electric fan vs HD fan clutch

[1991vert]

well i just got a new FMS 3core Aluminum radiator and it runs at 180'ish, but it climbs slightly when sitting for a while (stock fan clutch). i have a 130amp alternator with underdrive pulleys, so im all set up for an electric.

is there any advantage (cooling wise) over an HD fan clutch? i know electric frees up a few HP. if i go electric, which is a good fan to go with?

on a side note: im leaking oil from my low oil sensor, is this just a gasket problem or is the sensor welded in and i need a new oil pan?

please help with my fan decision! and please dont say it's personal preference

 

[HISSIN50]

the fan is a personal preference. LOL. i would go with a nice electric set up, if i had the 3G. a good fan clutch will set you back 80 - 100 bucks anyhow. you can go a long ways with the electric swap with that money.

for flow, i personally like the mark VIII (might be a little overkill, depending upon where you live), the SN95 fan, or a 3.8 taurus fan. i dont know much about the aftermarket units, so i will leave that to others.

if you have money, get one of the controllers like Michael has (www.dccontrol.com), IIRC.


and Low oil sensor: it should just screw in. if all else fails, hook up with The Shape - he did his not long ago.

good luck.

 

[1991vert]

are there any direct fit aftermarket fans? cuz i dont want to have to drain this thing again, pull it out, and modify the fan to get it to sit in the radiator in the past 3 days, the radiator has been put in and pulled out 3-4 times cuz it had leak(s) that i had to patch up with j.b. weld. my fan shroud right now is zip-tied to my radiator lol

 

[1991vert]

are these fans any good?

ramcharger single fan

ramcharger dual fan

 

[10HoleLX]

You could get the oil level sender gasket seperately
But if the sensor is leaking from the center where the wire goes, then you have to replace the sender.

I have the Black majic fan and underdrive pullies. (Also had the pullies with the stock fan set up)
I didn't notice any horse power gains with the electric fan but i did notice that the fan cools the coolant a lot faster than the stock fan/clutch set up in city traffic driving.

The needle is almost in the center on a 100 degree day right before the fan kicks in.
I have it set at 180.
On the highway the needle is always at the 180ish mark towards the bottom of the stock gauge.

 

[Ranchero5.0]

I would not recommend the heavy duty clutch fan unless you get a Ford OEM unit. Put a NAPA clutch fan in my friends cobraized '88 turbo coupe and the fan is definately eating power. I put it on the '93 to test and felt a seat of the pants difference. I just got a email from Summit for their aluminum radiator for $155 and may try it out for better cooling and less weight.

Jamie

Jamie

 

[HISSIN50]

Jamie, interesting. i would add that, as you know, parasitic loss is a part of the nature of the cooling beast with a mech fan. the more efficiently the fan is running (lockin up), the more power you will lose. in the beating sun here, very few can get away with a lighter clutch - they run too hot.

so while i agree with you, if he lives where it is real hot, i would not necessarily recommend a non HD clutch. free'd up HP is no good if you are pinging your butt off.

should be a moot point - i think an elec fan is a good move and one that '91 vert will probably take.

 

[1991vert]

k definately going with an electric fan, but now which one? are those 2 ram chargers any good? i've heard some bad stuff about black magic? any input welcome

thanks!

 

[HISSIN50]

i hate to say it, but i would search or find someone you like and trust and ask them. someone generally has had something bad to say about every product out there, so you gotta kinda filter it/take it with a grain of salt.
i would trust the word of someone like Jamie, whom has done about everything there is to do with a car and UNDERSTANDS how stuff works. i often think some people marginally wire something like a fan in, with a toggle switch only, no shroud, air gaps, etc and then wonder why it does not work right. not necessarily a bad fan, just poor execution. most of the people in here are pretty knowledgable, but sometimes i wonder.
if you have a horse with a splinter in its foot and it does not run fast, it is not a bad horse, its owner just lacks the knowledge of how to fix it.

that is kinda the approach i take. my two cents worth. good luck.

 

[1991vert]

young grasshopper no understand sensai...

i guess my next question is, should i go dual fans, or a single? also how hard is it to wire up an electric fan? i'd like a switch or something so i can flip it on and off at will.

 

[HISSIN50]

you did not get my above post? if not, basically, if you search, you will find something bad about nearly every product out there in searching threads. i chalk some of it up to people not knowing what they are doing (no offense to anyone).

so if you find that, for example, you want a black magic fan. you search and read some bad and good things. then you find that Jamie runs a black magic fan, you could PM him about it since you know he knows his stuff and you can trust what he thinks.

that was really my point. the fan issue is horribly debated and it can be hard to find a real consensus of any sort on what is best. that was all i was trying to say.


nuff on that. i think i mentioned before that i dont know fans, so i wont even venture much info. just make sure it is something that flows enough CFM's. i kinda like 2 fan set ups myself. a bonus with them is that since there are two, you dont have the fan motor being in the middle (single fan) and being close to the waterpump. plus you can play around and run one at one temp and the other at another temp (or when a/c is on) - stuff like that.

but im not the one to ask. i would recommend that any fan you think of, you search on that fan in here - about every brand of fan has been beaten to death. there are also a lot of supposed bolt in fans for stangs - if you dont want to fab much.

my two cents worth. good luck bud.

