so has anyone here removed there clutch fan and replaced it with a large electric fan? if so what did you use and how did you wire it.

my thoughts where to go head down to pick and pull and find one that fits the truck nicely and can pull the air required. i was going to wire it to a switch so i can turn it on when needed.

 

I'll take a different path on that, for discussion.

1. Ford Taurus fan looks about right. But you would want thermal control as well as a switch to cycle it on demand. Were you to be distracted by news on the radio, or favorite oldie music, or argument with SWMBO; you might forget to switch on and overheat would result. Plus others that might have to drive your truck might miss this manual application.

2. Needs to be a powerful fan, not one of those 2 amp motors. And on my bone stock D1, running with all things turned on, I'm drawing about 85 amps from the 100 amp alternator. You would not want a situation where at idle, in a thunderstorm, with AC on, that you did not have enough amps to run the cooling fan and as a result discharged the battery.

3. Getting the automatic function to work just right takes some tinkering (wrong step and you toast engine).

4. For about $19, you can get the clutch and fan from say a 2000 Chevy Blazer, GM of the late 90's - early 00's use the same thread clutch, six inch, reverse rotation. Will have to trim blades carefully. The pitch of the blades moves a lot more air, I noticed about 6 degree change. This is a cheap experiment. And there are lots of Chevy's at the boneyard. In any case you need to retain the stock radiator shroud, does not work as well without it. If going this route, you want fans with a metal hub.

5. Some of the later model Range Rovers have a deeper pitch fan than the Disco 1, and that might be a choice as well.

6. Can electrics work? Sure, just look at any minivan with a tranverse mounted V-6. My Kia has two electric fans, 223,000, aluminum motor, and runs at 180F like it was painted on the display.

7. But if your goal is also to increase the cooling, there is more than one way to get there.

8. And yes, you can drive with no fan at all. In warm climates, just don't stop very long. I had to do this to limp home 30 miles with a wobbly water pump, was afraid it would come apart and put fan into the radiator, so I removed fan. And some of our snow pack members have taken fan off in the winter season, not sure it makes much of an mpg change.

 

Putting in an electric fan is something I've thought about for a long time. I'm kinda tired of the loud WRRRRR of the fan clutch and the draw on HP. It'd be nice to see a step by step write up on how its done, what's parts were used, how it had to be fine tuned, and the results.

 

thanks for the info buzz. i still think im going to go with electric fans. if my alt can't push the amps i guess ill go with another alt. but i don't for see my alt not being able to. when i get mine done i will post step by step on what i did and how it worked out. also thank you buzz for the comment on putting it on a thermal switch as well as a manual switch. i will be doing that. only makes since.

 

If going the electric fan route, would be a good idea to have two fans, so failure of one does not leave you waiting for a wrecker. And most likely use shrouds that come with salvaged fans, rather than Rover one.

Being able to switch off for water crossings would be a plus.

But keep in mind that you are dealing with temp from water, oil cooler, and tranny oil cooler - so being off somewhat could slow roast other items. Would suggest an Ultra Gauge, so you can see digital temps before and after the project.

As for the HP loss, I don't recall the famous frozen members mentioning any performance gain without a fan. The viscous clutch, when working, decouples to about 20% load at normal temps. Warm up the face of clutch and it will increase coupling %. I think you would have to use a rear wheel dyno to see any change, and it would be small; otherwise the no-fan-in-winter croud would be bragging about mpg

Would be a good idea to monitor amps before and after as well if practical, perhaps with just a clamp on tester at the parts store if you don't have one in your tool box.

 

The stock 130 amp alternator will handle the new fans draw with no issue.

 

I thought we were talking about a D1 with a 100 amp alternator.

 

My mistake, you were talking about a D1, that could make a little difference on the amp requirements.

 

i am not banking on the mpg savings, the truck still has an underpowered v8. my clutch fan is already dead so instead of paying 100 bucks for a new one i can do a complete electric fan set up for under that. so why would i want to put 100 bucks back into old technology when i can do better and have it updated. yes i may get .5 mpg better. but the failure rate for electric fans is far less then a clutch fan.

i am in the process of ordering my UG in the next few weeks. soon i get more Landi funds after i fix my over heating issue.

soon i get this electric fan installed i will be posting a step by step what i used how i installed it with pictures after its complete. i have a good feeling i will be fabricating my own fan shroud.

 

Clutch (new) from a 2000 Chevy Express 4.3 liter w/o AC is a good swap for the oem, it is a little over $50 at the parts store, and you simply enlarge the mounting holes in the fan slightly (they line up, but need to be just a tad larger in diameter). Good write up in the tech section. Not saying you won't be successful, just pointing out options.

Also, the age of the truck will impact how much stuff has grown in the radiator, as chemistry takes place even when truck was parked for years. An indy rad shop near me took off a tank, rodded it out, and acid boiled it, for $70. Acts like a new radiator.