My biggest fan...

[ZEUS]

I am thinking about replacing my belt driven fan with an electric to free up that extra bit of horsepower. Has anyone done this yet? Or can anyone give some tips or warnings about it? Is the gain so minimal it is not worth it?

[tom4bren]

I can't see it making an appreciable difference but they do it on race cars so there must be some benefit.

Why don't you remove the starter too like they do in Drag racers (LOL).

[ZEUS]

Well, I know there are benefits besides more power. Quicker warm up and more power and better gas mileage! That is enough for me! I know they did this on the 5.9 Limited to free up some ponies. But to my understanding, removing the mech fan and replacing it with an elec. improves the throttle response because there is no accelerating fan fighting the air. I think it is worth trying it personally. And what about underdriven pulleys? Any possibility of fitting some of those to the 3.5?

[orion]

what timing! I just finished installing a fan/shroud assemble from a 90's dodge caravan. it fits very well, only a half inch shorter than the stock shroud. I made some tabs and used the stock mounting points. got the wiring kit from painless, very easy to install. electric fans are all benefit, the load on the alt. is not even close to the drag from the stock fan. my throttle response is much better, and tho i haven't driven that much to check mileage, I'm sure it will be some what better. see my gallery for pictures.

[ZEUS]

orion, that's awesome! Looks like a factory job! Thanks for the pics, I agree with you, electric is all benefits! So that must have run you around $100 maybe?

[orion]

$13 for the fan from junk yard, $60 for the painless kit. installing it myself, priceless. sorry, had to say it :p

[etlsport]

sweet.. i want to do this.... did you have to change to a new serp belt? what size?

[ZEUS]

sweet.. i want to do this.... did you have to change to a new serp belt? what size?
Nah, there is no belt change. All you are doing is unbolting the mech fan from the pulley and putting the nuts back on to secure the pulley to the water pump.

[orion]

Yep, i didn't even take the belt off, just used some washers to make up the fans gap. also the wiring kit i got has the switch that comes on at 185 and off at 170. Ive found that's too low temp, the fan was running all the time once the engine came up to temp. so i got a 200 on 185 off switch and now it's much better. the kits are the same price for ether temp.

[tom4bren]

I was thinking about this on my way in to work this morning (Hey, it's 45 miles on I95 in some pretty heavy traffic so I had time to think).

I'm don't mean to pee on your charcoal but I just can't imagine it making as much of a difference as y'all make it out to be.

Assume that the electric fan motor is 1/4 HP (reasonable) and that it is twice as efficient as the mechanical (I'm being generous here). The engine is 215 HP. That works out to about 0.1% more horsepower being available to send down to the wheels. Am I missing something here?

All that said, there are some benefits and the mod is worth doing. I'll probably do it too - someday - but we've already established my procrastination status.

Gentlemen, do the swap and enjoy your 0.1% increase in throttle response. LOL.

[etlsport]

true... i want to do it simply because my fan clutch is bad.... and its gonna be like 100 to replace it anyway.. so i might as well go elec and not have to worry about it again

[ZEUS]

I was thinking about this on my way in to work this morning (Hey, it's 45 miles on I95 in some pretty heavy traffic so I had time to think).

I'm don't mean to pee on your charcoal but I just can't imagine it making as much of a difference as y'all make it out to be.

Assume that the electric fan motor is 1/4 HP (reasonable) and that it is twice as efficient as the mechanical (I'm being generous here). The engine is 215 HP. That works out to about 0.1% more horsepower being available to send down to the wheels. Am I missing something here?

All that said, there are some benefits and the mod is worth doing. I'll probably do it too - someday - but we've already established my procrastination status.

Gentlemen, do the swap and enjoy your 0.1% increase in throttle response. LOL.
You are not peeing on my charcoal! I see the potential for increased performance; if you don't, that is your own fire you are putting out. :) I am about to fit bigger, heavier tires. The tires about 1% bigger and are going to rob some performance. Judging by calculations I have seen over time, your calculations are off. I have read mechanical fans can rob as much as 5 hp. Electric fans may use as much as 2 hp - but they are hardly ever on, so at most times no hp is lost. I have grown accustomed to being overgeared with my 4.77's and would like to offset the torque lost by adding these new tires as much as possible. An electric fan is cheap and easy.

[tom4bren]

All Mighty Zeus - I stand corrected. Don't drop a lightning bolt down my shorts.

I'm curious about what I might have left out of my logic but I'll let it go. No doubt it's an cheap/easy mod so well worth the effort. Like I said ... someday.

Excuse me while I go piss on my charcoal.

[ZEUS]

:rollg2: Hey you asked if you were "missing something here" so read instead of type or I will put two bolts down your shorts!

[tom4bren]

Good, I can use one to relight my charcoal. The other I'll save for my commute home tonight.

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change

the strength to change the things I can

and a lightning bolt to drop down the shorts of anyone who pisses me off.

(After I do the electric fan conversion of course so the 0.1% added throttle response will let me chase them down).

[ZEUS]

...and a lightning bolt to drop down the shorts of anyone who pisses me off.

I hope you are not suggesting you pissed me off, because that would be ridiculous. I think you took something I wrote out of context. But if you think I am a God, you can get off your knees now, thank you. Otherwise, I don't know what your issue is.

[tom4bren]

Naw, I just have a chronic problem with trying to be funny and failing miserably. People just take me too seriously.

Maybe if I had a cool godlike name, I could pull it off better. You may call me Vulcan.

[Joe Isuzu]

back to a more serious note.....
For the mechanical novices who have never tried something like this before, are there step-by-step instructions?, do they come with a kit or would we need to scavenge the salvage yards? this is something that would be neat to do even if the HP savings was negligible, I would just need some directions as to how to get it done.
any suggestions?
thanks!

[ZEUS]

Flex-a-lite is the name brand I have always looked at. I ordered their CJ V8 kit for my Jeep a couple of years ago (I checked; it is too big for the VX radiator) and the quality seems to be as good as you'll find anywhere else. They make several universal applications; there should be something that fits our needs. See here. (http://www.flex-a-lite.com/auto/html/howtoelectric.html) You want a puller style fan or one that can be switched to push or pull. The VX radiator is about 24"wx21"h and we have about 4.5" max available bewteen the rad. and the pulley. Our stock fan is about 21" dia. It is best to stay away from the strap mounting style that is known for damaging the cooling fins so you might have to fab up some brackets. You want a shroud that will envelope the whole cooling surface so the basket style shrouds are not as good, unless you figure out a way to reuse the stock VX shroud with an electric mounted beneath it. I am not sure about the cfm needed yet. Anybody else have info on the cfm needed?

Orion, please keep us posted on how the Cara'fan' :rolleyes: works for you. I might use your method, except I think I will try a different temp probe so I don't have to drill anywhere near the engine.

[Joe Isuzu]

Thanks for the info Zeus, I'll check it out and see if I'm daring enough to give it a try

[orion]

Well, I've gone through two tanks of gas and show an increase of 1 MPG. i know that don't seem that good but this is all short trip stop an go driving. it's only a 2 minute drive to work so it took a wile to get through 2 tanks. and i say every bit helps, when i first got my VX i was getting 11 MPG and now( after much work) I'm get 16 MPG. it looks like my first highway test will be my trip to MOAB next year.

[kobie]

Orion,
What are the other things you've done to increase your mileage and which mods made the most significant difference?

[orion]

I switched the cone intake back to the stock air box, the more air that goes by the MAF sensor, the more gas gets sprayed in, yes you get more power but at the expense of MPG. the others were bosh plugs, a hi flow muffler, and removing weight(rear seat).

[eternal21]

Back from the dead.....Orion, as my fan clutch is going out, it was contemplating an electric fan. You mentioned that you used a unit out of a 90s Dodge Caravan. Is your setup a dual or single fan?

[orion]

It is a single fan.

[circmand]

You are not peeing on my charcoal! I see the potential for increased performance; if you don't, that is your own fire you are putting out. :) I am about to fit bigger, heavier tires. The tires about 1% bigger and are going to rob some performance. Judging by calculations I have seen over time, your calculations are off. I have read mechanical fans can rob as much as 5 hp. Electric fans may use as much as 2 hp - but they are hardly ever on, so at most times no hp is lost. I have grown accustomed to being overgeared with my 4.77's and would like to offset the torque lost by adding these new tires as much as possible. An electric fan is cheap and easy.

I have an old english roadster. In the AZ heat it is always overheating. So after a 3 core radiator, OEM oil cooler still not working I added an electric fan. It does quite a job keeping things cool but it needs to run all the time. After 3 minutes it need sto be on, sitting in traffic needs to be on, in slow traffic on, in fas moving traffic on (tunnel effect) It great that I do not lose the power so I see a positive but after getting to temp it needs to go on all the time

[ZEUS]

Circ, since it runs all the time, did you notice any power or mpg loss from that addition?

[RallyDude]

Not that it will help with a bad fan clutch, but I thought I mention an old-school mod. Not as good as an electric, but definitely quicker to install. Several manufacturers like Moroso made light-weight aluminum fans that I think would give you nearly as good results.

[eternal21]

Orion, did you get part of the van's wiring harness to plug into the fan, or did you make your own?

[eternal21]

bump

[eternal21]

Orion, did you get part of the van's wiring harness to plug into the fan, or did you make your own?

bump

[orion]

I used a painless universal fan wiring kit and spliced it in with the stock fan plug. i have pics of it in my gallery.

