Electric Fan Conversion

[fender]

Has anyone used the Ford Taurus fan? I know they are the ticket in the Fox Mustang world and a search (I did use it) mentions it but always in the "I am going to try it" tense. Anyone actually do it?

 

[MGrobe]

I have seen quite a few e-fan installs go bad, but put mine in the minority of the ones that have worked out. It has been over a couple years now and no troubles to worry about.

 

[Roxtar]

Re: FANtastic idea

I've been running dual electric fans for 6 years and I'd never go back to the clutch fan. The key is to make sure that the electric fan that you're going to use as a substitute for the clutch fan flows enough cfm of air to prevent the engine from overheating. The fan that I have is a 14" unit that flows 1800cfm in puller mode. Combined with the flow from the factory auxiliary electric fan (approx. 1200cfm), I have enough to keep my engine cool in slow traffic. The amp draw is fairly low so it doesn't drain my battery either.

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

I used two Zirgo 14" fans, 1600cfm each in a custom aluminum shroud.
Fought heating problems constantly. Even bought an aluminum radiator.
Finally gave up and went back to mech fan.
No more problems.

 

[Big Red]

Re: FANtastic idea

I've been running dual electric fans for 6 years and I'd never go back to the clutch fan. The key is to make sure that the electric fan that you're going to use as a substitute for the clutch fan flows enough cfm of air to prevent the engine from overheating. The fan that I have is a 14" unit that flows 1800cfm in puller mode. Combined with the flow from the factory auxiliary electric fan (approx. 1200cfm), I have enough to keep my engine cool in slow traffic. The amp draw is fairly low so it doesn't drain my battery either.

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

How many CFMs does the stock cluth fan put out, or does it depend on RPMs. What's the range then?

 

[MGrobe]

My dual e-fan from Derale is rated for 4000 CFM's. The only overheating issue I ever had was when the original cheap controller began to fail. After I replaced that I have had a trouble free 1.5 years of performance.

Just like Kid's experience it seems like more e-fan installs fail than succeed. I bet you I have read a 5-1 ratio in that regard. Who knows why, but some just are an awful failure.

Because of this, I personally wouldn't take a good performing system on a whimsy and change it, because changing over can be a costly and frustrating experience.

Now that I have a well tuned setup I never think twice about running temperature. It did make a mild difference in throttle response as well, although who knows if MPG changed as I don't really track that number.

 

[wacho4]

Re: FANtastic idea

I can't remember but look at gojeep's site, that's what I used to help plan my swap that I have not done yet due to time and money shortages. He has an excelent write up on there. In fact, anyone who has posted on this discussion and not read it, should do so now.

 

[BigG]

My dual e-fan from Derale is rated for 4000 CFM's. The only overheating issue I ever had was when the original cheap controller began to fail. After I replaced that I have had a trouble free 1.5 years of performance.

Just like Kid's experience it seems like more e-fan installs fail than succeed. I bet you I have read a 5-1 ratio in that regard. Who knows why, but some just are an awful failure.

Because of this, I personally wouldn't take a good performing system on a whimsy and change it, because changing over can be a costly and frustrating experience.

Now that I have a well tuned setup I never think twice about running temperature. It did make a mild difference in throttle response as well, although who knows if MPG changed as I don't really track that number.

i think the reason that there is an imbalance in the numbers is that you are more vocal if you have a failure than a success. for every person that reports a failure, there could be 1 or more that didn't report a success.

 

[Big Red]

Can a member start a poll on who did a electric fan conversion and if they liked it or not, as well as the fan they got, with the dimensions, CFMs, price, where the got them etc. I tried to start a poll, but my membership expired and I cannot at the moment.

Is the stock clutch fan that good, how are people not liking an electrical fan setup sometimes a dual set up with 3,200 CFMs. I hear the stock auxillary electrical fan is worth 1,200 CFMS, what range does the stock belt fan range from? I know that RPMs could spin the belt faster and thus you could get higher CFMS, but does anyone know the range?

Troy

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Re: FANtastic idea

I used two Zirgo 14" fans, 1600cfm each in a custom aluminum shroud.
Fought heating problems constantly. Even bought an aluminum radiator.
Finally gave up and went back to mech fan.
No more problems.

That's a lot of flow capacity so you shouldn't have been having overheating problems. I suspect you either didn't have the fans mounted close enough to the radiator, or they weren't completely sealed to the shroud thereby allowing them to pull in some underhood air instead.

 

[Roxtar]

Re: FANtastic idea

That's a lot of flow capacity so you shouldn't have been having overheating problems. I suspect you either didn't have the fans mounted close enough to the radiator, or they weren't completely sealed to the shroud thereby allowing them to pull in some underhood air instead.

No on both counts. The shroud was mounted and sealed with silicone less than 1/2" from the core, covering the entire core area.
The fans were bolted directly to the shroud with no gaps.
I did it right, it just didn't work.
Replaced mech and all's good.

 

[ponyracer1]

Re: FANtastic idea

No on both counts. The shroud was mounted and sealed with silicone less than 1/2" from the core, covering the entire core area.
The fans were bolted directly to the shroud with no gaps.
I did it right, it just didn't work.
Replaced mech and all's good.

That's actually not alot of capacity, the stock mech one pulls over 3000 cfm, then the elec one pulls another 1200.

Permacool and summit sell elec fans in 14 or 16" sizes that pull 2950 EACH.

I'm looking to run 2 of those with a high flow waterpump.

I'm pretty sure they will work as ONE fan cooled a 429 ford wedged into a fox body mustang just fine. Only question is how they will last in the water and mud.

 

[Roxtar]

Re: FANtastic idea

That's actually not alot of capacity, the stock mech one pulls over 3000 cfm, then the elec one pulls another 1200.

Permacool and summit sell elec fans in 14 or 16" sizes that pull 2950 EACH.

I'm looking to run 2 of those with a high flow waterpump.

I'm pretty sure they will work as ONE fan cooled a 429 ford wedged into a fox body mustang just fine. Only question is how they will last in the water and mud.

Look at the width of those two.
They wont fit unless you move the radiator forward.

 

[David Bothof]

I am doing the dual fan conversion on my 1998 right now. I am going to try the belt routing which eliminates the fan/clutch idler pully and instead goes straight from the crank to the alternator to the AC unit. This way you don't lose much contact on the crank, none on the AC unit, but quite a bit on the alternator (only about 1/4 contact). I figure that this shouldn't matter though because an alternator spins so freely that I don't think it will take much contact to keep it spinning without squealing. I have ground down my alternator bracket, and because of the way it bolts up, I don't think strength is going to be an issue. Oh, and I had to chop off the front of the fan/clutch idler pully to get the fan in there. There were a few fans that were supposedly skinny enough to fit, but the pulled well below 2000 CFM and even they would have been a tight fit when it comes to depth.

 

[Roxtar]

I figure that this shouldn't matter though because an alternator spins so freely that I don't think it will take much contact to keep it spinning without squealing.

That's because you're turning it without a load on it.
That changes when it's actually charging.
That's why it's common for drag racers to either run without alternators or use a cutoff switch.