It has happened to me! (Dreaded Fan Sensor - Crumbling Hose!)

[RedlandRanger]

I went out and looked at mine this morning. All seems well so far.
But I am now a bit paranoid about it.

I have checked mine a couple of times but the hose seems fine thus far - but I'm going to continue to watch it closely. At the first sign of any degradation I'm going for the "curved hose" fix - seems simple, easy and effective

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[RangerBill]

Made an account just to confirm this issue and provide more visibility as this is an issue I think almost all Ranger owners will run into eventually.

I had similar symptoms to everyone else. Low oil pressure light, reduced powertrain, A/C stopped working. The techs at my local Ford dealership spent 3 days troubleshooting only to find that the F12 fuse was blown. They still didn't know why, but sent me home with the truck to see if the issue replicated. Within 24 hours the fuse was blown again.

After searching this forum I found out others had the same issue and sure enough, the tubing on my fan clutch had disintegrated. The wiring was laying directly on the hub, spin friction had done its thing, and the copper was exposed. It was grounding out every time it touched the metal.

A little electrical tape, some zip ties, a fresh fuse, and I am back in business. So far so good. This seriously flawed design needs to be at the forefront of every Ranger owner's mind, right up there with checking oil and brake pads. The Ford Service center will want to replace the oil pressure switch, the pump, and who knows what else while diagnosing this issue. If they ever find the problem with the fan clutch, I am sure they would want to replace that entire system when this is an easy and cheap fix at home.

Did you replace the piece of hose that disintegrated? The hose prevents the fan clutch electronics from rotating and to provide support for the wiring. If the hose is still broken, the torque of the moving fan will pull against the wire harness and will break the wiring cable to the fan if not replaced.

 

[Wickham95]

Did you replace the piece of hose that disintegrated? The hose prevents the fan clutch electronics from rotating and to provide support for the wiring. If the hose is still broken, the torque of the moving fan will pull against the wire harness and will break the wiring cable to the fan if not replaced.

Used zip ties to secure it to neighboring hose and anchored it to the connection points of the broken hose. The wire is supported and suspended on its own. I’ll try to post a picture tomorrow if it can help someone. My main concern was moving it away from any touch points, but I agree a long term solution is to replace the original hose.

 

[TJC]

This is an interim repair, as depending on the severity of the chaffed wire, covering it with electrical tape alone will allow (moisture wicking) into the wire (thus corrosion) over time.
A perm repair would be to cut the damaged spot and install a environmental splice and heat shrink over the splice.

I picked up a set of these a few years back, and tested them. They seal water tight with a great mechanical connection. I did tin the wires beforehand.

I tried several brands of these with a success rate of about 80% when I finally got the hang of it. I tinned and fluxed the the wires before to insure good solder flow without overheating. They always sealed, but had trouble achieving enough heat to get a good flow from the ring. I still have a spool or two of tin/lead solder and tinning the wires with this helped. It has been a few years since my purchase and the technology may have gotten better.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

I picked up a set of these a few years back, and tested them. They seal water tight with a great mechanical connection. I did tin the wires beforehand.

I tried several brands of these with a success rate of about 80% when I finally got the hang of it. I tinned and fluxed these to insure good solder flow without overheating. They always sealed, but had trouble achieving enough heat to get a good flow from the ring. I still have a spool or two of tin/lead solder and tinning the wires with this helped. It has been a few years since my purchase and the technology may have gotten better.

 

[DonS]

Double post for visibility. This is a key issue for anyone who has a 5G Ranger. I was under the hood today and found the hose broken:

I went with some fuel injection hose, reused the factory standoff for the wiring and replaced the hose/clamps:

EVERY 5G OWNER NEEDS TO PREPARE FOR THIS INEVITABILITY.

Racket, How long was the piece of fuel hose you used?

 

[shovelhd]

I picked up a set of these a few years back, and tested them. They seal water tight with a great mechanical connection. I did tin the wires beforehand.

For those interested in using these splices:

I've used splices like this when repairing machines in the field with great success. These have the adhesive inside the heat shrink cover, which melts to create the seal when you shrink it. Lots of copycat splices don't. Look for it.

