1620 Hydro Cooling Fan
 

I was attempting to purchase a hydro fan for my B-I-L's 1620 but had to pick myself up off the ground in the process. Needless to say I was not prepared for what I saw price wise. The original part number is 731-3016 (6 blade fan) but it changed to 759-3273P, which MTD calls a kit. This "kit" is now a 10-blade fan (p/n 759-3273P) at the special low price of $65. Out of curiosity, I checked on the hydro cooling fan for my 782 (#931-3009) and it is a 5-blade that retails at $18.

I understand we are talking about different locations on the hydro and even mountings methods between the 1620 and 782; however, would anyone recall what would necessitate going from a 6 to a 10 blade fan (dealer knowledge, bulletins, minimizing part offerings, etc)? Additionally, does anyone know of a more "cost effective" replacement for that fan on the 1620? Yes, I understand replacing the fan is far cheaper than replacing the entire hydro unit but $65 seems a bit steep when I am trying to save a relative some money on a fan of all things. *edit...let me rephrase that...$65 is steep for a plastic fan, not the oxymoron of trying to save money...sorry for my slip of the tongue*

Any thoughts or comments are welcome as is criticism. :)

Thanks again to all for this great place.

Aaron

Let me toss out a GUESS.
The 782 probably shares the same fan as lots of other machines and is therefore cheaper to replace, and given the nature maintenance that those machines generally receive, MTD probably sell a LOT of those fans.
The 1620 on the other hand may have had a fan that was unique to it and possibly a few other in the "cheaper" series of mowers. It has been my observation that lower end equipment generally does not get the maintenance that the class of mowers the 782 does, therefore MTD sell way fewer of them.

Again, its just a guess with no research to back it up, just a gut feeling. FYI I am not making fun of the 1620.

I did a little bit of research, and I'm thinking this may be a simple case of "name rape". In other words, it may just be $65 because it says Cub Cadet on the package. I don't know how big the fan on a 1620 is supposed to be, but I'm leaning hard on 7". It's a pretty common size. I found a 7", 10 blade fan with 4 mounting holes that looks identical to the one for a 1620, except it's black, and for a Craftsman tractor, for $19. You might do some more digging around. Find the model of HG trans that is in the tractor, then search google for that model of hydro. You should be able to come up with a list of tractors it was in, then compare prices by manufacturer. You may also be able to buy direct HG parts.

Here is a link to the correct CC fan:
https://www.ihccw.com/drive.html?product_id=1476

Here is a link to a fan for a Craftsman:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1223064...=ps&dispItem=1

DISCLAIMER!
I do not know if they are the same. You decide.... :Huh:

You are probably right that there are only a handful of fans out there. we replaced a HydroGear rear in a Cadet once and I found the HydroGear model on a tag/decal on the rear. We bought it from a non Cadet dealer for about $100 less than Cadet wanted (this was 15 years ago). Seemed at the time there were quite a few dealers for the rears around on the net.

OP, just thinking out loud, if you have the old fan off, is there an all brand lawn mower repair shop near you? You may could find a fan in their junkpile, or they might could match it up for you.

Gentlemen, thank you both very much for your responses. I am sorry to say I never performed a reverse part number search to see how many models the original Cub Cadet fan applied to. It makes perfect sense now if it is a low number. And now having done that, it appears it fits exactly 4 models if you go by the part number itself; the 1110, 1220, 1610, and 1620. Thinking about it further (which I didn't do before) would have told me I should have thought about this much sooner because MTD didn't make these models by a year or two at the most. I apologize for posting my over-reaction; especially since I seen this very scenario play out when I was a parts guy at a dealer. Should have known better.

Thank you for directing me with "thinking outside the box" and looking at other marketed mower manufacturers to find possibly the same part. I do appreciate it and I have learned a very valuable lesson. one not soon to be forgotten. I appreciate you both sharing your knowledge and experience with me and will take the baton from here and run with it.

Glad we could help! Good luck! :beerchug: