dschigoda Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 My GG 280 Edition (2002) seems to have a problem. The last few times that I have been riding, once the engine warms up, and the fan comes on, I hear a loud howling squeal coming from the radiator area. So I ride back to my tool box, pull out the WD-40 and spray where I think the fan motor shaft is. The howl usually disapears, sometimes it takes a second spraying. I then ride for the day, put the bike away (having forgotten all about the fan motor) and repeat the process two weeks later. Is there a good way to "lube" the fan motor shaft? Or am I looking at an expensive replacement? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandyb Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Hi I dont think WD-40 or similar (we have something called CRC 5-65) is a good idea. It does lubricate a while but it dryes out fast, and when it dryes it often get worse than before because it also have a cleaning effect. I recommend using some teflon based lubrication. An other question is how to get to the shaft to actually lubricate it. I managed it once by applying alot round the area and used compressed air to force it into the shaft. It worked, but I suspect I was only lucky.. -Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Is it a bearing or a bush ? If its a bush and you can dismantle it enough, leaving it soaking in oil in a warm place, should cure the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hi B40RT, It is a bronze bush, it is a bit tricky to get into the motor but it can be done - prise open the motor housing carefully then separate the 2 halves, usually no lube is required because of the bronze bush. If it is making a noise then I reckon the shaft surface has deteriorated and lubing is a short term answer. I agree with Jan, WD-40 is not such a good lubricating oil and it does tend to dry things up eventually. Bye, PeterB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschigoda Posted October 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Thanks for the comments. I did try a Dupont Teflon multipurpose lube one of the times, and achieved the same results. I agree that both are very light/cleaning "short life" type oils. I think I will dismantle it this winter, look things over, and see if I can grease the shaft and bushings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted October 22, 2008 Report Share Posted October 22, 2008 Hi B40RT,It is a bronze bush, it is a bit tricky to get into the motor but it can be done - prise open the motor housing carefully then separate the 2 halves, usually no lube is required because of the bronze bush. If it is making a noise then I reckon the shaft surface has deteriorated and lubing is a short term answer. I agree with Jan, WD-40 is not such a good lubricating oil and it does tend to dry things up eventually. Bye, PeterB. Peter, One of the things on this side of the pond we think may cause problems with the fan motors is pressure washing. A lot of riders here use commercial car pressure washers to clean their bikes after a Trial and the soap in the pressure wash is highly corrosive (alkaline) when it is forced into the fan bushing. I always tell them to use low pressure, rinse only, setting to wash areas of the bikes that have bearings/bushings. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Hi B40RT,It is a bronze bush, it is a bit tricky to get into the motor but it can be done - prise open the motor housing carefully then separate the 2 halves, usually no lube is required because of the bronze bush. If it is making a noise then I reckon the shaft surface has deteriorated and lubing is a short term answer. I agree with Jan, WD-40 is not such a good lubricating oil and it does tend to dry things up eventually. Bye, PeterB. Hi PeterB I used the soak it in oil on the fan motor of a fan assisted oven many years ago, its still working. (but will now stop immediatly, I have no doubt) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschigoda Posted October 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 Yes, I don't use a pressure washer on my GasGas. I use a garden hose, and a bucket of warm water with Turtle Wax car wash soap, a brush and a rag. I may have gotten some water into the fan motor by rinsing using the garden hose though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manx2day Posted October 27, 2008 Report Share Posted October 27, 2008 It sounds like it's about to seize to me. My 04 fan seized, before it did it started howling. Didn't think anything of it but the next day whilst cleaning, i started her up and the afn never kicked in and it boiled over, luckily i noticed and shut her down, but it never ran again and i had to get a new one. bit on the expensive side. I was told by my dealer, Juan Knight, to give the back of the motor a spray of wd40 to keep it lubed and to disapate the water after washing, hasn't bothered my 07 which i've had since the end of 06! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sectionone Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 My 07 fan started squealing for about 5 seconds when it first turned on, then it stopped squealing. The motor is a Comex brand and after taking the fan assembly off the radiator, I pulled back the rubber cover from the motor. It is glued so I carefully used a razor blade. I sprayed a little chain lube on the shaft and put the fan back on. No more squeal and the fan is much quieter. The fan had always been loud even when new and I noticed other 07s with loud fans so I thought it was normal. I could always tell when the fan kicked on because it sounded like a hair dryer was turned on. Now it is quiet and I can barely hear if it is on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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