Questions/long story

[kako]

a couple days ago a mechanic the type you bump into in auto parts stores. yeah that type told me my belt needs to be changed and my alternator is making a noise its not working told me the fan that cools the engine is broken
since he can stop it with his hands he told me if the fan was good that would not be possible that the motor may be heating i told him everything in da cluster says its okay nothing shows up as over heating .. so i left him talking and left thinking he just wants to play me a foul. so i went to advance auto parts and got the free alternator test and it came out good it passed.. then like a week latter i was driving normal speed and "Check Charging System" popped up for e brief second i was thinking hey i sure need to change that serpentine belt its slipping. then it dint happen again two days latter i traveled to nyc and
the same error message popped up once i tried to go over 70mph. so i went slow thinking the belt is slipping.. once i got out the two and a half hour drive on the highway in the off ramp the error message kept popping up every 2 seconds.. but once i gave it gas it went away..but when on idle waiting for a green light i kept popping up again with the volt meter slowly decreasing .. after that i turn of the car went to do my things when i turn it back on worst ... i hoped on the high way back home and the light kept popping up every 1 minute again and again. and this time i notice the voltage meter was lowering to L little then fast till i had no instrumentals on at all my abs went out my advance track went out my air bags everything i found a shop in nyc open 24-7 and they told me its your alternator not the belt nor the battery .. so i had to spend 220 on a new one to get back home..
now i have the new one and so far so good.

now the thing bothering me is this mechanic guy told me the alternator was bad by just listening to it and the guy from the auto store told be its good it past. so now i am thinking..

could he be correct about the fan as well. i tried looking for any information about the fan and nothing .. i dont know if u can stop the fan with out hands as a safety issue of something .. do any of you guys have any suggestions ideas .. questions.. ..i just dont want to be stranded again
hours from home .. its not a pretty feeling

 

[Limited02]

As long as the fan is locked and pulling air, you are fine. If you were to go out right now and spin the fan(with the enging OFF) how does it feel? If it's locked up and you can't spin it, then it's "bad."

Basically you will lose some gas milage and the motor won't rev as quick because it can't slip the fan. The only time I would be worried is if the fan didn't really move at all even when revved. Then what happens is you are not drawing enough air across the radiator to cool the engine. But if you ask me, you everything is fine. But if the cost for a new fan is cheap enough, go ahead and replace it for a peace of mind.

If you are driving and notice the temp rising, turn the heat on to full blast and get somewhere so that you can check it out. That will help cool the engine until you can get somewhere. If the temp keeps getting to high, then you need to pull over and turn the motor off.

 

[Rofocowboy84]

This thread hurts my IQ....

 

[kako]

wow thanks i would do that and see if the fan spins ..
thanks