing the bearings requires removal of only one center locking screw on top of the assembly. The aluminum cartridge design is significantly lighter than the steel shell. This puts less (inertial) load on the fan
which is important. Since we are starting with billet stock and CNC machine all parts, we are able to keep tolerances much better than the factory part. The cartridge fan hub uses standard 203 bearings, just like our billet idler pulley.
This part has completed life cycle testing and all tests have shown this to be a reliable product. If you would like more information, or would like to purchase this product, please click here to send an e-mail
Cheers!
Ray
Rev. 7.15.04