[eternal21]

I used a painless universal fan wiring kit and spliced it in with the stock fan plug. i have pics of it in my gallery.

Yeah, I saw that, but I guess I'm not stating my question correctly. I'm interested in the fan-side connection, as in, looking at the fan, there is a plug that has 4 or 5 male leads in it. How did you determine which of those leads went where? Did you get a pigtail w/the fan?

[orion]

I got the fan from a u-pull junk yard and left about 6 inches of wire on the plug. just touched the wires to the battery to find out whats what.

[eternal21]

I got the fan from a u-pull junk yard and left about 6 inches of wire on the plug. just touched the wires to the battery to find out whats what.

THAT'S what I wanted to know *lol*, thank you.

[xXxRed_Ninty_9xXx]

Viva La 0.1%!!!!!!

[eternal21]

As summer rolled around, and my truck has started overheating again, this was becoming somewhat urgent. Cutting into the housing to install the Painless kit wasn't an option, as I didn't want to have to drain the radiator fluid to avoid getting metal shavings in the coolant. Unfortunately the painless kit requires that you cut into the metal b/c the outer sleeve the thermostat sits in also grounds the unit. I figured instead I'd cut the upper radiator hose into 2, go to Lowes and pick up some appropriate diameter piping, drill a hole in the piping to stick the thermostat in, and clamp the ends of the radiator hose to the pipe, and call it a day. Oh, and that I'd have to drill an add'l hole into the pipe to run a ground strap to the engine.

Fast forward to today, after I spent $18.xx to pick up the pieces. Tossing about installation ideas w/a friend, we came to the conclusion that the Painless kit really isn't necessary, as the truck's fan is on all the time anyway, so why not wire an electric fan to be on all the time, too? My search lead me to use the phrase, "isuzu electric fan conversion", which lead me to this thread http://www.itocuk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16473, which lead me to this site http://www.x-eng.co.uk/X-Fan.asp?MID=4 and more specifically, these:

http://www.x-eng.co.uk/Images/X-Fan/All%20Sizes.jpg

Exactly what I was envisioning. So, I'll be taking the Lowes stuff back, and if I can find someone stateside making these, I'll be picking one up. If not, I'll be ordering one of these adapters.

I'm also going to looking at having brackets fabbed up so that anyone else wanting to use the Caravan fan setup will have a bolt-on option.

Edit: found 'em!

http://prosportgauges.com/water-temp-sender-radiator-hose-adaptor.aspx

http://prosportgauges.com/images/products/detail/shiftlights5c.jpg

It even has the extra screw in the piece to run a ground strap to the frame.

Edit, Edit: If you check ebay using the term "radiator hose adapter" you can find the adapter + clamps for ~$10.00 :)

If attempting this mod, you will need the 38mm adapter.

[eternal21]

Yay, a how to:

http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/viewtopic.php?t=39473

[nfpgasmask]

I'm going with an electric fan soon in the Trooper. I was talking to a friend who builds race trucks and he said just make sure you shroud it good so the airflows over the radiator correctly. I'm not sure what brand I am going with, but I am going to have it hooked up to the ignition with a switch to shut it off if I need to for whatever reason.

Bart

[samneil2000]

Last summer if I was in traffic on a hot day with the A/C on, I'd have to keep an eye on the temp guage and it would climb towards H. Then I checked my codes and found I was running lean due to a dirty MAF. I cleaned it and the VX was a lot slower getting too hot. This weekend I replaced my fan clutch.

I had no idea mine was as bad as it was. Now when I start the VX it sounds like a lion is hiding under the hood it moves so much air. I haven't driven it on a hot day in traffic but I'm hoping that it temp guage sits dead center now and I can relax a little bit...

This week looks like a good week for it. I have a weather forecast thing on my desk that shows 98 and sunny for the next 4 days. The problem is it's hard to leave the Lincoln at home on days like that with its air conditioned seats and all..... :o

[eternal21]

Here is the fan wiring diagram from the 94-95 caravan for those looking to use the electric fan from it.

http://infinitemotion.net/mp/vx/enginebay/94-95caravanfan.gif

[eternal21]

Well, last night I took the time to put in the 94-95 Voyager fan. I hardwired it to the battery (temporarily) to try it out to see if it would work. On the way home from work, I sat in 98-99 degree temps with the a/c on full blast, in stop and go traffic, and the temp didn't even move to halfway! I then parked in the driveway and kept the a/c on full blast for another 15 mins, the needle never moved! I took pics of everything, so tomorrow I'll write a how-to in the event anyone else decides to go for this mod. All in for under $100, which I think is pretty good.

[crager34]

Look here for another electrcal fan option.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?threadid=20602

[eternal21]

Dunno, man, you paid $285 for all of that. I got in my setup for ~$100 and it's icy....