Which junkyard fan is the best?

87GT Drop Top · Oct 11, 2009

Intrepid, Taurus, Mark VIII or Contour.

By best I mean

cooling capacity
current draw
ease of fitiment
necessary wiring

I'm also upgrading to a 6G alt.

thanks
Frank

Vinnietbird · Oct 11, 2009

I say the Taurus fan.The Mark VIII is also good,but the Taurus fans are way more available at any yard in case you need to replace yours down the road for cheap.I had mine wired in no time and it has been better than I could've hoped.Way cooler than the stock clutch fan,and a clean fit.

90mustangGT · Oct 11, 2009

On a side note, check for prices of a NEW fan as well. Sometimes salvage yards charge a bit too much for used junk.

I recently put my ole' trusty black magic fan on my car, it pulls lots of air, the onl problem is that it only covers about 2/3rds of the stock radiator. When I put in my new Afco alumimun, I'm looking at the fan for the newer chevy trucks.

Vinnietbird · Oct 11, 2009

I bought my fan....and 5 more like it for $40.00.Sold 5 of them for $45.00 each.They were just old Taurus fansd to the salvage yard guy when I went.He said taurus parts don't have any value........O.K..I went back and got 4 130 amp 3G's a few days later.Tomorrow,I'm going back.

Greggk · Oct 12, 2009

what all do i need to install an electric fan? how do i wire them up? does it have to be on a manual switch, because i would prefer not to have a seperate switch to install the electric fan as i will forget to turn it on lol

87GT Drop Top · Oct 12, 2009

It's recommended you upgrade you alternator if you run an electric fan.

FORDMUSCLE webmagazine: Junkyard Electric Fan

87GT Drop Top · Oct 12, 2009

Luckily I work in an auto parts store. I tried all the above listed fans and a few more. I like the way the Contour duel fan fits the best. It seems to cover more of the radiator. I can get a new one at work for $103 + tax. I'm going to the junk yard @ 2PM when I get off to check their price and get a 6G alternator & harness. Also to get the harness for the fan.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 12, 2009

I ended up getting one at the junkyard. I got it with all the wiring, the wiring for the 6G alt and a passengers side power mirror for $45.

BYRDPE · Oct 12, 2009

87GT Drop Top said:
I ended up getting one at the junkyard. I got it with all the wiring, the wiring for the 6G alt and a passengers side power mirror for $45.

care to make another jy run?
i'd love to have one of those contour fans.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 12, 2009

BYRDPE said:
care to make another jy run?
i'd love to have one of those contour fans.

No V6 Contour/Mystique in the junkyards by you? There was at least 15 of them that I saw, 6 of there were V6 engines. There is one bolt that was hard to get too. I got lucky because one had the motor out. It made removal easy. On there price list it said $15 for a cooling fan assembly. I was like cool that's cheap enough. Well the charged me $30. I said the sign says $15. He said (with a smarta** tone) Yea $15 each, how many do you see there? I said it on assembly. He said it's 2 motors so it's $30. I figured since I got all the wiring for the alt and the fan that $45 for all that and a passenger side mirror wasn't bad. I tested it when I got home an man does this thing move some air. I didn't realize it was 2 speed. On low it blows pretty hard, but on high it would cool off my garage. I think it will keep my engine nice and cool. I also just ordered a 6G alt and a Hayden 3654 fan controller. I want to get the cooling issues under control before I pull the engine next year and build my stroker.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 13, 2009

I pulled on the radiator tonight. I also trimmed off all of the unnecessary mounting tabs off of the fan assembly. Then I split the harness and removed the unnecessary wires and rerouted all the wires to the bottom, instead of the top where they were on the Contour. It looks much cleaner now. I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tomorrow or Thursday when I mount it. I think I have it figured out how I'm going to do it.

BYRDPE · Oct 13, 2009

87GT Drop Top said:
I pulled on the radiator tonight. I also trimmed off all of the unnecessary mounting tabs off of the fan assembly. Then I split the harness and removed the unnecessary wires and rerouted all the wires to the bottom, instead of the top where they were on the Contour. It looks much cleaner now. I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tomorrow or Thursday when I mount it. I think I have it figured out how I'm going to do it.

nice...get some pics and keep us updated on the install. i'll be doing the same install over the winter. where did you get the controller and will it be enough to handle the fan?