Use a ratcheting crimper when crimping the wires. Using a basic crimper or pliers can cut the heat shrink, defeating the waterproof seal. Also, when shrinking, use low heat on the heat gun and take your time. Small gauge wires light up real quick.

 

[got3fords]

If you a use non-prebend hose, wouldn't that put a lot of preload stress on it after putting it in that shape?

 

[airline tech]

If you a use non-prebend hose, wouldn't that put a lot of preload stress on it after putting it in that shape?

The one I did on daughters - future husband (I Hope), I had found his broken and I just grabbed my spare line box (hoping I had some 3/8 Fuel Injection Line) which I did.
I did not spend a lot of time on it, but tried to cut the hose to a length where it would sit (at rest) naturally and also not kink and also attempted to place the module in the OE position or close to it.

So, the answer to the question (as long as you cut the hose) to where it will sit (at rest) without any springing / whipping action - its good

I did his in Dec of 2023 - still holding strong

As far as mine, I am monitoring it - and checked every time the hood is opened.

 

[Racket]

Racket, How long was the piece of fuel hose you used?

I removed the deteriorating hose that was there and cut a length approximately an inch longer since it was going to have to bend while fitting over the mounts.

From what it appears being pre-bent isn't critical, the purpose of the hose is to be a somewhat flexible mount to hold the wire harness away from moving parts between the engine and radiator. The fuel injection hose seems to be slightly stiffer than the low grade rubber original.

My truck is five years old with 50,000 miles on it and the suddenness of the engine side mount just breaking off alarms me.

 

[NotBudule2]

It's odd that some of these hose fall apart and rot and look like they have been out in the weather for 50 years, while others look brand new?

 

[RangerPNW]

It's odd that some of these hose fall apart and rot and look like they have been out in the weather for 50 years, while others look brand new?

Climate has a lot to do with that... being in the desert I should probably look at mine sooner than later...

 

[got3fords]

It's odd that some of these hose fall apart and rot and look like they have been out in the weather for 50 years, while others look brand new?

Different material on some?

 

[TJC]

If you a use non-prebend hose, wouldn't that put a lot of preload stress on it after putting it in that shape?

That thought is why I went with a 90 degree silicone hose. I was a lot more expensive than fuel line, but nothing compared to the cost, time, and inconvenience of having that hose give out unexpectedly.

Notice it seems to always break at the same stress point. Clutch cycles on and tugs on the hose and all that kinetic energy ends up stressing at the point where the hose connects to the engine and can't give. The hose flex energy ( stretching ) hits the wall (just like a wave hitting the shore) right up to that friction point where the hose is expanded over that sharp retaining ridge. I do not believe the ridge cuts the hose, but it does force the hose to stretch thinner creating a weakening in strength and flexibility. That point is in a constant stretch / relax tension cycle.

The design engineers know this. Notice the crimp clamp on the engine mount end with the ridge on the stud, vs the simple spring clamp and smooth stud on the clutch end (which is at a 90 degree angle from the kinetic energy being released when the clutch engages. The energy being releases is being expressed 90 degrees from the hose connection, so that energy will not pull the hose from the stud.).

It has been 40 years since I took a materials science class at Duke, but I do remember the basics.

Microscopic fractures in any material lead to catastrophic failures. The atomic lattice of metals will develop fault lines that grow over time leading to failure. In other materials, off gassing, oxidation stress, chemical reactions, or simply sunlight amplifies the flex stress failures.

Be careful when you use that hammer to apply weights to those steel rims. When you dent the flange lip on that steel rim, you have just created a fault line in the atomic lattice structure of the steel. That fault line will express itself when under load.

Here is an interesting read on the subject about how researchers are trying to inhibit these failures in metal.

We live in a world of constant change and atrophy.

 

[Racket]

If I could have gotten some type of coiled spring to fit inside the hose I would have slipped it in to provide some curvature. I believe the fuel injection hose is far more durable than what was there before and the bend that is there will be inconsequential unless the alignment was super critical. I just don't know? @airline tech stuck his hand in there to see but I wonder if it is going to become a problem. Engine movement in relation to the fan's fixed mount has got me wondering.

Still gonna check it regularly of course.

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