 

[Michael Yount]

You had a leak in a brand new radiator? I wouldn't jb weld it - I'd send it/take it back and get another. No reason to accept a new one with a leak - unless of course you did something to create the leak. Also, remember the radiator is gonna be under up to 15-17 psi. Are you sure your jb weld repair is gonna hold?

I run the fully shrouded dual 11" SPAL fans w/variable speed control from Delta Current controllers. www.spal-usa.com and www.dccontrol.com. It's a really slick cooling set up. You need fans that will move a minimum of 2000-2500 cfm for non-airconditioned; 2500-3000 cfm w/a-c. As hissin said, you will hear people both happy and unhappy with their ramchargers, black magic, etc. I haven't heard anyone complain about Mk VIII or Taurus 3.8L fans or the SPAL set ups.

In visiting the Volvo boards, I'm also told that the shrouded fan that comes on a turbo 940 Volvo sedan is the same as the Taurus 3.8L -- that may result in a cheap junk yard find.

 

[1991vert]

well i talked to a radiator shop and they said the j.b. weld will hold. i put it on there and felt it after 15 hours (completely dry) and it like bonded to it completely, almost as strong as concrete. and yes, i put the hole in it by accident due to frustration and impatience. i thought that it could've taken a little more abuse than what i did, but that stuff is as thin as paper.

 

[1991vert]

well the radiator stopped leaking, now my waterpump is leaking! wtf!!!!!!! anyone have any experience with an edelbrock hi flow?

 

[Michael Yount]

Where is it leaking from? If it's coming out of the weap hole in the housing at the bottom of the shaft, it's a bad seal. Not much to do except replace it. Anywhere else and it sounds like you didn't quite do the right job on the gasket/install. New pump? Any bolts that were broken off or stripped?

 

[HISSIN50]

well the radiator stopped leaking, now my waterpump is leaking! wtf!!!!!!! anyone have any experience with an edelbrock hi flow?

oh no. have you considered an air/oil -cooled motor of some sort? J/K bud. good luck.

 

[RIXX93GT]

I personally installed the ramchargers dual fan with wiring harness over a week ago. It has been very hot here and I havent had to use the high setting on the fans yet. The fans are quiet and cool the temps down in a hurry. I did my install without removing the radiator, I fabbed up a top mount that bolts thru the radiator lip and used the Hayden tie strip mounts on the bottom. I did do some other fab work to the fan shroud to get it exactly like I wanted but it can be done without much work. Wiring was a breeze. If you want a temp controlled unit I would suggest getting the part number without the harness and buying a good controller like the one from delta current controls. Love mine so far, hope this helps you out.

 

[87TTopGT]

I went with the Taurus 3.8 fan and it was a pretty simple install. I wired it so the higher of two speeds kicks on, and it cools down FAST! I have a needle probe pyrometer so I experimented a little- left the radiator cap off and let it warm up in the driveway- the thermostat kicked open at just above 180 like it's supposed to, and when it reached 195 (middle line in NORMAL by the way) I turned the fan on. It cooled down to 145 in two minutes on an 80-degree day!
I'll spring for the dccontrol unit one day, but for now all I have to do is flip the switch if I'm in slow traffic, and leave it off for anything 40 MPH or above.
By the way for install, all I had to do was slip the bottom into the existing radiator clips, and rig a bracket to hold the top in place. I used black weatherstripping between the shroud and the rad, double thickness for the big gaps. Wiring was a breeze, but make sure you use a 30 amp relay, those damn wires got really hot until I read enough on here to put the relay in!

 

[Nottoofast50]

The lincoln continental 3.8 fan is the same as taurus fan too. I got mine on ebay for 20 bucks.

 

[Jonstantine]

i just got fans out of the junkyard for 6 bucks a piece; finally found one that would fit great on my 5th try (chrysler v6)
so im out 30 bucks, and my car will idle at 180-185
the highest its gotten is 220, but it was really freaking hot outside and i was running her hard to see how hot it would get - basically, it cools about the same as my flex fan did at speed, and a little better at idle
(i have a 4 core brass radiator that is about 18 inches wide) - they were designed not nearly wide enough in the mid 60's
it would probably cool real well if i had a wider aluminum one

also, im running 18 guage wire, which is probably a little small...
the electric fan made a noticable difference at high rpms (3000 and up) in power

but you can save alot of money, in the junkyard, and an auto switch wiring kit will set you back about 30 bucks (but i just wired mine to a manual switch, that runs when the ignition is on)

goodluck