87GT Drop Top · Oct 13, 2009

I got the controller on ebay. It was $73 shipped. It is able to handle 2 fans that are 2 speed. I didn't relize the Contour fans were 2 speed until I tested them. The Contour is fan assembly is a 2 fan assembly, but it is wired together as one. You can change that, but I'm not. I'm going to leave it wired so they both come on at the same time. The controller has 2 50 AMP relays. so I think it should be able to handle it. Summit is the only place else I found that carried this controller. They were cheaper, but their ship date was 10/30. I didn't want to wait that long. My 6G alternator should be hear Friday, a long with the controller. I should have it all back together this weekend. With a 1200 watt amp and the A/C on I was charging like 9 volts and 15/20 amps at idle. With the 6G alt and a smaller 1 5/8 alt pulley, I should be charging 14 volts and 80 amps @ idle. I have a 4" crank pulley so that doesn't help. Also if I'm in traffic, with the A/C on, the temperature slowly creeps up to 235/240. I plan on building a stroker motor early next year once I collect up all the parts, so I want to make sure I have everything working like it should before I do that. I'm slowly collecting the parts for the motor. I have a 93 Cobra intake (which is going to be ported by TMOSS), 70MM TB and a DSS 331 balanced stroker kit so far. The only big purchase I have to save for is the heads. Then everything else is in the smaller range of $300 and under. I'm also converting to MAF.

KT93LXVert · Oct 15, 2009

Im runin the contour fan on my five-o and its amazing. im running a painless auto turn on controller and my car never gets above 200 even sittin in football game traffic. i had my radiator shop weld four posts on the side that centered the fan on the radiator and it mounted perfectly. looks factory.

ddonaca351 · Oct 15, 2009

87GT Drop Top said:
I pulled on the radiator tonight. I also trimmed off all of the unnecessary mounting tabs off of the fan assembly. Then I split the harness and removed the unnecessary wires and rerouted all the wires to the bottom, instead of the top where they were on the Contour. It looks much cleaner now. I forgot to take pictures. I will take some tomorrow or Thursday when I mount it. I think I have it figured out how I'm going to do it.

All right man, you know the rules... PICs, or it didn't happen.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 15, 2009

I still haven't touched it buit here are a few pictures.

Fan assembly

Radiator Looks like the fan almost went through it a one time.

Fan on radiator, but not mounted yet.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 16, 2009

I received the rest of my stuff today, 6G alt and fan controller. I ordered a 1.625" alt pulley from summit and it doesn't fit my alternator. I'm going to have to call them tomorrow and hopefully get the right one. I wasn't able to get much done tonight, but I did a little.

My buddy and next store neighbor Joe came over tonight to help out and he came up with a good idea of using vacuum hose split down the middle to cushion the fan against the radiator. 7/64 hose was a nice tight fit.
Here he is installing it.

Here it is with hose going all the way around.

Here it is mounted

Here it is just sitting in the car

87GT Drop Top · Oct 18, 2009

I got some more done today. I helicoiled the top hole on the 6G 130 amp alternator. I got it installed and all the wiring done on it. I mounted the fan controller and wired it all up except the 12V ignition wires and the clutch wire. I need to get some green and yellow wire from work tomorrow so I can finish that up. It looks great so far. I took a bunch of picture, but when I went to download them the file was kerupt and I was only able to save 2 of them.

The controller mounted. The 4 gauge power wire for the new alt. I also installed a 175 amp fuse from a 1999 F150. That's what is in the small black box.

I just set everything in there to see what it would look like. That's a cheap universal overflow bottle I got from work. When I pull the engine next year and get a CAI I will upgrade to something nicer. Right now that fits pretty good and will serve the purpose.

stykthyn · Oct 19, 2009

I have been eyeballing that contour fan at my JY, but it looks like a bitch to pull. I may just have to dedicate a few hours this weekend to getting one of those out.

87GT Drop Top · Oct 19, 2009

I got lucky, the car I pulled mine from had no engine in it. There is only 3 bolts holding it in. Two on the passengers side and one on the drivers side. It looks like to me the one on the drivers side is a bitch to get to, but the two on the drivers sides don't look bad.

Which junkyard fan is the best?

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I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

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