Flex Fan vs. Clutch Fan

Mike L · Feb 8, 2005

Anyone here get rid of the factory fan clutch setup and run a flex fan and spacer? Sorta like this:

I did some searching and there are some that ran the 15" reverse flex fan with a 2" spacer. The info was from a while ago and was just wondering what the thoughts are now of those people. Thanks.

-Mike

old_man · Feb 8, 2005

I ran a flex fan for a while. My only complaint was the noise level. It was simply out of the range I would put up with over an extended drive.

PETEY · Feb 8, 2005

hows does it work? do you just replace your existing fan and clutch with one of those? what are the advantages?

Mike L · Feb 8, 2005

old_man said:
I ran a flex fan for a while. My only complaint was the noise level. It was simply out of the range I would put up with over an extended drive.

How was the cooling vs. the factory clutch fan? What did you do with the fan and the spacer?

-Mike

Mike L · Feb 8, 2005

PETEY said:
hows does it work? do you just replace you existing fan and clutch with one of those? what are the advantages?

Yes, you replace the factory fan and clutch with that fan and a spacer like this:

In my mind the advantages are: never having to worry about a bad fan clutch, better cooling since the fan spins as fast as the pulley. The disadvantages are: longer warm up time, noise, loss of hp. I'm still thinking of it but am not sure.

-Mike

PETEY · Feb 8, 2005

mmm.... Thanks Mike. As I have no cooling issues, I think I will stick with with the ol fan and clutch. It sure does look pretty though don't it? I bet it comes in different colors too.

Starboard M · Feb 8, 2005

Just throwing this out there, but have you considered just hardwiring the electrical fan? Very cheap and easy to make. Also, dont know if this is true or not, but I heard that 95+ had a better fan blade and it pulled more air. Might try to get one or both of those.

Yucca-Man · Feb 8, 2005

Starboard M said:
Just throwing this out there, but have you considered just hardwiring the electrical fan? Very cheap and easy to make. Also, dont know if this is true or not, but I heard that 95+ had a better fan blade and it pulled more air. Might try to get one or both of those.

Yup, it's the 95+ that have a more robust fan - it's a drop-in replacement for the earlier ones too.

Gojeep · Feb 8, 2005

Dont touch those!!!!
They are crap as they are designed to flatten out and pull less air at high revs. That is fine on a street car when they expect you are going fast enough to have ram air through your radiator but not good in a 4x4 where you maybe be reving it in low range and not going fast at all but still have a high load. They also have a bad problem of dropping blades and get sucked forward into the radiator during river crossings. They make nice dent in the bottom of your hood when they let go too as have often seen this!

Dr. Dyno · Feb 8, 2005

Gojeep said:
Dont touch those!!!!
They are crap as they are designed to flatten out and pull less air at high revs. That is fine on a street car when they expect you are going fast enough to have ram air through your radiator but not good in a 4x4 where you maybe be reving it in low range and not going fast at all but still have a high load. They also have a bad problem of dropping blades and get sucked forward into the radiator during river crossings. They make nice dent in the bottom of your hood when they let go too as have often seen this!

Agree 100% with Marcus. Those flying blades are very good lethal weapons when they take off as you're peering under the hood. Go dual electric:

http://www.angelfire.com/my/fan/electric.html

nhrocker · Feb 8, 2005

So the electric fan on my 95 should be better than one on an earlier XJ? I was contemplating going to dual electric and upgrading the stock electric since I'll be doing a lot of front end work, but if the cuttoff was 95 and newer for the better fans I don't need to worry about that.

Flex Fan vs. Clutch Fan

Mike L

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old_man

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PETEY

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Mike L

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Mike L

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PETEY

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Starboard M

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Yucca-Man

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Gojeep

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Dr. Dyno

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nhrocker

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