loud cooling fan rattle on maxim x

I was wondering if you other guys on here with maxim X's have the same annoying cooling fan vibration rattle that I do.

It's coming from the fan motor itself, fan not turned on, just the vibration of the bike's engine makes the fan motor create an incredibly annoying rattling sound. It sounds exactly like other fan motors I've heard with crappy sleeve bearings that allow the shaft to slide in and out, and bottom out internally. It makes the noise when I lightly smack the radiator with the palm of my hand, and it won't do it if I pull or push on the fan blades to stop the shaft from moving in/out when I smack the radiator.

It's annoying enough to me to make me contemplate removing the fan and throwing it in the trash even though it still works. You can hear the rattle over the engine going down the road, until you get over 65, 70 mph or so.

I don't want to order another factory replacement fan from yamaha (I don't even know if they're available, but I assume they are) if it's just going to do the same thing.

Thanks for any input.

 

Well they do get some play (fore and aft) in the bearing as they age. The spares that I have will make a light clunking noise when pushing in and out on them. Not sure if they would have the same issue you're having as I've never tested them on a bike. The ones on my running bikes have some play too, but don't have any annoying rattle when riding.

You may be able to compensate for the play by adding a very thin washer behind the fan blades? However, that may bind the motor when heated up.

I'm not sure if any new ones are available? But I would check with chacal @ xj4ever.com as he would know.

Tony

 

Aren't the fan motors rubber mounted? Maybe the rubber has failed.

 

And we all know how difficult it is to isolate noise with 100% certainty. Does it make the same noise when the fan is running? Can you unplug the fan motor temporarily and tie it up and test ride to see if the noise is still there?

 

There are rubber grommets on the radiator where the three bolts mount it to the frame. There are screws mounting the motor to a bracket and that bracket bolts to the radiator.

What I believe his concern is the center of the fan motor (the bearing where the fan blade shaft is). They have some end-play and I suppose his is sloppy enough to rattle from normal engine vibration.

Tony

 

If nothing works you can always compare the old fan to something newer out there and just replace it with an upgrade. As long as you do your measuring and find something compatible, you should have no problem finding a better fan on ebay or some place. The old Honda CX500 fans were mechanical so I would change them out for a Ninja 600 fan that saved engine drag and were better fans.

 

I went out for a ride a little over an hour today, and that rattling fan was aggravating me the whole time, I'll have to fix it soon. I hope I can find a similarly sized, better designed fan that will bolt into the existing bracket, but it's no big deal if I do have to alter the bracket a little or swap the connector out.

 

You may be able to find something similar and make it work.

However, a quick search of E-bay shows quite a few choices:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=maxim+fan&_sacat=6028&_sop=15

There's gotta be a good one somewhere within the bunch.

Tony

 

You have tested the fan by running 12V to the fan while it is just sitting and not running? Disconnect the plug and run some jumps from a battery to the plug and see if the fan is making a noise? Just want to make sure you isolate the noise you are having. Unless the fan blades are coming in contact with something while they are turning, I am just trying to understand the sound you would be hearing that is louder than the engine running? The noise is not constant, as the fan will turn on and off as it is needed to cool the engine? Do you think the fan is cavitation as it is so warn the shaft is lose?

 

Fan still works fine, it's just the bearings allow the shaft to move in and out, when it bottoms out with vibration, it rattles. When the fan is on, on the blades pull on the shaft enough to stop the rattle. When it's off and I pull on the blades with my fingers while lightly smacking the radiator with my hand it doesn't rattle. When I let go of the blades and smack the radiator with the palm of my hand it does quite loudly. It sounds just like one of those crappy little squirrel cage fans with sleeve bearings when you smack it.

I was hoping one of you guys would say "Oh, yeah, just swap in a fan from this other certain model bike," and I wouldn't have to actually use my brain and figure it out on my own, but I guess I'll have to add it to my long list of stuff to do. I think I just need to find a fan with ball bearings that fits.

 

Endplay can be adjusted with shims.

 

Finally solved this the other day, so in case it helps anyone else with the same super annoying problem, I thought I'd post how I did it. I bought a used fan from an '01 or '03 R6, and modified the X bracket/housing to hold it, and very carefully cut down the edges of the fan blades to fit in the housing without rubbing. I also had to cut down my aftermarket (correctly sized, unlike the too small factory) frame bolts to clear the blades. The R6 fan doesn't rattle, moves more air, and is quieter!

 

Fan mods are great with newer fans from of the metric bikes. I did that with a Honda CX 500, removed the OEM one (was broken cracked and mounts to the engine crank) and placed new FZ600 fan in place. They are great modes for older water cooled bikes. Really great it worked out for you.