Radiator fan - Should I go electric or mechanical?

[Darkwriter77]

At a crossroads on what to do with the radiator fan on my '84. Gonna be throwing on a 3-core radiator soon and I need a worthwhile fan setup on there to go with it, since my current deal is all ghetto-riffic and worthless (long story - see The Black Pearl progress thread). I have an electric fan already, but I'd need a bunch of other stuff to go along with that. Sooooo, here's the pro's and cons:

MECHANICAL FAN:

Pro's
1. Way cheaper (I only need a fan shroud and maybe a better fan clutch);
2. Simplicity rocks (less parts to go bad);
3. No need for 3G upgrade;

Con's
1. More HP draw (only got about 155 HP with the stock CFI now, anyway);
2. Royal PITA to work around it and need to remove it every time I need to fiddle with something on the front of the motor;
3. Usually makes car sound like Hoover vacuum cleaner;


ELECTRIC FAN:

Pro's
1. Less HP draw;
2. Cleaner engine bay;
3. Quieter than clutch fan;

Con's
1. More expensive;
2. 3G upgrade required (minor PITA but added expense);
3. Too many things to go wrong (relay, fan motor, switch, wiring problems, etc.);



So, ummmm ... thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

 

[FrankenStang]

 

[Mr. Rustypwnz]

I have a 350z fan I made some brackets for and it fits oh so nicely on a 5.0 rad, and cools it pretty good and is small!

pm me if your interested in it, it works pretty well with a stock alt as well..

 

[Darkwriter77]

Well, the fan I've got doesn't look like a Ford piece at all - I'm thinking it's something GM - but it's big enough to get the job done. The previous owner threw it in with the '84 when I traded him for my '86 GT 'vert. Anyway, no matter what electric fan I use, I pretty much need to use a 3G with it because the stock '84 alt is Über-wimpy - it doesn't even look like an old 2G, and my car didn't come with ANY power options at all, so it's probably not even 65 amps (fans usually pull about 30 or 40 amps).

I should take a pic or two of it when I get home tonight. It has this funky half-shroud thing over the top edge like it hangs on the top of the radiator, and a simple X-shaped frame holding the motor/fan assembly in place. Should be pretty easy to hook up ... but again, there's still the issue of doing the 3G swap and all the wiring and crap THAT entails. I just can't decide whether it's worth it to spend the extra time n' money and potentially create more problems for myself in doing so, or if I should just stick with the mechanical fan.

FWIW, the fan I have is a metal-bladed one I got from the junkyard (no worries about it cracking like the plastic junk fans), although it's about an inch smaller in diameter than most Fox fans. And yes, the blades are made for a reverse-rotation setup. The clutch that came with it seems a bit loose, though, so I'll likely need a new one to go with the new fan shroud. (My current shroud is a hacked-up, mangled POS not even meant for use on a Fox.)

Here's some dollar figures...

MECHANICAL FAN:
Fan shroud - $20 (used)
Fan clutch - $45 (new)

TOTAL - $65

ELECTRIC FAN:
3G alternator - $35 (used)
T-stat switch - $40? (new)
Heavy-duty relay - $15
Cables, big fuse, and stuff for 3G swap - $25

TOTAL - $115

 

[ill advised]

edit: just saw your post comments the shroud. lol

All in all I'd say it's electrical ftw but you can certainly got along fine without it on a stocker. Are you not running a shroud at all? For now I would hit the yards for a used shroud. That alone should help the car run cooler since air will be pulled through the radiator the way it should be. The level of noise (and drag) usually depends on the clutch but it can be a PITA. Might have to try a couple before you find one that isn't so tight. Ironically, a noisier fan is also more likely to keep the car running cooler. As you mentioned though, you may not need a new fan clutch.

 

[Darkwriter77]

When I got the car, it didn't have a shroud AT ALL and had a stupid flex fan on there. I yanked off the flex fan and threw on a used clutch fan and TRIED to make a fan shroud from something else (Crown Vic or T-Bird, not sure - it's a Ford piece) work on there, but the thing is all broken-up and rickety, and I had to hack it so much to fit that it doesn't do a lot of good as a shroud, anyhow ... so it just needs to die.

I could maybe save a few bucks and just throw the flex-fan back on there for the time being along with a new shroud, and then later on put an electric fan inside the shroud like SS_302's got in his notch...?