Aftermarket Radiator Fan Project

[greggl]

At the SOCAL-FLU event this weekend, we noticed that my, currently overheating while under 25mph, has
a tiny fan with stubby blades. With the amount of time I spend on the 405 and 101, idling in traffic, that
suicide. So I'm planning on doing the ultimate fan upgrade... I'm talking alligator tour, airboat surplus
fan upgrade

This was an interesting read: http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2003/02/electricfan/
The taurus fans seem to be readily available and popular.

Most of my questions have been related to relays and shrouds, so far.

Anyone done a similar project? How'd you handle mounting, shroud, etc? Anyone done a
conversion to a push style setup?

[So Cal Mark]

check out these fans, scroll down to Low Profile Fans
http://www.prostreetonline.com/s/coolin ... e-fans.asp

[greggl]

Might be worth doing a side by side comparison... those aftermarket fans seem to get bashed a bit
in the ford and rat rod forums I was digging around in today. Lots of talk points to the Taurus fan
as some serious bang for the buck.

Resale of the taurus fan on ebay is pretty good, or so it looks. Anyone have one of those
3rd party ones that we know of?

Also, if I recall correctly, with a decent relay, I should be ok alternator wise, right?

[So Cal Mark]

your fan probably draws about the same as the Taurus fan, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'd worry about the thickness of it. Most of the aftermarket fans are very thin. The space between the radiator and the water pump pulley is pretty tight. Since the stock fan is so small it fits on one half of the radiator.
The aftermarket fans I have in stock are flat and very inexpensive, and work just fine at idle

[greggl]

your fan probably draws about the same as the Taurus fan, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'd worry about the thickness of it. Most of the aftermarket fans are very thin. The space between the radiator and the water pump pulley is pretty tight. Since the stock fan is so small it fits on one half of the radiator.
The aftermarket fans I have in stock are flat and very inexpensive, and work just fine at idle

Yep.. looks like clearance would def be an issue.

[htchevyii]

I used an aftermarket fan & built some brackets for it, cause I don't like mounting them to the rad. core. I haven't really got to test it out yet though.

[racydave]

Ive decided to do the relay, and over-ride switch for thoes stopped in traffic situations. The relay will handle the amperage instead of the thermal switch. Also consider the air flow if you are doin a mod. Id try smaller framework thats tubular or u-shaped to keep the airflow maxed. If you want a pusher, put it on the drivers side in tandem with the original, and poss manual switch?

[manoa matt]

Remember the fan is there to pull air through the radiator. The further away the fan is from the rad the less air it will pull through the radiator, the air will be pulled around the fan. That's the reason crank mounted fans have such a large shroud. I agree that mounting the fan directly to the rad with those poke through zip ties is not the best idea, but you should get the fan as close to the rad as possible, it looks in the picture to be about one inch away.

[htchevyii]

I agree, looks must be deceiving, 'cause mine's almost touching the rad.

[81autospider]

Here is my 2 cents on the subject and was a great success ...my stock fan didn't operate when I purchased the car, so I went down to Kragens cuz they were the only ones open on the 4th of July...I bought a 12" electric fan price $65 bucks...bought a alternator quick disconnects plug $3.99 and some shrink wire wrap(to cover the electrical splices)...I mounted the fan just between the auto trans coolant line and the top of the rad...I was only able to get 3 of those through the rad. support ties becuz of the lower frame was in the way...the fan is tight enough to the rad. that 3 is fine...wired in the quick connectors in case the rad. has to come out at a later date, I can unplug the fan and remove as a whole package...I installed the fan is the same locating is the original...this fan is quiet and has good air flow...sitting at a long light now is not an issue for me...I am very happy with the results of the whole installation was under $75 bucks...not to mention the 5 pounds I had removed from the front of my car

You didn't mention the size of your fan you used...by the pics it looks to be of 15-16" in diameter

Later down the road I may up grade to aluminum...but at this point I have no need for one

[So Cal Mark]

I usually put a 14" fan in, but I think a 15 or 16 would fit

[81autospider]

the stock one was 11' and the one I had replaced it with was 12" with better air flow then the original I would guess...my cools just fine and can not hear any fan noise with top down and at a complete stop

[Pete112]

I know its a little late now since you already decided against it, but I don't think the Taurus fan would be good for this. I actually put a Taurus fan in my '67 Mustang. Its funny that there's now an article about them and Mustangs. I chose it because it was the largest I could find in the junk yard that wasn't a dual setup. I've been running it on the car for a few years now and it works great except for 2 things. 1, the clearance is an issue even in the Mustang. The problem is with the wiring harness. It sticks out just a bit far so I had to move the fan off center so it doesn't hit the water pump. 2nd, the Taurus fan is VERY loud. Actually so much so that I'm looking into aftermarket alternatives. I don't have it on 2 speeds so maybe the lower speed is quieter.

[Fiat88]

Have any other members tried an aftermarket fan setup?

[TJC]

My early Spider (1608) came with a 10" fan which I replaced with an 11" SPAL unit.

I chose the 11" for three reasons: 1. I thought the new 11" would at least flow more than the old stock 10". 2. The 11" drew about the same power as stock (~10A inrush, 8A RMS measured with a handheld probe running at idle). 3. The 11" allowed me to use the SPAL brackets to mount to the stock mounting point (except for one mounting point that I needed to simply fab up a longer bracket with some flat aluminum stock I got at my local hardware store). What's more, the 11" fit perfectly and snugly flush against the radiator fin core, in between the upper and lower tank's lips which should promote much better airflow as the stock fan sat at least 5mm away from the core.

Here are some pics of my engine bay that shows a bit of the fan in-position (the last pic is newer when I replaced the air cleaner with a modified stock one):

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/tj ... 40R020.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/tj ... 40R016.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y12/tj ... 300836.jpg

The SPAL mounts allowed a more rigid installation if I mounted it on toward the passenger's side of the rad. However, that's closer to the water pump pulley, so I got their medium-depth design fan which gave me about 1/2" clearance to the pulley.

Completing the installation, I removed the stock fan connector plastic and installed it on the new fan's spade-ended wires (same size as stock). I'm using the stock thermo-switch and relay. I do not have an override switch or an indicator light, but the fan is slightly louder than stock, so at a light at idle I can hear it switch on which happens faithfully at just over 190 degrees (indicated). So far, two summers and no problems (albeit, our last two summers have been mild ones).