Forgot to mention that.
Anyone who thinks that a little fan blowing from the wheel well towards the engine can overcome the wind force of all the air coming through the grill at 60 mph and trying to escape somewhere needs a course in physics. 

There is a natural flow of air into the grill area and out wherever it can go, much of which is through the radiator, helped by the engine driven fan and with the auxiliary fan helping when on. We need both fans blowing out in the same direction.

BTW, the rack of huge lights some people put across the grill seriously reduce engine cooling.

Ok, yeah, you and Dan make good points.  The uninitiated might read his crap and think it was written by someone literate.

In other news, when the OP said "it blows toward the engine," I think he was describing his current situation, not suggesting what was ideal.

Good luck, scottv1025.  I'm sick of playing with radiators for this year!  It's a fiddly job.

By the looks of the impeller it looks like the owner is using hard water instead of commercial 50/50 coolant. Not adviseable.  Tap water can accumulate lime deposit as seen in the picture.
And also if you use the radiator flush only for 10minutes, you are just wasting your money.  I experimented and now i have the cleanest 40 year old cooling system ever.


dont hesitate to think out of the .....box

Yes, on backwards, I almost did that, then noticed the wording "Engine Side". I didn't know they made a spacer, so made my own.

But do not leave the flush chemicals for two days, or you will not have anymore rubber seal on your thermostat, and might have a radiator that acts as a sprinkler. Use it as directed, but double rinse.

Thermostat


Residual cleaning material (in the engine I bought after someone tried to salvage it this way)

... usually (and only) because what he has written is misleading and occasionally dangerous. We who know enough about Minis, aren't concerned, except for the neophytes who, while scanning threads to learn something, accept what he has written as factual.
In other words, to protect the innocent.

But yeah it is a pain in the posterior to have to do so.

I agree and stay away from a lot of his posts for the most part but i do tend to post when he gives bad and sometimes dangerous advice which is here for the whole world to see.

I'm not sure why you guys even address him.  He has never made one salient point on this board.

It's like every other community on the internet is too flush with trolls, so he had to come here to have some room...

WRONG AGAIN scooter boy. Do you think BMC would bother to mark the fan "engine side" if they did not want it installed that way.

Spend some money for once and buy one of the new radiators most of them have a drain plug.

Specialist is an A$$hole idiot.....no need to pay attention to it.

Fan is on backwards, and a classic MINI blows air towards the wing...away from the engine

That's OK Tony your a big enough one for the whole of humanity...........................................

Actually there is no wrong and correct way of installing a fan because fan blows air either ways... its just that one MIGHT be blowing less and one is percieved to be blowing more air (when the scoop is facing the radiator) but this theory is never conclusive unless someone get a wind meter and measure wind output and speed on both blade sides respectively.
 Some people just made a self theory and compare it to a person shovelling a pile of sand, when you shove a pile of sand with a scoop facing upward you can shove a fairly big amount of sand and vice versa, well sorry that's not the case.  

And Scott, if you think you are having issues with your cooling system, do this: Pour a bottle of Radiator flush ($3.99 walmart) inside your radiator(not outside) and let it stay there for 2days,drive the car for maybe about 10miles each day,or so....THEN after 2days remove the radiator cap, and insert a garden hose, turn on  the faucet, remove the returning hose from the engine so that the water will come out freely together with all the debris accumulated inside the system for 40+ years. Make sure that the heating core is open so that the pressurized water can get in and clean the inside and flush the mud that's in there. do this for about 5-10 minutes. it is also important to cover the alternator and other electical parts with garbage bag so it wont get wet.  if you want to catch the water in a clean bucket you may do so so yo can see how dirty your cooling system is.,

After the procedure, pour some fresh 50/50 coolant and you're good to go.   
And oh don't forget to put back the drain plug (if you have one), you're lucky if you have one, you are probably one in a one million who has a drain plug in your radiator,( i really don't know why issigonis did a radiator with no plugs/it's like human with no anus.)


good luck!

"Would you fly in a plane with it's wings on backwards ? " Ha Ha good one, Malcolm!

Yes it was and probably still is.
There are only two ways to install a fan the correct way and the wrong way yours is/was wrong.
When installed incorrectly the fan blade (although still pushing air the correct way) will still push the air but not efficiently as you are using the blades reversed to what they are supposed to be, the leading edge is following and the following edge is leading as pointed out by Mur. 

You call it DRAMA !!! Would you fly in a plane with it's wings on backwards ?

let me ask you, is that fan really made for that mini? where did you buy it? it looks like a fan used in other cars, and looks like it's a bit bigger, and i noticed that the radiator pins were pinched, seems like the fan is hitting the pins when it was first installed.
The mini fan is designed to suck air from the engine side and blow towards the quarter panel. On a classic mini, there is no such thing as inverted fan blade, any which way you install it , it will still blow air towards the wheel, i was once accused of having my fan installed incorrectly, but it was not incorrect , when these people say it was inverted, they mean that the blades were installed in such a way that the curve is facing the radiator, it still blows air but not to the max. And it doesnt mean that its blowing air to the engine, they just exaggerate the issue to create drama. aaaanyway,  buy the steel radiator fan, the plastic fan is prone to cracks , and if you accidentally left the radiator cap unscrewed, it will drop down to the fan and bang all the blades and will fly all over the place.

Nope. The air is supposed to blow away from the engine. 

//www.minimania.com/msgThread/106598/1/1/The_great_backwards_fan_debate

Easiest way i find to remember is smooth side to the water pump.

Yes, its on wrong ... and no, it won't make much of a difference at idle... (if any)..

".....the air blows towards the engine when its running / .."

And no it doesn't... it blows away from the engine, through the rad and into the wheel arch.

Cheers, Ian

Fitted incorrectly you should still be OK at idle with a 998. When you say it is overheating, what do you mean? Temperature gauges are not particularly accurate, however they can be consistent. If the gauge appears to be reading high, it is best to confirm what that temperature actually is using things like a meat thermometer stuck in the coolant or a laser pointer thermometer.

While fitting the fan correctly is important, it makes sense to respond to your actual concerns, and confirm them.

For what it is worth, I describe the fan orientation by pointing out that the blades are just like airplane wings, and so have a leading edge, rounded, and a trailing edge which is sharp.