BX25 broken fan blade

1acreandatractor · May 1, 2011

Well I tightened up the loose hydraulic line on the backhoe, no big deal with the right tools. Told the dealer and he gave me a gallon of hydraulic fluid to top it off. Got done the chores of mowing and grading the driveway, so it was time to play. I cut in a trail to the upper part of my property where it was overgrown with briars and small trees and such. Started moving the brush around with the loader and was very happy with the capabilities of the tractor. Then all of a sudden I heard a noise that instantly brought tears to my eyes. I knew something wasn't right, so I quickly got to flat ground and parked it, as I watched the temperature gauge go through the roof. I saw the trail of white and black pieces of plastic and knew what had happened. Sure enough when I popped the hood I saw a cooling fan with no blades on it(pretty inefficient). So the first thing I did was get the computer and start searching TBN(OK so the first thing I did was cuss up a storm, anyways...) As I was reading the threads I was confused and scared and baffled... why would I need to move the engine forward to replace this fan?? Then after further reading and inspecting my tractor again I realized there are two fans on it. It appears as though most people are breaking the HST fan and not the radiator fan, I must be special. It appears as though this should not be a hard fix, just unbolt the radiator and remove the fan bolts and put the new one on(I hope). The radiator has a few dings, but nothing severe looking. The fan shroud has a few chips and nicks in it too, but I don't think I will need to replace it(I could be wrong). Upon further inspection, the rubber boot on the shaft from the engine that goes to the HST fan got ripped up. I guess the vine or stick or whatever it was that got me ripped it on the way up to my fan. I am hoping that I could just remove that c-clip and pull the shaft out and put the new boot on. Anyone have any insight on this? I have learned a lot(and enjoyed) reading all the previous posts on TBN....very informative. Any help would be greatly appreciated

So far only 10.5 hours of fun...I mean work on my new(before I tore it up)BX25 and loving every minute of it

ametcalf · May 2, 2011

Thanks for the post. I don't know if a BX23 is the same as a BX25 but I just looked at my BX23 and the only way I can see that a stick or something can get at the radiator fan is to come in below the side panel past one of the fuel filters. Do you know if that is how your fan was gotten? I am trying to learn from your experience so I don't get the same surprise.

radioman · May 2, 2011

you should thank your lucky stars. Its much easier to replace radiator fan then HST. I dont think you would need a shop manual for that. Before you go off buying another fan replacement, I would check the paperwork you got with your tractor and see if it you have ktac insurance. If you do have it, you may be covered. If not, give them a call and explain the situtation and see what they can do for you. It may not be too late to get it and get it covered.

If worse comes to worse, then getting a new fan is no big deal. Just plan on spending half a day on swaping it out. :thumbsup:

zoltanthegypsy · May 2, 2011

Welcome to the "special" fan club. Same thing happened to my BX24. Broken fan, ripped rubber boot, and the wiring harness torn out.

I never found a stick or rock. I suspect tall grass wrapped the drive shaft and let to the mayhem somehow.

I now have a full set of Bro-tek skid plates and a home-made protector for the front pinion seal, which was also wiped out by tall grass.

Too soon old, and too late smart,
Z.

ashdump · May 2, 2011

Not to hijack your thread, but the backhoe problem happened to me too. I was opertaing the hoe one day and out of the corner of my eye saw something shooting across the yard. It was hydraulic oil. Seems one of the fittings under the knuckle was loose. IIRC, a 11/16 wrench, holding my mouth just right and a lot of patience got it tightened back up They don't give you a whole lotta room. Anyway, the dealer gave me 2 gallons of SUDT for the loss. It took a little more than 1/2 gal to replenish.

1acreandatractor · May 7, 2011

Well the parts were supposed to be in monday but didn't show. Then after nothing thursday, I called friday morning and he told me if it didn't show up he would take it off another tractor. So he pulled a fan off another tractor which I thought was pretty decent because they didn't have to. Either way still waiting on the boot. I installed the fan tonight which should only have taken 20 or 30 minutes but i spent 45 looking for a bolt that I dropped in the engine. Finally decided to use the compressor and just blow air up in the engine compartment til the bolt fell out, then finished putting the fan on. Well to put the boot on the front of the hydrostat shaft they said I would have to unbolt the engine and pull it forward..... So after looking at it I decided to try unbolting the knuckles(couplers or whatever they are) that connect the shaft to the engine. Best idea ever... instead of what they said would take 3-4 hours it took 20 minutes to unbolt those. Now just waiting on the boot to come in, hopefully monday, to put it back together. I will update when I get the boot in to let you know how it went.
Just wondering, has anyone tried removing these to replace the HST fan? With them out of the way you can move the shaft forward what seems to be 3-4 inches, which sounds like it should be enough room, instead of unbolting the engine. Hope I don't have to figure it out, just wondering...

gpiazza · Apr 15, 2012

Also a member of the broken fan blade club. Had been stuck in the mud up to the frame and took hours to backhoe my way out. That was at the end of last season, took it out this year and it overheated within 5 minutes. Took a while to figure out what the problem was but finally, today, noticed a stub of a fan with no blades. Fan housing broken and missing some sections. Radiator seems to have a couple dings but nothing serious. Since it's due for it's 50 hour service anyway and since I don't know what other damage there might be, I'm just going to have it serviced. I'll post what the results were...